No matter how many times its still SCARY!

I installed my new coil springs today and im am happy to say im still alive! it always makes me nervous since i had a spring compressor brake on me years ago and the spring almost took my head off. Alway be carefull guys and if your not sure what your doing take it to a profesonal! just dont bring it to my shop

 

Glad you're alive !! I'm shaking in my boots everytime messing with a coil spring and I never had a reason. Just knowing what could happen is fear enough. Even with a safty chain in place to slap you around while the spring is flying around the shop makes you wonder if the chain was a good idea.

 

Back before garage doors had front wound springs, they used to have huge springs bolted along side of the door track. Had a bolt give way once and shoot it threw the closed garage door. Springs can be nasty.

 

I dont remember at what point i was during pulling my car down to swap in disc spindles, but I pulled a bolt and I had a spring come out to visit me.

 

Mine had that until about 5 years ago. The spring broke and damn near gave me a coronary. I was about 2 feet away.

 

not a spring but my 7 yr olds ceiling fan fell today just after she turned it on and walked under it.

 

My daughter is now driving my sons 75 Comet and she has asked me to replace the upper control bushings.. Not really looking forward to it.

 

I drank too many beers today, fell down, and sprang back up...

Sprung back up? Springed, spranged, ...???

Oh, never mind. I should have just stayed down on the floor.

 

My clamp slipped off and cracked my hand once.
I hated taking mine in and out

Safest way for me was standing in the engine bay away from the spring and cranking the clamp closed from above, with a chain wrapped around it.

 

I had the garage door spring fly about 15 feet when it's mount broke ... scary. I was about two feet to side of it when it went.

Were you taking the upper A-arm out? I have grabbed spindles off a few cars, but it has always been without any concern for the spring. I knocked the spindle loose from the A-arm without removing it.

 

i had the trunk spring for my maverick slip off and came around and hit me in the nose, that was a great weekend, that was last year, all things are good now, and i got it all the way up on the tension so hopefully it will handle the spoiler (its the spring from a grabber so)

 

A month ago or so i pulled everything out for all new bushings, joints and a disc swap, I got everything but the pass side upper out. when I got back around to getting to the front I was not thinking clearly and pulled the bolts from everything leaving the shock on. Well when the shock came off everything shot out from under the car.

It did save me a lot of time not compressing the spring (with a liner puller ) but I did take a slight whack to the leg and may have pooped a little.

 

lol

 

LOL ... and scary.... I feel a bit better knowing this, though, because when removing disc brake spindles in the jy, I am typically whacking the side of the upper A arm with a large hammer to get the taper on the ball joint to release... a trick I was shown ... good to know that I haven't been set up to get smacked by a spring. Was really confident that I was doing this safely all this time.

On a related note ... anyone who also does this ... I got a tip from a plumber that, when dealing with old rusty cast iron pipes, he will smack the fitting on BOTH sides with hammers simultaneously, and I think this might be more effective in popping ball joints in the field. It will momentarily deform the opening more than just hitting it on one side.

Also, on the Open Tracker website, (where the roller spring perch info is) they have a link to a homemade tool that presses the ball joints apart, perhaps the best solution. I now have the basic hardware for it, and need to tack weld it together. If I have success with this, I will do a small tech article. You just turn it with a couple of large wrenches after loosening the ball joint nuts.