Heh, about to put Spoon progressives on my stock shocks but before I start anything I'm looking for the best opinions on doing a ghetto install without a compressor I'm thinking the safest way is to undo the lock nut while the shock is still on the car and then remove the shock, seems like this there will be nowhere for anything to shoot off....it's either that or have some one stand on the spring while I undo the nut...any suggestions before I get ready to take a trip to the hospital? I searched and the posts I read seemed worthless. TIA

 

have the shock and spring laying on the ground, step on the bottom of the shock, have the top of it facing a wall really closely. undo the nut on top, it will pop off but nothing really drastic. the wall idea is just for extra security. when i took mine off, it didn't spring out that hard ay all. i hope that made a little sense. hah

 

why be scared....go rent one for frEE from Pep Boys

 

sounds good

 

w3rd...if they're free rentals i'm all over it, maybe I'll pick up some NOS floormats while i'm there

 

Spring compressors are for WaNkStA's!

 

fo shizzle, i was thinking about being hardcore and using my teeth

 

Pep Boys/AutoZone both rent tools for free. All they do is put it on your credit card and then refund it when the tool is returned.

Automotive conventional wisdom says use a compressor. Sure it takes longer, but given the option between a bit omre time vs. being blinded (or some other severe injury) from an errant spring, I'll use the compressor.

 

I used a compressor that a friend of mine had, but I also had the option of renting one from pep boys. If its free, why not not use it for extra safety and peace of mind

 

a long time ago where I lived they werent free so what we did was grab 2 vice grips and clamp the spring down real good and go out to the sidewwalk curb and put the shock facing the top in a box and them pop them out. its pretty safe. Ive done three or four sets of springs this way and im still ok. but after seeing the spring compressor way id rather just go rent one to play it safe. wouldnt wanna lose a finger now.

 

Nate, forget about the spring compressor. You don't need it for the stock R suspension. The front ones are only slightly preloaded so when you loosen the nut, it would just pop a little bit. Just lay it flat down towards the wall and you would be ok.

The rear ones are not preloaded at all. Just loosen the nut and pull off the uppermount.

 

spring compressors are for the birds

 

I used to use them all the time, but I've gotten more and more busy over the last couple of years, so I skip the extra hour and a half it takes to pick them up, drop them off, putting them on, and taking them off.

I just use the box the new springs came in (with the springs in it) and the closest expendable concrete wall with a few towels wrapped around the strut assy and b/w the braces. Then bust it off with an electric impact.

 

WTF?! How come no Canadian automotive chains do this? I use the ghetto free rental method

 

On a more ghetto note. Me and my friends used a few sets of vice grips. Removing the vice grips is the scary part. We just threw the spring on the lawn and watched the vice grips fly off.

 

just go get a couple of metal hose clamps and tie the coils together. then you don't have to worry about it going .. BOING!! when you zap the nut off with an impact gun

 

it's not worth the time to drive over and get a spring compressor, let alone waste the time bringing it back.

 

Just as an FYI, the reason why one needs an impact gun is that the threaded shaft would spin together when you try to loosen the nut. But there's a hexagonal hole on top of the shaft, so if you use an allen key to hold the shaft in place, you won't need an impact gun.

 

I installed a set of konis/gc sleeves last week on my car, but needed to re-use the rear upper mounts (so spring had to come off). I put a jack under the control arm and got the suspension loaded, undid the top nut, and then lowered the floor jack.

Pretty easy, right? I thought so.

 

i guess.....but why did you load the spring? just an extra step for fun? i'd rather use that time you wasted to have a beer and admire my work

 

That way it doesnt fly off (although there's not any harm in that) when i pop the upper mounting nut off. I controlled the release of the spring's energy with the jack....

Now i have "real" springs and dont have to do that anymore

 

LOL

 

... just push the jack under it....

 

dude al and i have shot springs more times than i can count. all you need is a big cardboard box filled with newspaper or rags

south syyyde ghetto styleZ

 

Just remove the nut with the shock still on the car (like you mentioned). When you jack it up everything will disassemble itself. This is how I always remove springs.