I'm not entirely sure if this has been covered or not, searching was futile.

basically, instead of dismantling the whole shock/spring assembly from the car and then compress the spring to free the top hat, could i just undo the top hat bolt AND THEN jack the car up? that way, it would slowly decompress the stock springs safely.

does this make sense or am i missing something entirely? i've done a shock/spring install in the past and turning the compressor by hand sucks and is time consuming.

input is greatly appreciated, but keep it civil.

 

imo, get a better spring compressor. the one i have takes like 3 minutes to compress the spring. its better to be safe than to have something go wrong.

 

which one do you have? the ones ive used in the past are the free rentals from vato zone

 

if u do it that way i think as soon as u take off the nut the whole assembly will fly up and damage ur car =o

 

on my old stock springs i just took out the whole assembly and cut the springs in half, then installed my h&r races.. no need for a spring compressor that way

 

The no spring compressor trick. LoL.
I've done that before. It's easy. It's basically the way you explained it.

The only problem you're gonna run into is, when the spring decompresses, it's long and gets stuck. It's manageable to to get out, but it's just a pain in the butt.
It depends how low you can push down on your hub.
As for the rears, you'll have to loosen your LCA to make clearance.
(I've done this to a 95' Accord btw, removal & Install)

 

heh I didn't think about that, but you're right. That's exactly what would happen. To get the front shocks out, most likely you'll have to disconnect the front swaybar to be able to push the hub down far enough to get the un-captured spring and shock out of there.

 

thanks for the headsup stokeless, i didnt think of that lol. guess i'll just have to use a spring compressor

 

a towel works fine..... have a friend hold the shock and spring on the ground, wrap a towel around it as tight as possible , being carfull to keep it tight while friend holds the shocks, once you have a tight wrap around the shock i mean tight ... tight as hell to be exact.. point the top of the shock towards a wall and take the top nut off . it will pop off towards the end of taking the nut off so make sure you got it facing the wall ...poof wallah... a gangstah way of doing it but it works, changed many of springs and coilovers this way...

 

when u do this just hope it dont fly into ur wall lol

 

the nut will... make sure its a concrete wall not a drywall.... and it will fly off towards the end of the thread.... wrap that shock like a tight joint i mean super tight...

 

this is correct. the STOCK front springs are way too preloaded and too long it will hang up the lower wishbone against the axle and make it much more difficult to remove once you get to this point.

it works fine with aftermarket springs and coilovers. but not removing stock springs.

rear springs dont need a spring compressor anyway.

 

If you have an air compresspor. The easiest trick I've done is just step on the spring and shoot off the top nut. The shock just shoots off about 1-6 ft away.
(Depends if you're on the grass,concrete, or smooth surface)

I don't think I'd recommend doing this to Accords or anything with big springs.
(but ofcourse alot of ya'll are probaly bigger than I am so it'd probaly be easier for ya'll)
I've done it to plenty of Civics and Integras.

I learned this trick from a guy I knew from a performance auto shop I used to go to.

 

so ive taken apart the front springs without a spring compressor in the above fashion myself. there i said it... and i didnt hurt myself....

but stuff did fly. it was a sudden and unanticipatable jolt each time.

so just dont be stupid about it. youll live, but ymmv.

this isnt a recommendation. just saying its not the end of the world to try to take apart an EF front spring without a spring compressor. but you definitely need one if youre putting a stock spring on.

 

for the average civic/integra if you need a spring compressor your a god damn *****, i just wrap that **** up in 2 towels like a burrito and remove the nut, the spring pops out but its nothing the towel cant handle.

Now supra's, evo's, and any other heaver car then yea i use a spring compressor.

 

the easiest way i found is by placing the end of the shock to a concrete wall and the nut end into a civic/integra steelie and used a impact gun to gun it off, the weight of the wheel keeps the spring from shooting out, works for me all the time!! the wheel will only kick out like 2inches if not less, you'll just have to find the nut and washers that fly when the whole thing unloads.

 

Ya'll are crazy. Just point the **** away from everybody and let it fly. Im full of b.s. right now. If you've got an impact gun... a large person can hold down on the top hat while someone else hits the top nut with the impact. I've done this several times. Nothing will explode towards you. Just watch your face just in case.

 

I predict that the population of HT will soon be reduced by the number of id10ts who try this ****. Beg, borrow, buy, rent or steal a spring compressor. Really.

 

You obviously have no experience lowering a civic/integra, we are talking about a god damn car with spring rates of 150 lbs/in or less, think about that for a second, its nothing, i bet even if it hit someone its doubtful it would cause any serious injury... I lowered my first Honda 9 years ago, i was scared at the time but my friend assured me 2 towels is all he needed and some hand tools, sure enough easy as cake and i have been doing it that way ever since.

 

i personally stand 1 foot on the strut and 1 foot on the top hat, let it rip

 

you sir are a man no sarcasm, seriously. I have done it that way but prefer the towel.

 

the way i do it is with zip ties.
i zip tie the whole spring together all around top coil to bottom coil and it works very well

 

QFT. Even on my s2000, m3, etc. I didn't use a spring compressor, just the two tire trick. Of course I use an air compressor though.

You can also hop/bounce with your weight on the top hat while twisting the nut, it should catch eventually.