Needing to replace my shocks and am wondering how dangerous are those coil spring compressors you rent from the parts stores. I'm reading a lot of people use the compressors, but I also have seen a few vids showing how they suck and things fly off. I really dont want to take a chance of busting my hand on one of these things, just not worth it.

Are there any other safer methods aside from bringing your shock/spring assembly into a shop with a hydraulic press?

 

No. (and it is not a press, it is a very large spring compressor.)

 

The set you get at your local auto parts store are pretty safe.....they wouldnt rent them if they werent....It would be huge liability for them. just use them correctly and you should be good to go

 

I have rented them from autozone and had absolutely zero issues. They are simple to use.

 

What car?

I just remove the upper shock mount nuts off the shaft, then jack the car up. Once it's off the ground, the springs are fully uncompressed. Do the reverse and use the weight of the car to compress the springs when reinstalling.

 

2000 civic SI

I'm pretty sure they're compressed even when you pull the unit out of the car....

 

Anything is unsafe when used improperly. Especially in the automotive tool world.Inexperience can be dangerous.

Also the sets the rent are not likely very safe. They rent tools manufactured by the lowest bidder, of course it doesnt stop them from renting them...

 

Um, you missed what I meant.

You don't remove the entire shock assembly, which does keep the springs loaded. Remove the nut holding the upper shock mount to the shock, leaving the upper shock mount bolted to the car. This allows the top of the shock to "fall" out from the car when you jack it up, releasing all tension from the spring.

Basically, use the car's weight as a spring compressor.

You can also put the car on jackstands, put the jack under the LCA, jack the suspension up slightly, remove the upper shock nuts, then lower the jack.

 

I guess it really depends on how much the assembly extends when you relieve the coil. Will there still be room to remove it?

 

Should be, just disconnect the fork from the LCA once the spring is loose.

 

Super old thread. (Sorry!) I need to replace the rear shocks on my EM1. If I'm understanding you correctly, you're suggesting that we remove that top nut which holds that portion of the shock "tube" to the top hat, and then jack the car up, which would allow both control arms to move downward, which would relieve tension on the spring (and allow it to decompress), and get all loosey-goosey, and then we can remove said spring and do the new shock. And when ready to put back, we could just use a jack to compress the shock/spring assembly until the "tube" is at the top hat location, and then we can put the nut back and we're done?

 

It's doable but a lot harder than it sounds. Just rent the damn tool from the parts store or buy some from harbor freight.

 

Yeah. After I asked for clarification, I realized that this method wouldn't work if the spring still had tension applied to itself with the control arms fully "downward." I assume you're talking about a manual tool like , or is something like more necessary (and rentable at a parts store)?

 

My neighbor broke his wrist when the "parts store" tool slipped and the spring shot out.

Parts store tools are used and abused and are typically low quality.

The first linked tool linked should work fine,provided you follow the instructions(or at the very least a detailed Youtube video)

The second linked toolis a shop tool and is not a tool that can be rented(that I am aware of)

Another option would be to call a shop and ask how much they would charge to swap shocks/springs if you bring them in.

 

Thanks for the ideas. I'll consider the latter suggestion

 

Improper use/user error no doubt. I use the cheapest pair of harbor freight compressors that I bought in 2006 dozens of times and never had an issue. Similar to these.



Honestly I would just pay a shop to swap them if you can find one to do it for a decent price.

 

I already purchased those thingies. No biggie. It seems straight-forward to me. Thanks again everyone for your thoughts!

 

When you rent the compressor, inspect it visually and only rent those which are in a like-new condition. If they are beat up, then even if they are safe, they still require too much effort to operate.