spring compressor comparo?
02-05-2007, 04:39 AM
#26
MBWorld Fanatic!
i am stuffed with Superbowl party food and feel a bit dizzy, but will try to recap
what i learned from earlier today.....
A - if you spread the clamps as far apart as possible, the driving nut end will also
stick out proportionally. so once you compress spring to minimum length needed
to remove (tilt out of perch) it is possible that the bottom spindle may still be
too far extended into the lower control arm.
depending on spring wind, depending on # of coils between the clamps, etc)
that when fully compressed, you still may lack the necessary clearance to
tip-tilt out the spring/clamp unit.
from the perch. Loosening the swing arm linkage for a minute was sufficient
to gain the slack needed. the spring was then easily removed and the new
spring inserted. The T-50 was replaced and retorqued. I put a dab of Loctite
blue on it as well.
The time it took to remove T-50, compress the spring, swap out and reinstall
the new spring took no more than 20 minutes.
Insofar as whether the center spindle type spring compressor has merit over
the the side-saddle design is unknown to me. In my particular application, I
think the side-saddle compressor wouldn't work as well. When installing or
removing a spring, I can see the advantages of the coaxial design....as it
allows me to rotate the spring and to index it into the spring pad, or index
into the LCA's spring channel with more flexibility. eg I can rotate 10º, 90º,
180º, 270º etc simply by spinning the spring. with the side-saddle design,
I'm limited to roughly 90-120º before the telescoping spindle impinges upon
some body or suspension structure (perch, body, frame, sway bar LCA). this
is just an educated guess on my part.
p.s. Maximus, for some reason the lower shock mount on mine on all four
points were SAE, thus 17mm and 19mm didn't work. I had to hunt down
5/8" from neighbor's toolbox. so just be aware.... maybe my metric socket
had too many points but it kept slipping
what i learned from earlier today.....
A - if you spread the clamps as far apart as possible, the driving nut end will also
stick out proportionally. so once you compress spring to minimum length needed
to remove (tilt out of perch) it is possible that the bottom spindle may still be
too far extended into the lower control arm.
fix - before you begin compressing, move the bottom clamp up along the
spring a bit. doing so will also move the bottom of the spindle up. just be
aware that if you move the clamp too far up, you also lose in compression
range. trial and error will determine which is the optimum clamp separation.
note - this isn't an issue with the top clamp and it should be moved
as far up on the spring as allows. it'll touch the top spring perch and that's
fine. as you compress the spring, the two clamps will move towards each
other.
B - as mentioned earlier, it is possible (depending on spring coil spacings,spring a bit. doing so will also move the bottom of the spindle up. just be
aware that if you move the clamp too far up, you also lose in compression
range. trial and error will determine which is the optimum clamp separation.
note - this isn't an issue with the top clamp and it should be moved
as far up on the spring as allows. it'll touch the top spring perch and that's
fine. as you compress the spring, the two clamps will move towards each
other.
depending on spring wind, depending on # of coils between the clamps, etc)
that when fully compressed, you still may lack the necessary clearance to
tip-tilt out the spring/clamp unit.
fix - lower the car onto jack stand(s). use floor jack to just touch and
apply tension to the LCA. in my case, using a T-50 torx socket, loosen
the sway bar fitting at the point it attaches to the LCA (see photo).
this fastener used Loctite blue, though with a 15" breaker bar, it easily
separated the bond and the ratchet loosened the rest of the way. the
purpose for the floor jack is because the weight of the LCA does introduce
a bit of tension to the sway bar fittings. if you don't use a floor jack, the
parts will sproing apart when T-50 is removed. the floor jack will make
installation a snap 30 second job, whereas w/o, you'll have to muscle and
index all that weight so that the holes line up for the T-50
In my case, I only needed about 1/2" more clearance to tilt out the springapply tension to the LCA. in my case, using a T-50 torx socket, loosen
the sway bar fitting at the point it attaches to the LCA (see photo).
this fastener used Loctite blue, though with a 15" breaker bar, it easily
separated the bond and the ratchet loosened the rest of the way. the
purpose for the floor jack is because the weight of the LCA does introduce
a bit of tension to the sway bar fittings. if you don't use a floor jack, the
parts will sproing apart when T-50 is removed. the floor jack will make
installation a snap 30 second job, whereas w/o, you'll have to muscle and
index all that weight so that the holes line up for the T-50
from the perch. Loosening the swing arm linkage for a minute was sufficient
to gain the slack needed. the spring was then easily removed and the new
spring inserted. The T-50 was replaced and retorqued. I put a dab of Loctite
blue on it as well.
The time it took to remove T-50, compress the spring, swap out and reinstall
the new spring took no more than 20 minutes.
Insofar as whether the center spindle type spring compressor has merit over
the the side-saddle design is unknown to me. In my particular application, I
think the side-saddle compressor wouldn't work as well. When installing or
removing a spring, I can see the advantages of the coaxial design....as it
allows me to rotate the spring and to index it into the spring pad, or index
into the LCA's spring channel with more flexibility. eg I can rotate 10º, 90º,
180º, 270º etc simply by spinning the spring. with the side-saddle design,
I'm limited to roughly 90-120º before the telescoping spindle impinges upon
some body or suspension structure (perch, body, frame, sway bar LCA). this
is just an educated guess on my part.
p.s. Maximus, for some reason the lower shock mount on mine on all four
points were SAE, thus 17mm and 19mm didn't work. I had to hunt down
5/8" from neighbor's toolbox. so just be aware.... maybe my metric socket
had too many points but it kept slipping
02-05-2007, 06:32 PM
#27
MBWorld Fanatic!
Thread Starter
this was before. the fronts dropped 1" and will continue to settle prob another
.5". the rear will lower another 1" but I'll prob add a thicker spacer so that there
is a scootch of rake. that's why i opted to purchase the spring compressor,
knowing that i would be changing them out several times until i was satisfied
with the gap. i dont want slammed look as we have some decent grades and
hills here in Seattle. but I also couldn't stand the Mike Tyson teeth gap that
you see in the photo.
.5". the rear will lower another 1" but I'll prob add a thicker spacer so that there
is a scootch of rake. that's why i opted to purchase the spring compressor,
knowing that i would be changing them out several times until i was satisfied
with the gap. i dont want slammed look as we have some decent grades and
hills here in Seattle. but I also couldn't stand the Mike Tyson teeth gap that
you see in the photo.
question ... are you gonna align it right away, or wait a few days for the springs to settle?
02-05-2007, 07:59 PM
#28
MBWorld Fanatic!
two weeks of off-roading seems to be the recommended practice.
I want the static sag to complete its drooping before spending $100
or whatever, getting an alignment. if the drop crosses the threshold,
then i'll have camber issues and that'll add to the cost. but for me,
I'm trying to keep to 1 to 1.25" drop...max.
I want the static sag to complete its drooping before spending $100
or whatever, getting an alignment. if the drop crosses the threshold,
then i'll have camber issues and that'll add to the cost. but for me,
I'm trying to keep to 1 to 1.25" drop...max.
02-05-2007, 08:44 PM
#29
MBWorld Fanatic!
Thread Starter
ray -- are you gonna drive the car as it settles, or are you garaging it?
here's my dilemma ... i was gonna drop the car next weekend, but then i was also planning on driving to vegas (about 500 miles round trip) before aligning (so it can settle, etc.). was wondering if that would be bad for my tire wear.
here's my dilemma ... i was gonna drop the car next weekend, but then i was also planning on driving to vegas (about 500 miles round trip) before aligning (so it can settle, etc.). was wondering if that would be bad for my tire wear.
02-05-2007, 09:48 PM
#30
MBWorld Fanatic!
you need to put real life load on it. parking and waiting for it to settle isn't
really going to do the trick. in effect, you're breaking in the spring...allowing
metal to take on its own personality. static sag is one thing. stressing it so
that the road undulations 'work' the spring is another.
by all means drive it around a little but bear in mind that yes, the tires may
also wear unevenly. hard to predict what the wear will be as each
car, each spring combination, each drop, etc varies. unless your drop is
severe, ie slammed, 500 miles doesn't sound that traumatic to me.
you're going with euro springs with factory weight, right? generally speaking,
if your drop is about an inch, you may not even encounter camber issues. but
then again, i dont know what your specs are to begin with so hard to say
in the blind...and behind my keyboard. so far, i'm not seeing any red flags.
i'd say enjoy the trip. even if you have suspension problems, if the wear
happens in Vegas, it stays in Vegas, right?
anyone else see a problem?
really going to do the trick. in effect, you're breaking in the spring...allowing
metal to take on its own personality. static sag is one thing. stressing it so
that the road undulations 'work' the spring is another.
by all means drive it around a little but bear in mind that yes, the tires may
also wear unevenly. hard to predict what the wear will be as each
car, each spring combination, each drop, etc varies. unless your drop is
severe, ie slammed, 500 miles doesn't sound that traumatic to me.
you're going with euro springs with factory weight, right? generally speaking,
if your drop is about an inch, you may not even encounter camber issues. but
then again, i dont know what your specs are to begin with so hard to say
in the blind...and behind my keyboard. so far, i'm not seeing any red flags.
i'd say enjoy the trip. even if you have suspension problems, if the wear
happens in Vegas, it stays in Vegas, right?
anyone else see a problem?
