mouramen

I guys,

I was stuned by the prices of spring compressors so has i had nothing to do this past weekend i made some home made spring compressors,
used a M20 screw, 2 nuts, some pipe and 10mm metal sheet, here's the result:

mouramen

The front and the back of my baby weren't even, the front was a bit too high, so i decided to put smaller spring pads, here's the compressor in action:

mouramen

A pic of the spring removed:

mouramen

The rubber of the 3 bumps pad (18mm) was ok so i decided to cut them as much as i could so i made them a quarter bump pads (2mm) LOL

This is the rubber i sawed off:

rooney2006

dude, that is a ballsy move. if the spring popped lose, that could mean bad news for mouramen and his appendages/fingers.

Federic0W124

***** or brains.
can't have both when it comes to
spring compressors.

CDP

wOrD!

mouramen

Ahhhhh, shut up......

Here´s the final height dudes:

shadowgriffen

looks really good mour

myfirstbenz

Looks as good as any other compressor... I don't see the problem. I'd make something like that too. It's a spring, not a grenade, sheesh folks. Nice work

rooney2006

spring under pressure = grenade

Saijin_Naib

Ya rly :\
Springs terrfiy me.

myfirstbenz

oh brother, how about little spiders

Saijin_Naib

Yes, any spiders at all actually bleh!

myfirstbenz

Springs do store a lot of energy... however if you lay them on their side the energy has no where to go, so it won't propell it anywhere... they really aren't that bad.

My spring compressor won't work on the w124, so I just compress the a-arm with the jack and release the pressure that way, it is so simple and free.

ZedStyle

are you saying you can remove your springs without a compressor?


edit: good job mouramen, i'm not sure i would have the ***** to trust nothing to pop off, but there's nothing like doing the job yourself, let alone making the frikkin tools too!

myfirstbenz

yes, you can remove the springs w/out a compressor. Ex. For the front, put the car on jack stands... then w/the wheel off, place the jack under the ball joints and apply pressure so that the spring starts compressing... then remove the strut bolts so that it is free, and then you can slowly let the jack release... I can't remember If I had to remove the caliper or not, it has been some time. But this really works like a charm.

Watch this....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yjkTSFmmE6E

ZedStyle

damn, nice.... might have to attempt this.

raymond g-

spring removal w/o spring compressor is very do-able. but (!) the devil is in
the details. there is a gamble involved just as there is in crafting your own
spring compressor from scratch. provided all is done with attention to
safety, and with sufficient safety nets, either of the above can be done.

i've actually found that lowering the control arm *and* compressing the
spring...both aids in ease of spring swap. since I have been doing my own
lowering (sampling different springs, swapping out spring pads, as well as
shocks) I'm actually quite adept now. coincidentally am doing my final
spring/shock change tomorrow. I've alotted approx 3 hours total for both jobs.

but i digress: spring change w/o compressor... my recommendation is to use
two floor jacks to assist in maintaining alignment. think twice, proceed
carefully and slowly.

n8nod9it

Yeah you can compress/decompress a spring with a jack method. BUt...For safetys sake you can use some heavy duty zip ties and link them to the spring and then to something on the suspension. It keeps the spring from springing out and hitting anything if it comes off the jack or whatever...Safety first!

Jim's500E

Yep, no compressor needed for a W124...the rears will just fall out if you take off the 3 bolts on the lower arm and lower it.

Fronts are tricky like said but its easy if you go slow. Do it once and you're a pro. I actually would prefer to use the KLANN type compressor (excellent DIY one above he made) up front without disassembing but have done it with a few jacks and stands on a few occasions. No problem.