Spring Compressor: Will this work?
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1997 E320
Spring Compressor: Will this work?
Saw this on ebay. it is an internal spring compressor. Does anyone know if this will work? looks like the only thing that would keep it from working would be if those bulky heads don't fit through the hole in the control arm where the spring is held in place.
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From: PNW
2001 E430
Looking at it I'd guess no. Of course thats just a guess. When I did my springs I had a similar spring compressor I've used on previous (non MB) cars. I couldn't get it to work. I also had an external type compressor and it wouldn't work either. I ended up wrapping a cargo strap around the springs to keep them compressed and used a floor jack under the control arm to drop them out. Actually went pretty smoothly with the stock springs and even easier with the H&R springs which are much shorter.
This is obviously not the preferred way to do this swap and could be dangerous if you are not careful so proceed at your own risk if you decide to try this method. I've done several spring swaps in the past so I felt confident doing it this way.
This is obviously not the preferred way to do this swap and could be dangerous if you are not careful so proceed at your own risk if you decide to try this method. I've done several spring swaps in the past so I felt confident doing it this way.
Thread Starter
Member
Joined: May 2006
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1997 E320
Look what I found!!!
from: http://www.w124performance.com/images/tools/
from: http://www.w124performance.com/images/tools/
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300E a couple 1994 w124wagon E320 Wagon/,1971MGB Track/Rally, MG Midget Autocross ,2000 E320 wagon.
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Joined: May 2006
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1997 E320
The moral of the story is DO NOT use any spring compressor other than the one DESIGNED to do this. These springs pack huge amounts of energy when compressed and you are likely to loose a finger, eye or your life if you try to compress them with some cheap spring compressor. Especially since you have to compress the spring to almost full compression to get it out. I wouldn't even trust the knock offs they sell on ebay. Either buy or rent the original spring compressor, or have it done by a professional with the right tool, or drop the control arms. And at this point, despite the extra work I think I will not ever use a spring compressor on my car and take the control arm route if I ever need to get a spring out. Better to be safe than handycapped or dead, duh.
And here's the O'Reilly spring compressor that slipped on me. STAY AWAY from this junk.
Last edited by koskesh; Aug 11, 2008 at 03:38 PM.
