Fitting front springs

[Adam]

Ok, for a long time I'd tried (with varying degrees of success) to use spring compressors to fit gemini front springs, the problem was that the control arm would always hit on the compressor making them hard to use.

So I tried a little bit of experimenting, I found that with the balljoint(s) popped, you could force the lower control arm down enough to 'seat' the spring. Problem was, that the control arm was way too far down to do back up the balljoints, so I used a 6 foot length of RHS (12mm square section steel tubing with a 1.6mm wall thickness) to lever the lower control arm back up, then I supported the control arm with a jack once it was horizontal enough for the spring not to pop out.

This tip is very very dangerous, if you mess this up you could have a spring fly out with a stunning amount of kinetic energy, enough to KILL AND MAIM, do not try this unless you are absolutely sure it is safe. In fact, I'll tell you now, it isn't safe, don't do it... But I do.

If I can do it with my standard height king springs, then most other springs should be a cinch.

[Benjamin]

Another almost as dangerous method involves compressing the spring and using very strong and thick fencing wire, wrap around the coils and twitch.

To compress the spring, I placed the spring on level ground under the chassis rail of a jacked up Holden 1-Tonne ute. Lower the jack until the spring is compressed and use the above method. Watch the spring doesn't jump out from under the ute...

You can now insert the spring compressed

[JFK]

holden made a proper tool for removing springs how it works
you have to remove the shock firstly and then the tool is inserted were the shock goes all it is is a piece of threaded rod you tighten it up and it realises pressure of the ball joint u then undo the ball joint and back the nut on the tool off to realise the spring excuse the lack of spelling lol when i get a scanner or digital camera ill post a pic of the tool.

[Doug]

If you've got axle/car stands(on the jacking points of the body),you can put the whole car up high enough so you can put a hydraulic jack under the lower control arm.Then use a tyre changing lever(or a length of solid flat steel a couple of cm's across) on the lower seat,
put the spring in the top seat and rest it on the lever(a bit a grease on the lever helps),then lift the lever using both hands and push the spring into the lower seat with your
feet.
Taking off the steering knuckle and shockie obiviously help(the first time i did it i didn't bother though).
I've done this twice,and the last time on dirt.
This isn't easy,but the higher you get the body off the ground,the less you'll need to compress the spring.
It sounds dodgy, but if you wear boots and get the car high enough,it's relatively safe.

[Stock TE]

I did it the same as you Adam except I didnt use the RHS I just used the standard Gemini jack under the control arm and jacked it up till I could connect the lower ball joint.

[lowrideTG]

i just cut 3 coils off, that makes em fit real easy

[Ron]

The previous methods sound a bit dangerous. Compressed springs have a lot of energy and can be dangerous if they let go. The GMH compressor sounds the safest way, but you cannot get them anywhere .... maybe make one up as it sounds simple.

I have used a normal strut type spring compresser cut down so that you can remove the compressor from the spring once it is in place. The trick is to fit it in a preloaded state. I jack it against something solid, a heavy car is okay. I compress the spring about 50 mm then fit the compressor bolts. Hence the maximum length of the "cut down" Macpherson type compressor is about the length of the gemini spring less 50 mm. You can then compress the spring further using the compressor and fit it in the upper arm. The problem of course is that the Gemini design requires the spring to form a curve, like a boomerang and this means compressing it more on one side then the other. The spring then is easy to fit. After fitting the spring into the upper and lower arms, jack the lower arm into position, fit the stub and remove the compressor biolts. The reason why you use a cut down compressor is to get enough room to undo the compressor bolts and still have enough room to get it out of the way. A standard length Mac Pherson type compressor fouls the arms, so it needs to have the bolts shortened.

Once I trialled a few times I found the right length needed for the compressor bolts (mine are 190 mm total bolt length) and fitting the front springs only took about 10 minutes each side. You must take care that any compressed spring cannot suddenly release and take body parts with it. I do not support using feet to push it in place as an earlier suggested method!! If the spring is shorter than standard, it will probably fit simply by holding it in place and jacking the lower arm up to meet it. Not so with standard height springs.

The use of cut down rear springs is very dodgy ( new topic here) The problem is that the car can rebound such that the spring is loose in the brackets. This is highly illegal and dangerous because the spring can dislodge from its mounting and if for example you reach "lift off" over a speed bump, it can be fairly exciting when you land. The police will give you an immediate defect notive if they catch you. Use proper springs that have been desinged to fit the standard length but still lower the car, this is only possible if the coils are variable rate to give lots of compression under light load and get hard at your desired ride height (most reputable spring makers know this). The alternative is to limit the length of the rebound stroke of the rear shockers to prevent the spring rattling around on full rebound.

[Stock TE]

To remove the front springs on my car I popped the balljoints and let the lower control arm down slowly, then pushed it even lower with my feet. Even with the lower control arm down as far as it could go, it took me 5-10 minutes to lever the spring out, and as it popped out all it did was make a loud noise and dropped to the ground. So I dont see how it could simply pop out and kill or maim some body.

[Stock TE]

To make the lower control arm easier to lower you undo the bolts that go through the bushes. But dont forget to lower the car before doing them back up, if you do not do this you will wear out the bushes very quickly.

[HOP_A_LONG]

What the hell is wrong with you all?
I took my springs out and put em back in with compressors easily.
To put em back in I just marked where I used the compressors to get em out, held the spring in a vice and squeezed the fucker as much as possible, Stuck it back in and jacked up the lowed control arm. I did all this with the s/bar off the car to make life simple.
PIECE OF PISS!!!

[Poida]

Some of the methods of handling springs suggested in this post are bordering on insane.

What ADAM and RON suggest is dead right.

Handling a compressed spring is a dangerous situation. To suggest squashing the spring under another car and wrapping it in wire to hold it compressed should not be posted here! If someone were to attempt such methods in a workplace environment and injury was caused there would be extremely strong grounds for a negligence case.

We should not be posting comments that could cause serious injury if something were to go wrong.

Not all of us are able to rationalise the consequences of an escaped loaded spring. Let me assure you.... it could kill in an instant. It has the capacity to dismember body parts, and to easily penetrate and pass through a sheet of roofing iron.

Is it worth such risk? Lets be sensible about what information we pass on to others.

I ask that these unsafe comments be removed from this workshop tip.
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