you should only have to use two. never had to use 3. sometimes it's hard but you just have to keep going. make sure there's little to no pressure on the mount from the very top of the spring. you should be able to move it by hand.

i would do this with the spring laying flat sideways on the ground and wearing safety glasses.

though if you do this often, you may want to invest in one of those mechanic spring compressors that make this job quick.

 

Those compressors are what I have so that's how I'm getting the job done. I saw another video where someone compressed only two coils so I'm going to try that.

 

You're correct that you can't fit 2 compressors exactly opposite of eachother. When I did mine I had to offset one compressor and the spring was bending to one side.

Next time mine need replacing i'll just take the strut assemblies to a shop and get it done in 30 seconds. :thumbup:

 

I used the same kind of spring compressor and was able to remove with just 2 compressors (I think, it's been a while), but you do need to compress them the fullest amount possible to relieve the spring tension. Having a third compressor can help manage things as you compress, and I may have used a third on one of the two suspensions I've done.

On reassembly I found it useful to have an extra/3rd compressor to deal with interference from the compressor and spring cups on the shock assembly as you decompress it. If possible leave the spring compressed and just transfer it over to the new shock assembly & mount.

 

This guy compressed the spring with two coils instead of three. I'll try that and see what happens.

World Mechanics
https://youtu.be/xiV46udsjy4

 

Careful, he goes 2 & 3 coils with the compressors. Look after minute 2 or so on the side closest to the guy doing the work.

 

I thought you meant using 3 compressors instead of 2. Not 3 coils. I don't remember even after doing this a hundred times. but yeah you may have to do it unevenly. whatever it takes. it is scarier doing 2 coils though. plus it looks abusive to the spring.

 

Thanks for pointing that out, I was talking about compressors not coils. Its been 2 and 3 years since Ive done this and hard to remember specifics, but I remember it was a challenge to grab enough coils to get it done. On one of the assemblies I definitely remember adding more compressors because it was being difficult.

The video above grabs 2 & 3 coils unevenly.

 

There's nothing wrong with using more compressors to balance things out.
I have 4, and it works well to get 2 on, get more coil off the perch,
then add 2 more to compress the now- exposed coils.

I agree, it's pretty ugly- looking no matter how you do it- to get tension off the strut,
you almost have to bind the coils you can get the compressor onto. The preload on these
things is high, PLUS the inner bump stop in the strut pulls the strut rod into the
housing quite a bit, too.

not my favorite job, either,
t

 

I know this is what you have to work with but these are very dangerous to work with especially if it slips, and you don't want to find out. Try to find something like this sold and readily available without spending a lot of $$

https://www.amazon.com/Goplus-MacPh...t=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9033305&hvtargid=pla-570276525298&psc=1

 

So I have four of these compressors. Best to use all four or go with two? If I go with two, I get two coils on one and three on the other but they are not opposite of each other. Or go with four, compress two and and three coils first and then try to get another three some how?

 

It doesn't seem to me by the nature of your description that you are going about this the right way. The idea of spring compressors is not to compress the spring. It is to hold teh spring preventing the sping from expanding when you remove the load from it. So that means applying the compressors to the spring when the spring is under normal load. Also, when you do so you should place the compressors in such a way as to avoid the end coils. In practice this means that once you have the vehicle safely on axle stands you remove the road wheel and jack up the hub so that it is in the normal riding position. That's when you fit the compressors. To hold the spring in that position. Once the compressors are fitted then you can lower the hub and remove the strut assembly. The spring, in these circumstance, should then be loose on the strut which makes removing the strut from the spring easy. You shouldn't have to touch the compressors again until you have swapped the strut and reattached it to the car. Then you lift the hub again, as before, so that the weight of the vehicle is now applying enough force to hold the spring in teh normal position and yo can then remove the compressors. I am not quite sure how you have gone about this job if you are having to compress the spring before you put the strut back on the car.

 

He does have three coils compressed on one side and two on the other. I'll do it this way and maybe add another compressor.

 

Got my spring off. It's not pretty. It kind of popped off when I took the nut off.

The strut is totally dead. The bump stop looks like half of it is missing.

The strut piston was only out less than 6 inches and the new one is out at 9 inches. I may be able to get the spring on without compressing it any more. Wondering if I should try decompressing it and compressing it again. Thoughts?

 

If you have a new strut, mount, bump stop, etc. ready, try to assemble it with the spring already compressed.

 

Will try...Hopefully the extra three inches between the old strut and new strut will give me enough room to get the nut on.

 

I put the strut assemble together but haven't bottomed the nut yet. Should I bottom the locking nut and start uncompressing the spring even though it doesn't line up with the pad? I'm worried that when I uncompress the spring, it won't line up with the pad. I could get the bottom one to line up but maybe not the top. Check out the pictures.

 

You've got the top nut started fully on the threads correct? Such that strut shaft is all the way through and then some? If so then I think you can start uncompressing the springs and begin the struggle to get the spring & rubber pads aligned correctly on the perches. I did the final torque down of the nut with the car on the ground.

 

LeverThis....I got the nut started but I haven't hit with the torque wrench yet. The shaft is even with the nut so I'll probably go ahead and bottom the nut and then start trying to align the spring on the pads. What's the final torque spec on that nut?

 

I don't remember torque spec offhand, but its in the 30 to 35 ft-lb neighborhood I think. It should be on newtis.info

I cant remember if I bottomed out the nut before decompressing the spring or if I did that later with the car on the ground.

 

I'll get the nut in with a few threads sticking out and then try seating the spring. There are four compessors on that spring so it will be hard to slip while tightening the nut. I don't know how I'm going to get the strut back in now that it's probably going to be taller now that the strut is good. lol

 

The height will be determined by the spring, not the strut. The strut just dampers the spring.

 

G'day,

I had a right laugh doing this job too.

I knew its a close call getting spring compressors that dont end up "bottoming out" so to speak before compressing the spring & thought I'd bought the right ones to do the job, based on the springs coil size etc.

The strut had other ideas. The ones i bought were good quality, but i just needed a bit more. I ended up borrowing a mates set & used those in conjunction with mine to do the job no worries.

As others have said, this can be a dangerous job if you dont approach it with caution but if done so, its not too bad.
Like others have said, lay the strut down away from you & anything you cherish in your garage/driveway if things go pear shaped.

Some people also strategically place a few shop towels around in case the thing turns into a missile !

I think those compressors linked in one of the previous posts look better for this type of short spring.

 

Today I try lining up the springs on the pads. Wish me luck!

 

I've got the spring on but the bottom is not totally on the bottom pad.

Otherwise the spring looks good.

 

You need to re-compress the spring and rotate it in order for it to seat on the botton

 

I was afraid of that! :-(

 

Where does the lower part of the spring seat? I looked at my old strut and pad and it looks like it doesn't sit in the dip on the mount. I should have taken better pictures before I took it apart.

 

Just found a picture. It doesn't fit in that dip. Weird!

 

I believe I have the spring mounted correctly on the pads now. I haven't bottomed out the nut yet. I tried and the shaft was spinning. Do I need to grab the piston with a cloth and vise grips to keep it from spinning?

I have the Schwaben Strut Nut Socket but I guess you can't use an impact wrench with it. Do I need to compress the spring to bottom the nut or just put it on the car and finished it there?