Coil Springs on a C3 made easy!

[damoroso]

Okay, it's stupid hot and humid here, and I decied to do the front suspension on my 81. I was tired of fighting to get the coil springs back in so I sat back and came up with a different approach that works really well, is safe and easy. I was so surprised by how easy it was, I did it about a half dozen times to make sure I just didn't get lucky the first time!!

You'll need a standard coil spring compressor (not the kind for struts), a floor jack, piece of wood (for protecting that new finish!) and a good kick!

Start with the control arms in place:


You'll use the spring compressor with only the threaded rod and threaded set of hooks:


Pull the hooks off and drop the threaded rod through the upper shock mount hole at the top of the spring pocket on the frame:


Thread the hooks on the rod, you'll be pulling the spring towards the frame pocket:


Slide the spring over the compressor, making sure the wider spaced coils are at the top and the spring is in position to fit into the lower CA spring pocket. The positioning will be obvious if you look into the pocket of the lower CA..


Now snug up the spring compressor. It won't take much, and you don't want to much tension on the spring, you don't need it. If you put too much tension in the spring it'll be harder to get in place. Once you get tension on the spring, lift the lower CA just enough to touch the spring. You can see in the pic, the spring isn't compressed much and the arm wasn't brought up much.


Push the spring into place as best you can, sit back and give it a good kick!


Once it's in place, lift the control arm with the jack and bolt the steering knuckle into place. Then release the tension on the spring compressor, removing the threaded rod. Drop the hooks through the bottom of the control arm, and there you have it, coil spring in place!

 

[mrvette]

And here I have fought that SO many times from down under,....

you make me feel stooopid.....

:drink::crap:prrtt:

 

[SmokinBBC]

That looks so much easier than compressing from the bottom.

 

[MYBAD79]

This is in my opinion the best way to remove or install the coil spring. I built this from HomeDepot All-thread, flat steel (1/4" thick) and washers/nuts for under $20.... caution: do not use the galvanized crap that they sell..... I made this thing long enough so you can "grab" the spring at a lower coil compared to standard spring compressors. I never documented the process as well as Damaroso... actually at the time I realized that with the 550lbs springs you don't need a compressor at all because the spring is so short... stock springs need to be compressed over 2" (dangerous with the wrong tools).

 

[denpo]

This is in my opinion the best way to remove or install the coil spring. I built this from HomeDepot All-thread, flat steel (1/4" thick) and washers/nuts for under $20.... caution: do not use the galvanized crap that they sell..... I made this thing long enough so you can "grab" the spring at a lower coil compared to standard spring compressors. I never documented the process as well as Damaroso... actually at the time I realized that with the 550lbs springs you don't need a compressor at all because the spring is so short... stock springs need to be compressed over 2" (dangerous with the wrong tools).

Same tool here, but I took 1.5" long bolt, better safe than sorry.
At the time I couldn't use the jack trick since the frame was bare.
My coils are rated 474lbs, having them compressed all the way up was the most stressfull moment of the resto to date.

 

[sssuch]

Wow thanks Damoroso , I have been doing this the hard way for the last 37 years ! Looks like this Old Fart can still be taught something new. Stan

 

[damoroso]

Thanks guys, like everyone else, I've been doing these things the "traditional" way for a long time, and it sucked every time. I'll never dred doing it again!!

 

[68/70Vette]

I have a bare frame and this is the way I installed by 550# springs.

I approached the frame from the front with a floor jack. The frame was elevated on jack stands. I rolled the jack under the front frame extention and then placed the jack lifting arm under the lower control arm. At this time the lower control arm was hanging loose. I positioned the spring in the lower control arm socket and positioned the upper part of the spring in the frame spring tower. (At this juncture, the upper part of the spring won't go completely straight into the frame spring tower, the spring will be maybe an inch off center.) Next use a chain around the bottom of the floor jack and over the top of the frame extention. Two or three loops. Now...just jack up the lower control arm a little bit. (The chain will keep the frame from rising as you rise the lower control arm) The spring will be about 1 inch to the side of being perfectly aligned to fit into the spring tower. Get a short piece of 2X4 wood, hold it against the spring, and and with the spring under a little tension, wack the spring with a big mallet. The spring will snap into place, contimue jacking up the control arm and then hand tighten the ball joint nut to connect the lower control arm to the spindle. Your done with compressing the spring.
No mucking around with spring compressors!!!

 

[mrvette]

I have a bare frame and this is the way I installed by 550# springs.

I approached the frame from the front with a floor jack. The frame was elevated on jack stands. I rolled the jack under the front frame extention and then placed the jack lifting arm under the lower control arm. At this time the lower control arm was hanging loose. I positioned the spring in the lower control arm socket and positioned the upper part of the spring in the frame spring tower. (At this juncture, the upper part of the spring won't go completely straight into the frame spring tower, the spring will be maybe an inch off center.) Next use a chain around the bottom of the floor jack and over the top of the frame extention. Two or three loops. Now...just jack up the lower control arm a little bit. (The chain will keep the frame from rising as you rise the lower control arm) The spring will be about 1 inch to the side of being perfectly aligned to fit into the spring tower. Get a short piece of 2X4 wood, hold it against the spring, and and with the spring under a little tension, wack the spring with a big mallet. The spring will snap into place, contimue jacking up the control arm and then hand tighten the ball joint nut to connect the lower control arm to the spindle. Your done with compressing the spring.
No mucking around with spring compressors!!!

Done it that way with the body on the frame, but one caution....

tie that damn spring to the car somehow, one of the lower arm legs is easiest... use a good solid chain or thick boat rope....

I had a mechanic friend show me his garage decades ago, one escaped on him, and went by his head, it took out all 99 walls and surfaces in his garage....he swore he heard the ring by his ears as it took off.....

BTW it was a spring off a early '60's Pontiac Bonneville....spring was a whole LOT tougher than this woosie stuff on a vette....

:twitch::surrender:

 

[clutchdust]

Wow, you guys are all about doing things the hard way. Just get a rod long enough to go all the way down through the shock tower to prevent the spring from killing you, unbolt the ball joint (upper is best), put jack under the lower ball joint and slowly relieve the pressure. This assumes of course that you've already removed the shock. Reassemble in reverse order.

 

[mfain]

Whatever method you use, treat it like a grenade with the pin out. After replacing literally hundreds of coil springs over the years (using all kinds of techniques), I finally lost an inch of my right index finger when a piece-of-crap, Chinese-built coil spring compressor trunion exploded as I was placing the spring in the pocket. The trunion split into three pieces around the bolt -- the effect was instantaneous. My bad, just got careless and trusted the damn thing.

Pappy

 

[MYBAD79]

I have a bare frame and this is the way I installed by 550# springs.

I approached the frame from the front with a floor jack. The frame was elevated on jack stands. I rolled the jack under the front frame extention and then placed the jack lifting arm under the lower control arm. At this time the lower control arm was hanging loose. I positioned the spring in the lower control arm socket and positioned the upper part of the spring in the frame spring tower. (At this juncture, the upper part of the spring won't go completely straight into the frame spring tower, the spring will be maybe an inch off center.) Next use a chain around the bottom of the floor jack and over the top of the frame extention. Two or three loops. Now...just jack up the lower control arm a little bit. (The chain will keep the frame from rising as you rise the lower control arm) The spring will be about 1 inch to the side of being perfectly aligned to fit into the spring tower. Get a short piece of 2X4 wood, hold it against the spring, and and with the spring under a little tension, wack the spring with a big mallet. The spring will snap into place, contimue jacking up the control arm and then hand tighten the ball joint nut to connect the lower control arm to the spindle. Your done with compressing the spring.
No mucking around with spring compressors!!!

The 550lbs coils are a lot shorter than the 460's or the stockers. What you did works well with the short coils but with stock length coils I think it would be a challenge (not to say dangerous).

 

[68/70Vette]

Wow, you guys are all about doing things the hard way. Just get a rod long enough to go all the way down through the shock tower to prevent the spring from killing you, unbolt the ball joint (upper is best), put jack under the lower ball joint and slowly relieve the pressure. This assumes of course that you've already removed the shock. Reassemble in reverse order.

Some of us (me) are describing how to install a spring on a frame that does not have an engine on it and also does not have the frame on it. It seems to me that you are describing how to remove a spring that is already installed. Removing a spring is one thing, installing one is another thing.

It seems that to install a spring, the rod you're discussing is the long screw shaft that others have described to compress the spring. I've used this technique and operating the screw shaft, in my experience, was a lot of hard work. Using the floor jack and chains, even with an empty frame, was an effortless job.

PS......as mrvette recounted, I agree you have to be nervous. Compressing a 550# spring means that if it gets loose, with one inch of compression it propels itself with a force of 550 pounds. Two inches gets you up to 1100 pounds of thrust.

 

[Grampy]

Daytona spring package

The 800 pound "Daytona" front springs are loose in the pocket when you jack up the car. Just remove shock and pop the ball joint and remove. To install just pop spring in the pocket and tighten the nut on the ball joint. No chains, no compressor, no jack required.

I love stiff suspension.

Grampy

 

[mrvette]

The 800 pound "Daytona" front springs are loose in the pocket when you jack up the car. Just remove shock and pop the ball joint and remove. To install just pop spring in the pocket and tighten the nut on the ball joint. No chains, no compressor, no jack required.

I love stiff suspension.

Grampy

I hear you, but my back and neck don't.....:surrender:

Ride like a Caddy, corner like a Ferrari seems to be almost doable these daze...

almost....

:thumbs: