the service manual says to put a jack under the control arm spring perch, remove the sway bar end links, remove the control arm mounting bolts. then lower the jack and let the spring down from the rear. removing a spring that way seems easy but installing it back that way seems like it would be a pita to get the control arm bolts back in. has anyone done it this way? I finally found a video of a guy doing it on you tube but he edited out the install saying " its just a reverse". he didn't say how difficult it was to get the bolts to line up or if the car was lifting instead of the spring compressing.

 

To reassemble, use a spring compressor. The type that has a flat plate at the end where the tightening tool goes would be best.

Add a spacer between the head of the press screw and the plate, such that when sufficiently compressed to put together, the press screw doesn't stick out the end of the spring so far that it's impossible to fit into the strut tower. Put the plate under the CA and set the spring on top, then put the hook features of the compressor about a full turn of the coils below the end, so that the spring isn't holding them in place when it's all the way up in its home. Put in the CA bolts, put the floor jack under the CA in such a way that it doesn't interfere with the compressor, then unscrew the compressor and take it out.

Problems with trying to put it back together with nothing but a floor jack are: very hard to get it to go in all lined up where you can put the bolts in; and, esp if the motor is out of the car, the car may start to lift before the spring is compressed enough to get the bolts in.

 

I've done it the way the manuel says at least 3 times in the last couple of years you need a large flat screwdriver to help the the arm go in to pockets ( it will be about 95% there on it's own but sometimes needs to be pushed one way or another with the flat screwdriver.
For lining up the bolt holes use a phillips screwdriver or a drift punch.

I used a spring compressor and put them in one time I will never use a spring compressor again it's safer and way faster to use a floor jack between the pivot bolts and leave the ball joint connected.
Dave

 

im dropping a spring tomorrow. guess I will give this a shot. I hate messing with the front springs. I think its the only thing on a car that im afraid of. ive seen one fly across the room and hit a wall. bout crapped my pants. been afraid of them every since.

 

If you are not compressing the spring to remove it, run a cable or chain through it. If it does slip out, it won't go far.

 

alright. I did this today. I was successful but I have a few things to say about it. this way does feel safer. if the spring did pop out it would go under the car not out towards my head. that part was good. the removal was very easy this way. getting the bolts lined up on the control arm was a total pain in the ****. took longer to get one bolt in than to do the rest of the job. if I had a second set of hands would have gone faster. one person to hold a prybar to line up the holes and one to push the bolt through. other than that went fine. thanks for the info guys. it dawned on me last night that I didn't use a spring compressor. I rented one and it didn't fit the spring. if I had used a compressor the holes probably would have lined up easier.