I am finally back home in the same location as my car. Yes the car is returning with me to Virginia and the truck (POS) is staying parked in Maine.

Before it can travel with me though, I need to get a few things changed out. First up...front struts and springs. Not much problem getting them out, but any recommendations for getting new springs in? Spring compressors don't work for jack****! Suspension techniques springs, 1" lower.

I'm taking pics as I'm working on it, but the internet connection here is so slow that I'm doing good to be able to post this and read the boards. When I get back to VA I'll post them.

 

Just got through doing this to Hitmans car Friday. It's a real Pain in the **** too. We changed his lower ball joints and A-arm bushings over as well-poly). What you're gonna need to do is, take apart the spring compressors (I assume you have the kind that work on the outside). Take both of the single hooks and thread them onto the screw piece. Doing this allows you to put it on the INSIDE of the spring. You only really need one compressor anyhow. Compress the spring as tight as you can get it with an open end wrench. Be EXTREMLY careful, skrew up and it could easily kill you (I'm NOT joking). Place it up in the cavity and, with a jack under the A-arm, jack it into place under the spring. Attach the strut to the spindle and unscrew the compressor (there's a hole in the A-arm it can drop out). bolt everything back in place, the linkage, rotor, and caliper. Make sure the strut bolts are in about the same as how they were originally. You will HAVE to have a front end alignment done, tell them that you installed new springs and struts and to INDEX the springs for you. It is a difficult task, even with the right tools, so don't get discouraged. Be CAREFUL, one mistake and you will be seriously injured, I can't stress that enough. Goood luck....

 

You should be using an internal spring compressor instead of the external units. Get a length of threaded pipe. Slide it onto the screw shaft as follows:

"bolt" side of screw shaft -- slide pipe over shaft -- lower hook -- upper hook. Make sure the lower hook is on the "outside" of the a-arm. Install the upper hook inside the spring as high as you can get it- remember you can spin the hook so it "climbs" the spring.

Indexing is no big deal; the end of the spring in the control arm should be between the two drain holes. It should slightly cover one drain hole, and completely block the other.

If ya did a <a href="search.php?s="><img src="images/top_search.gif" alt="Search" border="0"></a>, you would've found this: https://www.thirdgen.org/techbb2/sho...hreadid=187293 I installed the spring compressor onto the spring/control arm when the control arms were off the car.

Remember to make sure that you seat the upper half of the spring into it's perch in the crossmember all the way.

 

I just did this and I found the installation way easier than the removal. I bought an internal spring compressor. I used this to compress the spring to just the right length. What I mean by this is with the spring seated up in the crossmember and the LCA still bolted to the crossmember, you should be able to swing the LCA up and the end of the spring will sit in it's groove on the LCA (indexed to the right spot of course). Then just jack the LCA up a little and loosen the spring compressor. Then jack the LCA up so that the ball joint stud is in the knuckle. Torque ball joint and voila.

 

Um, I didn't use spring compressors for any of my Eibach's.

FRONT-Undid everything from A-arm (changed A-arm bushings too), dropped A arm down, put spring in, and used a jack to slowy jack the A arm up before I put the spindle and strut back on.

REAR-Undid the shock's and lowered the rear enough to slide the old ones out and the new ones in.


Easy as that.

 

Yeah, I took the A arm off and jacked it into place. No one around here seems to have internal spring compressors. Once the lift is free again at my dad's shop, I'll be dropping the rears out and putting the new ones in. I was planning on taking the shocks off and then just putting the car up slowly to change the rear. Thanks for the help.

 

im with him i didnt use any type of spring compressors

 

Okay, the internet is working here today. I can't wait to get back to my stable internet connection in VA so I can actually read everything that's been posted this week.

Well, suspension is done for this round.

Suspension techniques Front and rear springs

KYB shocks and struts

Hellwig 1 5/16" sway bar (none of the junkyards around have any thirdgens cept for an 86 firebird with the same stuff my car originally had)

TDS wonderbar

Edelbrock Panhard bar

Edelbrock tie-rod sleeves

I'll post the pictures and such early next week when I'm back in VA with a stable internet connection. It was 1.5 hours to do the last post and it'll be as long to do this one.