Them angle grinder discs are no joke. I had a 4 1/2” disc come apart and a piece of it went through my welding chaps and tore my leg open on the inner side of my right knee. Had to had several internal stitches and 15 staples to close it up.
Itll be alright, just... Dont use hose clamps.. dont ask me why i know that either... Just... Dont use hose clamps... I promise you, there is not a number of hose clamps that will both hold that coil and actually fit on that coil 😂
Was so glad that something told me to put on a pair of those gray sorta leather and cloth gardening gloves, because I had to "just make a quick cut". Disc exploded and sliced into my right hand glove in the web area between your thumb and 1st finger. Left a heck of a red mark on me and a piece was stuck in the glove. When you say: oh it'll just take a second......that's when the 💩 will hit the fan and you better put some safety gear on.
I've been doing this for 40 years and I've never had to compress a front suspension coil spring just let your jack down slowly the spring just falls out. replace your control arm. Put the spring back in there and jack it up good to go
I'm glad you wrote this. I was thinking the same exact thing or if you're working on a lift you can just put One of the big jack stands under and then use the lift to raise it up
Only problem with that is when you do a Ford panther platform from the late 70s to the 90s. Ford puts a lip in the control arm, so it’s a huge pain in the ass to get over that little hump. When you lower the control arm, the spring arcs sharply, then you have to pry it out with a prybar and it goes flying. What I do is put a ratchet strap on the inside of the curve to hold it in that shape to get it back in the control arm. Taking it off is a little trickier. Have to use two tiedown straps to get over the lip.
When your only using a jack this helps when your trying to lift a truck 6 inches. But the outside spring compressor works fine. And is much simpler than the inside because you can still put the strut in while its compressed
Back when struts and springs did not come as a unit, I used the weight of the car to uninstall and reinstall the replacement strut. Also used that same method to remove and replace springs on any vehicle with A frames. Never was in any danger.
Not a mad lad, just wise enough to not waste all that money on those chinsy compressors or waste all that time trying to get hurt. The floor jack under the control arm, I've never done it another way. Quick and easy peasy! The rookies these days!
Please do not put your fingers in any holes even if it’s just to feel around, just had a coworker lose his whole finger because he put his finger in the bottom bolt hole for the front struts and he was prying on the spring to get the bolt lined up and used his finger to feel for it and his pry bar broke loose and I had to fish his finger out of the hole but by then it was too late to get his finger back on and then I left it in the garbage can and a bird came by and ate it, dead serious this just happened in the last 48 hours please be careful with suspension systems!
Had a spring compressor pop loose on a 3/4 ton pick up truck one day while in the process of replacing the lower control arm bushings. That big heavy spring flew right by me like a bottle rocket, shot 40 feet across the shop then tore a big chunk of concrete out of a cinder block wall. They most definitely can(and will!) remove half of your skull in one second flat!
First off..... Unload it before working near it Secondly..... A ratchet strap goes a LONG way! Best thing to do IF the spring isn't going back in is cutting torch or my go to, a plasma cutter before removing any components and voila, no more TONS of fun springs looking to kill anything in sight! (SEE what I did there? 😂)
or you can put a floor jack under the spring and remove the compression tool and then slowly lower the floor jack. Making sure that your head and body are out-of-the-way. Ha ha.
@@cIick_bait As have I, but remember that people of all walks of life come to CZcams to look for advice. Too many of them shouldnt even by all accounts be anywhere near a coil trying to do anything with it. Seeing comments like this will come across to them as it being a safe enough deal, which it isn't. I am a collision tech and have been a mechanic prior to that, so while I would also complete the job as fast as possible, like you did, we have been around cars wrenching and gaining experience. I just dont want anyone getting hurt. This video isn't about how to change your serpentine belt.
Yeah I'm confused if he just unhooks the shock and let's the jack down the pressure will come off.... it's not like the spring is 6 feet long? I've mostly messed with ford's never needed a compressor? unless I'm missing something on this vehicle?
I'm a mechanic and I can tell you for certain brother the tip at the end of the video was the best tip of the day make sure you got enough room to wind that down cuz if that's spring explodes out of there you going to get it hurting
When I was a kid I saw this old man go flying through the air in the junkyard between rows of cars. He looked like he was dead laying in the dirt next to an old gremlin. A coil spring head came out and hit him in the chest and blew him about 20 ft through the wrecking yard. I learned a life lesson right there as a teenager I will never forget ✌️
Free advice. Add a small chain inside the spring and wrap it around the outside too and then wrap around a frame component and put the hook through a link. If the spring compressor fails and it can very easily, the chain dampens the spring if a failure occurs and it will not kill you. Words to "live" by.
The thing that absorbs the shocks is the spring the Damper (that you called the shock absorber) damps out the oscillations thereby stopping the car/truck from bouncing about
I believe it says that option is in the instructions when you use the kit... It also makes it so much easier to put the lower control arm back up into place and secure the lower ball joint when that spring is compressed the way you did in the video. 😎
Service manuals have their place and everyone should read the manufacturer's steps. Only those that have a keen sensibility and a grasp on physics & mechanics and have an adventurous spirit should ever veer from the manufacturer's instructions.
@@AT-wl9yq You are proof that the internet is not lacking in the moronic populations. Just keep believing that whatever you think, must be true. You'll go places
For the last 30 years, I've been using the outside compressors to squeeze it down and then I take a roll of mechanic's wire and tie it down with about 10 wraps on each side. The old spring can be pryed out with a pry bar once you undo the ball joint.
Well put a jack under lower a arm… compress (hack up on arm to just start to compress spring.) Remove shock… remove any mountings holding the upper and lower arms together…. Slowly let off jack .. spring will decompress and fall out? Note : you will need enough jack travel to allow full decompression of spring )
Or just undo the top nut to the shocks then as you jack the car up the spring will decompress. Then do same thing backwards to do the bolt up for the new springs
I use a 3’ industrial threaded rod through the frame shock hole , spring then down through lower arm shock hole. Have a thick steel plate that’s double nutted to hold in place. I use greased washers where it goes through frame and use a nut to compress spring. As a safety ting i run a chain around a coil and lock it to the frame to keep it from killing me. Works every time. Helped getting it and arm back up to. Got this off HORSEPOWER TV. My friends borrow it. They love it. 1 ton springs are no problem. Use grade 8 nuts !
My f150 you can just undo the shock absorber and drop the wheel until there's no more stored energy in the spring, since there's a retaining cup and a damn 1.125" nut holding it down
i have never been comfortable working on springs that thing can kill you so thanks for sharing some really good advice as i knowi seriously don’t want to be hurt or killed working on a car
Bro, once had to do a lower ball joint in a gravel driveway after my grandmother came home saying the “wheel fell off.” Get to the scene, to find the castle nut had backed off because no carter pin had been installed. I basically just took a chance on compressing the whole thing with a Jack. Shock was still in place. Spring had deseated… So just figured screw it. Problem was, to get enough clearance under the control arm to compress the spring and install the knuckle, I had to Jack that corner of the truck up, as it was sitting on that lower arm. Kind hard to compress the spring when that corner is already sitting on another Jack. This would’ve been helpful had it been an option.
I get one of my Jack's and put plenty of pressure on the lower control arm and then I wrap chains on each side of the springs this happens after compress the spring as far as it goes. Bolt the chains and release Jack.
I think the only good thing about having a 2wd Silverado, is it has shock/strut packs on the front (2008 body style). Im able to change them without having to remove the tire, or the control arm bushings. It takes less than 30mins to replace both sides.
Ive seen people compress it down by putting pressure with a jack. Then tie it up with a heavy duty ratchet strap. And that seems to work pretty good. Scarier ideas are the zip ties. Probably will work but really scary.
It's 2WD. Either get an internal plate compressor for 2wd OR just put a floor jack under the lower control arm, remove bolts and lower stright down. Easy. Installing new spring might need a compressor if the spring is heavy duty. Truck will lift when you raise the jack. Removal is easy though.
Although I am a firm believer in coil spring compressors I have to admit there are times they are hard to use because of a lack of space. Why not just put the car near the ground and use the floor jack to slowly release the pressure off the coil spring and pull it down
This is a great method👍 The comments tho; never thought someone was crazy enough to use a floor jack but maybe 80s sedans have weak springs unlike a 16’ Ram 1500 at 6000lbs.
I saw a short of a guy that was changing a loaded strut with an impact, it was laying on the floor and he was sitting down with his legs out and the strut pressing against his feet... When that impact did is job with removing the nut... He felt it...
Years ago with cars with the A-frame lower control arms if you have a rack lift the car up and you have a Milwaukee hydraulic post Jack we used to on do the bottom of the shock absorber and push it up inside the spring and we would place the jack under the control arm take some tension off and we would remove the two bolts that hold the control arm to frame then we would slowly lower the control arm down and remove the spring and install the new one Jack the controller back in place and put the two bolts in and reinstall shock absorber we used to do both front coil springs within about a half an hour
I have the imprint of a coil spring in a cinder block wall 3 bays away from where it let loose when the spring compressor broke. Luckily no one was hit with it.
For the guys that work on my car thanks. This is why i give big tips for good work. And i keep my and mechanic. I'm going to own a dump truck company soon. And I'm going to pay the mechanic very well. He will be the blood of my buisness. Not the actual trucks. Without him they don't run.
Ha-ha..."If you die, it ain't my fault"...
👀
Would make a great bumper sticker 🤣
"If you DIE we split your gear"😮
i laughed to
Best disclaimer ever 🤣
only thing more scary than exploding angle grinder discs are coil springs
Them angle grinder discs are no joke.
I had a 4 1/2” disc come apart and a piece of it went through my welding chaps and tore my leg open on the inner side of my right knee. Had to had several internal stitches and 15 staples to close it up.
Itll be alright, just... Dont use hose clamps.. dont ask me why i know that either... Just... Dont use hose clamps... I promise you, there is not a number of hose clamps that will both hold that coil and actually fit on that coil 😂
Good Grief !! If anyone understood this video, you must be a top mechanic.
Or split rims, or garage door springs
Was so glad that something told me to put on a pair of those gray sorta leather and cloth gardening gloves, because I had to "just make a quick cut".
Disc exploded and sliced into my right hand glove in the web area between your thumb and 1st finger.
Left a heck of a red mark on me and a piece was stuck in the glove.
When you say: oh it'll just take a second......that's when the 💩 will hit the fan and you better put some safety gear on.
I've been doing this for 40 years and I've never had to compress a front suspension coil spring just let your jack down slowly the spring just falls out. replace your control arm. Put the spring back in there and jack it up good to go
I'm glad you wrote this. I was thinking the same exact thing or if you're working on a lift you can just put One of the big jack stands under and then use the lift to raise it up
People love making simple things complicated lol I've only used a jack on a setup like this
Saying the same thing lol
Only problem with that is when you do a Ford panther platform from the late 70s to the 90s. Ford puts a lip in the control arm, so it’s a huge pain in the ass to get over that little hump. When you lower the control arm, the spring arcs sharply, then you have to pry it out with a prybar and it goes flying. What I do is put a ratchet strap on the inside of the curve to hold it in that shape to get it back in the control arm. Taking it off is a little trickier. Have to use two tiedown straps to get over the lip.
When your only using a jack this helps when your trying to lift a truck 6 inches. But the outside spring compressor works fine. And is much simpler than the inside because you can still put the strut in while its compressed
Back when struts and springs did not come as a unit, I used the weight of the car to uninstall and reinstall the replacement strut.
Also used that same method to remove and replace springs on any vehicle with A frames.
Never was in any danger.
It's the fine print for me. Instant like and follow. I'll take all the tips I can when it comes to turning wrenches. Much appreciated.
Maybe I'm a mad lad, but I usually just put a jack under the lower control arm lol
Same here…
Same here
Same. Hell I’ve done it with a jackstand and the lift.
Torsion bar gang here looking at all my fingerless spring coil friendos.
Not a mad lad, just wise enough to not waste all that money on those chinsy compressors or waste all that time trying to get hurt. The floor jack under the control arm, I've never done it another way. Quick and easy peasy! The rookies these days!
"May the odds ever be in your favor" 👍🏼👍🏼
Good one!!!!!
You my friend are a gentleman and a scholar for that!!!!!
You’re a gentleman and a scholar…
Just don’t ask to borrow a dollar!
Please do not put your fingers in any holes even if it’s just to feel around, just had a coworker lose his whole finger because he put his finger in the bottom bolt hole for the front struts and he was prying on the spring to get the bolt lined up and used his finger to feel for it and his pry bar broke loose and I had to fish his finger out of the hole but by then it was too late to get his finger back on and then I left it in the garbage can and a bird came by and ate it, dead serious this just happened in the last 48 hours please be careful with suspension systems!
WTF?!?!
Why the garbage can? 😅 why not the freezer so he can eat it later
RIP finger.
I have seen 2 people lose the tip of their finger this way
I always take a small chain up around the frame and around the axle of a floor jack and jump it in place try it works like a champ
Had a spring compressor pop loose on a 3/4 ton pick up truck one day while in the process of replacing the lower control arm bushings. That big heavy spring flew right by me like a bottle rocket, shot 40 feet across the shop then tore a big chunk of concrete out of a cinder block wall. They most definitely can(and will!) remove half of your skull in one second flat!
Absolutely! I definitely don't recommend the inexperienced to mess around with them.
First off..... Unload it before working near it
Secondly..... A ratchet strap goes a LONG way!
Best thing to do IF the spring isn't going back in is cutting torch or my go to, a plasma cutter before removing any components and voila, no more TONS of fun springs looking to kill anything in sight! (SEE what I did there? 😂)
or you can put a floor jack under the spring and remove the compression tool and then slowly lower the floor jack.
Making sure that your head and body are out-of-the-way. Ha ha.
I do this but I also wrap a chain through the spring and around the lower control arm so if it shoots out it won't go far at all.
I do the same with no issues.
This is terrible advice
ive done it on several vehicles including one with a spring that was so long it started to bend sideways. worked great everytime.
@@cIick_bait As have I, but remember that people of all walks of life come to CZcams to look for advice. Too many of them shouldnt even by all accounts be anywhere near a coil trying to do anything with it. Seeing comments like this will come across to them as it being a safe enough deal, which it isn't. I am a collision tech and have been a mechanic prior to that, so while I would also complete the job as fast as possible, like you did, we have been around cars wrenching and gaining experience. I just dont want anyone getting hurt. This video isn't about how to change your serpentine belt.
I never thought of using something other than a floor jack. I’ll keep that in mind.
Floor Jack and a hammer, literally have never used any of those “tools”
With you 100% Floor jack for the win.
Yeah I'm confused if he just unhooks the shock and let's the jack down the pressure will come off.... it's not like the spring is 6 feet long? I've mostly messed with ford's never needed a compressor? unless I'm missing something on this vehicle?
See that's what I was thinking, why is he working so hard?
I'm a mechanic and I can tell you for certain brother the tip at the end of the video was the best tip of the day make sure you got enough room to wind that down cuz if that's spring explodes out of there you going to get it hurting
When I was a kid I saw this old man go flying through the air in the junkyard between rows of cars. He looked like he was dead laying in the dirt next to an old gremlin. A coil spring head came out and hit him in the chest and blew him about 20 ft through the wrecking yard. I learned a life lesson right there as a teenager I will never forget ✌️
This guy knows his stuff. Watch his vid on installing a rack without the normal anchors. I installed mine just the way he suggested. Worked perfect!!
Free advice. Add a small chain inside the spring and wrap it around the outside too and then wrap around a frame component and put the hook through a link. If the spring compressor fails and it can very easily, the chain dampens the spring if a failure occurs and it will not kill you. Words to "live" by.
Thats how i was taught.
Chains sound like you're giving the spring a weapon!
I use ratchet straps 🤷
Man I used ratchet straps
and prayed a lot 🤣🤣🤣
Add a chain for safety just in case it pops out of the pocket.
This is a great idea! Thank you, but keep in mind if you need to use the jack, chain the spring to the lower control arm!
I have the internal spring compressor, and it does work fine. I have also used the floor jack method also. both work.
Never had to do this. I just simply unloaded the spring by carefully lowering the lower control arm.
The thing that absorbs the shocks is the spring the Damper (that you called the shock absorber) damps out the oscillations thereby stopping the car/truck from bouncing about
Shock absorber......... damper.......
Same........ SAME!
What good does it do getting the oscillations moist............ 😂
I use it without tools and never had a problem
I believe it says that option is in the instructions when you use the kit... It also makes it so much easier to put the lower control arm back up into place and secure the lower ball joint when that spring is compressed the way you did in the video. 😎
Service manuals have their place and everyone should read the manufacturer's steps. Only those that have a keen sensibility and a grasp on physics & mechanics and have an adventurous spirit should ever veer from the manufacturer's instructions.
😅
@@ls_812 Or others can end up with pronouns like "was/were"
Why would you be giving advice like that when you don't even work on cars.
@@AT-wl9yq You are proof that the internet is not lacking in the moronic populations. Just keep believing that whatever you think, must be true. You'll go places
For the last 30 years, I've been using the outside compressors to squeeze it down and then I take a roll of mechanic's wire and tie it down with about 10 wraps on each side. The old spring can be pryed out with a pry bar once you undo the ball joint.
Good idea!
Thank you for the good tip and have a blessed day today 🙏
This is always my disclaimer giving mechanic advice on cranes lol
That last quote is like, “yeah it’s going in the shop”
I hire a professional rock climber every time I need to replace my springs.
good tip brother hate when I don't know the right method and make things all hard on myself
That disclaimer tho
Finally, lol that why Im out n the comment section
Same here lol
you had me at "if you die it wasnt my fault"
Just jack the corner up, crank on your spring compressor, and let the jack down. Compressed spring. Did that to install 10mm coil spacers.
Now this is an awesome demonstration!
Now that is the right way to word a disclaimer!
Disclaimer at the end had me cracking up 😂
Well put a jack under lower a arm… compress (hack up on arm to just start to compress spring.) Remove shock… remove any mountings holding the upper and lower arms together…. Slowly let off jack .. spring will decompress and fall out? Note : you will need enough jack travel to allow full decompression of spring )
One of these trucks broke my coworkers hand when the floor jack slipped
35 years a tech and that's a great tip.
A disclaimer has never been more called for 😂
That finger action while the spring was compressed had my butt clenching 😅
I used both types, used the internal ones, then one external one to straighten the spring back up as it compresses with a curve.
Or just undo the top nut to the shocks then as you jack the car up the spring will decompress. Then do same thing backwards to do the bolt up for the new springs
I use a 3’ industrial threaded rod through the frame shock hole , spring then down through lower arm shock hole. Have a thick steel plate that’s double nutted to hold in place. I use greased washers where it goes through frame and use a nut to compress spring. As a safety ting i run a chain around a coil and lock it to the frame to keep it from killing me. Works every time. Helped getting it and arm back up to. Got this off HORSEPOWER TV. My friends borrow it. They love it. 1 ton springs are no problem.
Use grade 8 nuts !
That is a brilliant tip!!!
I bought an alligator style spring compressor that grabs the coil from the outside. Had it for years and it works like a dream on everything.
That's a new one to me thanks for the info 👍
That last bit about dying caught me by surprise.😄👍
How did you get the shock out
1top nut and most likely 2or3bolts though a lower flange into the control arm. And it drops straight down.
My f150 you can just undo the shock absorber and drop the wheel until there's no more stored energy in the spring, since there's a retaining cup and a damn 1.125" nut holding it down
Very nice. Will be using this in the future
Now that's a good idea! I was wondering about that too
Solid free advice!!!
I definitely needed to see this
THATS GENIUS !!
Or use another type that works like a claw/clamshell that compresses the spring evenly at 4 points.
Love the ending lol no matter what tools u use it's always sketchy asf
At that point I'd also put the exterior type on as well, one thing makes me paranoid with vehicles and it's the coils
i have never been comfortable working on springs that thing can kill you so thanks for sharing some really good advice as i knowi seriously don’t want to be hurt or killed working on a car
Thank you so much for that good idea 💡😊
I fkn love the disclaimer 💯😂😂😂😂😂😂
Thanks for the tip 👍
Haha love the disclaimer at the end
Genius. Thank you.
Bro, once had to do a lower ball joint in a gravel driveway after my grandmother came home saying the “wheel fell off.” Get to the scene, to find the castle nut had backed off because no carter pin had been installed. I basically just took a chance on compressing the whole thing with a Jack. Shock was still in place. Spring had deseated… So just figured screw it. Problem was, to get enough clearance under the control arm to compress the spring and install the knuckle, I had to Jack that corner of the truck up, as it was sitting on that lower arm. Kind hard to compress the spring when that corner is already sitting on another Jack. This would’ve been helpful had it been an option.
Great tip Thanks
Absolutely genius
Great tip!
That's why I love my jeep, undo enough stuff and the springs just fall out😂
Liked the video soon as i saw the disclaimer 😂😂
I get one of my Jack's and put plenty of pressure on the lower control arm and then I wrap chains on each side of the springs this happens after compress the spring as far as it goes. Bolt the chains and release Jack.
you can save your money and relieve the pressure off the coil spring by slowly lowering the control arm down by using a floor jack.
I think the only good thing about having a 2wd Silverado, is it has shock/strut packs on the front (2008 body style). Im able to change them without having to remove the tire, or the control arm bushings. It takes less than 30mins to replace both sides.
Ive seen people compress it down by putting pressure with a jack. Then tie it up with a heavy duty ratchet strap. And that seems to work pretty good. Scarier ideas are the zip ties. Probably will work but really scary.
That's a great idea!! I did some of those recently
That's a good way as well.
It's 2WD. Either get an internal plate compressor for 2wd OR just put a floor jack under the lower control arm, remove bolts and lower stright down. Easy. Installing new spring might need a compressor if the spring is heavy duty. Truck will lift when you raise the jack. Removal is easy though.
The harbor Frieght v style compressor works pretty well
Good job man!... 40 years on cars and people dont understand we do what we have to do .... no 2 jobs are the same!
Although I am a firm believer in coil spring compressors I have to admit there are times they are hard to use because of a lack of space.
Why not just put the car near the ground and use the floor jack to slowly release the pressure off the coil spring and pull it down
That ending though😂😂😂
Would love to hear you say "Hi, I'm Larry. This my brother Darrel and this is my other brother Darrel" You sound just like William Sanderson.
I’ve done bunches of these and I’m sure they can be dangerous. But I’ve never felt that I was in any danger.
Great advice
Part of reason i live my torsen bar setup.
This is a great method👍
The comments tho; never thought someone was crazy enough to use a floor jack but maybe 80s sedans have weak springs unlike a 16’ Ram 1500 at 6000lbs.
Just lower the a arm with a jack for cryin out loud.
I’m so freaking happy to know this
& so freaking pissed that I didn’t know this years ago
I saw a short of a guy that was changing a loaded strut with an impact, it was laying on the floor and he was sitting down with his legs out and the strut pressing against his feet... When that impact did is job with removing the nut... He felt it...
Years ago with cars with the A-frame lower control arms if you have a rack lift the car up and you have a Milwaukee hydraulic post Jack we used to on do the bottom of the shock absorber and push it up inside the spring and we would place the jack under the control arm take some tension off and we would remove the two bolts that hold the control arm to frame then we would slowly lower the control arm down and remove the spring and install the new one Jack the controller back in place and put the two bolts in and reinstall shock absorber we used to do both front coil springs within about a half an hour
"If you die its not my fault" - awsome 😂
I have the imprint of a coil spring in a cinder block wall 3 bays away from where it let loose when the spring compressor broke. Luckily no one was hit with it.
Use a floor jack and a chain aurong the spring to keep it from flying out when you drop the lower control arm.
Thats exactly what I did last time I took apart the front end on my Lincoln
For the guys that work on my car thanks. This is why i give big tips for good work. And i keep my and mechanic. I'm going to own a dump truck company soon. And I'm going to pay the mechanic very well. He will be the blood of my buisness. Not the actual trucks. Without him they don't run.
The disclaimer is great
I loop a chain thru the shock hole in the lower a arm, keeps the spring from shooting off while SLOWLY lowering the control arm with a jack