Front Coil Spring Removal

[bigjoeblue]

Have a 91 explorer 4x4,the driver shock tower is rusted through,i wanna replace but have never removed a spring before,i searched the forums,but cant find a write up.I just got a good spring compresser,but some say you dont need it.What are the steps to remove the spring, if anyone is willing to share??? Thanks

 

[Maniak]

Its pretty easy to do. Very easy if you don't have rust...

Jack up the vehicle and suspend it on the frame so the front suspension can hang. Pull the tires off.

Disconnect the sway bar links from the axle beams. This will make it easier.

Now put a jack under the RA, right under the spring and jack it up a little so its not pulling down on the spring.

Disconnect the shock from the the lower shock mount (just makes things easier).

Now use a 1 1/16" wrench (I'm 95% sure thats right) and take that big ol nut off at inside the spring, at the bottom. I just use a combo wrench. You don't need to use a socket.

Once that nut is off, see if you can rotate the spring.. The last step is to rotate the spring out of the top of the mount. I usually lower the jack some to make it pull out and rotate at the same time..

It sounds like a lot of steps, but its pretty quick to do.

I can tell you though that if you have rust on that lower spring bolt, your gonna fight it taking it off. I have a wrench I cut the end off of so I could use my high lift jack to get extra force on it.. Worked great at the junk yard when I was pulling the suspension off.

Long wrench with cheater bar by maniak_az, on Flickr

~Mark

 

[bigjoeblue]

Wow great! Thanks for the fast reply..One question,is the spring still under tension,after I jack it up and put it on stands? Do I need the spring compressor?

 

[Xeek]

no, with the shock and sway bar disconnected its only hanging by the spring.
i managed to jump up and down on the knuckle to get my spring to pop out, with the bolt fully tightened.
then used a socket with extensions to take it off at a much easier angle now.

and mark, i did hear 1 1/16th but also 1 1/8. i used 1 1/8 myself and it fit perfect in my case

 

[Maniak]

Ive used a 1 1/8 too. 28mm also fits. I actually have a 1" square nut on one side now.

~Mark

 

[Roadrunner777]

^^^ 1-1/8. Walmart has a giant 1-1/8 box end wrench in with their trailer hitch stuff, pretty cheap if I recall, that's what I used to get mine loose. But, I messed up th nut some. Anyone happen to know what thread that is?

 

[drlower]

I second the 28 mm as far as the size and a little heat on that could help as well.

 

[Jason94sport]

Its pretty easy to do.

Not in my view. PITA. I did it twice.
You need the right tools. Air helps. LONG breaker bar helps. And not sheering off the lower shock mounts help.

 

[SwaintaN]

Harbor Freight has a great wrench for this its about 2 ft long and the boxed end is a ratcheting end, i picked it up for 14.99

 

[Maniak]

You can always use the trick of combining 2 combo wrenches to extend the length/leverage. I tend to do that as its quicker to use than to use my special wrench with the high lift handle on it.

As for being a pain to take off, I guess I've taken the front end apart enough time to do it quick. I can pull a spring out in about 10-15 minutes in the junk yard. At home its faster since the threads on my bolts are clean. There is also very little rust here (if any), so that helps too.

I found this vid on youtube. It shows what I'm talking about by combining 2 wrenches for more leverage.


~Mark

 

[DeRocha]

As the others have already mentioned you don't need a spring compressor as the coil springs will not be under any compression with the axle in the air.

The Dana35 restoration thread has additional info and pics.