Hi Folks
Trying to remove the front spring and I have the Mercedes spring compressor(why?because I have two old Mercs)which has two large round plates a center rod that gets tightened I have managed to compress the spring quite a bit but the top part of the spring that is not under compression seems stuck,do they lock in some way or do they just sit there,perhaps I have the wrong compressor,all advise most gratefully received.

Kind Regards Dan Gardner

 

They just sit there and may or may not have a leveling pad to match spring rate & level the car.

 

It seems like I remember mine being "just stuck" in the top control arm once they were compressed. I think what's holding it is force of habit. Once you have it compressed, take that plate off the bottom control arm and let the spring loose. Then you can wiggle or pry at it as needed. Good luck

 

Thanks Glyn I shall have to wind on more pressure,scary stuff!!!

 

Thanks Gerry its allways scary using spring compressors!!!!

 

The spring won't come out until you release the tension from it, as above you do this by undoing the bottom plate on the lower arm and then when its undone unscrew the spring compressor which should release the tension.

This is assuming of course that you have the rod going through the shock absorber top hole as per the picture below, to put the spring back you need to get some metal rods which you thread at one end so they screw into the lower arm and guide the plate into place. Once its in you can put some bolts in and then remove the plate and put the rest of the bolts in.

 

Thanks for the very detailed photo and information, you seem to have a custom angled bracket at the bottom,at the moment my bottom plate is canted over at an angle
my concern is putting the threads under any sort of pressure if all the spring tension is not removed.

kind regards Dan

 

All I'm using is the tool that lifts a body shell onto my rotisserie. It just a big piece of all thread between two pieces of box section. If your all thread isn't that big you can sometimes knock out a collar in the top shock mounting to get a bigger one in.

 

Hi Dan, you said you have a Mercedes spring compressor. Can you put up a pic of it so we can see what you're dealing with? I built one similar to the one in the pic, but was Very Careful to keep an eye on the condition of the threads in both the nuts and the stock. I ended up making 2 I think, because I could see the thread wearing.

 

As Dan and Jerry have said, this is something to do with extreme care. There was a story of someone a few years ago removing a front spring from his Mk2. The spring escaped from his compressor, flew over his shoulder, and embedded itself in the wall of his house. Apparently, it took some effort to extract from the brickwork ...