Anyone in melbourne (or australia) got a jaguar spring compressor tool they could either loan me or sell me? Alternatively has anyone used a spring compressor which goes up through the centre and has clamps which engage the spring on both sides? Mick

 

Hi Mick,

Below is a link to photos of the spring compressor I built at home, which worked great. Lots of other XJ40 owners have assembled similar compressors using a stack of heavy washers instead of the round steel ball I used. You can purchase high-strength threaded rod, dowel pins, nuts, etc. from most industrial supply companies. I purchased the parts for my compressor from McMaster-Carr in the U.S. (mcmaster.com). I'm sure similar companies exist in Australia and Melbourne probably has at least a couple of local companies that could sell you these parts.

Cheers,

Don

Welcome to Jag-lovers - Members Photo Viewing Page

 

Thanks Don. Good photos. As a matter of interest how long was it? The round steel ball looks perfect, two inch diameter?? Now where to find one of those!!! Yes plenty of industrial supplies places in my area for the other stuff and I know a local engineer who will put the dowel right through the centre. Mick

 

Mick,

Here is the genuine Jaguar Tool at the bottom of the photo for comparison.



Don's solution looks just as substantial and safe for releasing the compressed front road spring.

I've read reports of members using three lengths of threaded bar in place of the three spring pan screws and gradually winding it off which always looks a terrifying and dangerous way to release the compression as there's nothing to prevent the spring from flying out.

Graham

 

Hi Mick,

I purchased a 36-inch (91.44 cm) length of threaded rod and after some measuring and test fitting a wooden dowel up through the spring, I cut the threaded rod down to 24 in. (61 cm), which was long enough to fully decompress the spring, and short enough for me to fit up through the spring with the car raised on a pair jackstands at their highest settings which were sitting on two sheets of 3/4 in. (1.9 cm) plywood to gain another 1-1/2 in. (3.8 cm) of ground clearance.

The steel ball is 2 in. (5 cm) in diameter. I copied the use of the ball from a fellow member of the Jag-Lovers XJ40 forum, but in retrospect I think I should have saved myself the trouble and just used a stack of heavy 2 in. washers as others have successfully done.

Cheers,

Don

 

an alternative to the steel ball or stack of washers might be to cut a discarded disc brake caliper piston at the required angle and drill a hole through the bottom

 

Hi plums!

An old brake piston could certainly work, assuming it was sufficiently tall to begin with so that what remained after cutting the required angle would provide enough clearance for turning your wrench. That also assumes the brake piston has not been heat treated and tempered to a Rockwell hardness beyond the capability of average shop tools to cut, or else you'll be doing a lot of grinding.

Note in my photo album I show the first "thrust device" I built using a combination of plumbing fittings, which did involve a lot of grinding. But after it was complete I became concerned that it's excessive length would require a threaded rod so long that I would not be able to fit it up through the spring without finding a way to raise my car even higher.

Cheers,

Don

 

come to think of it ... a piece of pipe with an angle cut would do as well

after looking at your pictures again, i am pretty certain that there would be enough clearance with a disc brake piston as the closed end would be at the bottom and the first few turns can always be done with the wrench handle extending towards the center of the vehicle rather than outwards. (image #9)

Did anyone mention the use of gear oil as being a more suitable thread lubricant than engine oil for the threads?

Found that one in the instruction manual for some other spring compressor.

 

My standard coil spring compressor came with instructions to use "grease" on the threads, so that's what I used on the front spring compressor.

Cheers,

Don

 

I used the Bosch version of JD115. It worked ok. Grease on the threads is a good idea. The rod is very long and the car must be WAY up in the air. The threaded guild pins are of no help and will interfere with turning the t-handle. The engine does not need to be supported from above to remove the subframe. There is plenty of room to support the oil pan below with blocks. The cost to have a shop press all the front end bushing was right at $100.

Oh, and use a four foot piece of pipe to turn the tool after it has tension on it!