• Hi Guest!
    You can help ensure that British Car Forum (BCF) continues to provide a great place to engage in the British car hobby! If you find BCF a beneficial community, please consider supporting our efforts with a subscription.
    There are some perks with a member upgrade!
    **Upgrade Now**
    (PS: Subscribers don't see this gawd-aweful banner
Tips
Tips

Installing springs

Share this page

W

Whitephrog

Luke Skywalker
Country flag
Offline
I'm ready to install the front springs on the Whitephrog. I recall a posting or two in the past from Jack or someone saying how easy it was to install them. Can one of you wise sages repeat that "how do"?
 
It is easy.

Put all together but for the top nut on the spindle. Push the spring in, maybe with your foot.

Put a floor jack under the a frame, jack it up till you can get the bolt on. Done. 10 or 15 min a side.

If the engine is in it is really easy if not have someone sit on the fender.
 
You can also use long bolts to get it started and then progressively switch to shorter ones till you get the spring compressed. This is the method I used as I didn't trust myself with the floor jack. With the A Arm hanging free, you don't need a lot of bolt to pull the spring pan up into place.
JC
 
I'm sorta liking the long bolt approach. Not sure I dn't trust myself with the floor jack. The springs are 9 1/2 inches long. The distance from the spring box to the top is about 7 1/2 inches. If I had a couple of 3 1/2 inch continuously theaded bolts, I should be good to go?
 
I think 3 1/2 inch are fine. I used standard bolts and just swapped them out a couple of times for shorter ones till I got to the proper length.
JC
 
If you use the bolt method, make sure they are coarse thread, it will go faster.

The Jack method is alot faster.

Pat
 
I like the jack method too. It is faster and easier.
 
Works really quick with an Impact Wrench if you have a deep socket..
 
I presume the "kick" technique is used without the front shocks being attached to the upper fulcrum. Correct presumption?
 
Correct, and the A frame is pushed all the way down, so the brake hose(or caliper) must be loose.
 
Yep, that was easy....went across the street & "borrowed" neighbor's 300-lb ex-college football player granddaughter's husband...I held the driver side of the car so it wouldn't rock off the jack stands while he kicked the passenger spring in.....

Then, he leaned over the front radiator support of the car, putting all his weight over the crossmember that goes under the engine, while I jacked the spring up until I could hook it to the shock.....now all I've got to do is turn the upper fulcrim bolt until I can install the shock clamp bolt & the nut the bolt.

I'll finish building the passenger side & then "borrow" him again later today or tomorrow to do the driver side when he's finished trimming trees. Of course, I had to take my chain saw over & help him with some of the larger limbs my 86 year-old neighbor, his wife's grandmother, wanted removed.

Tit for tat!

{EDIT: Of course that started the "might-as-well's", <span style="font-style: italic">"Tony, since you've got your chain saw out...."</span> That ended with 2 large Leyland Cyprus (8' caliper) coming down...they've got that fungus that turns the limbs brown & slowly kills the tree.....& another 30' Leyland Cyprus trimmed of its dead limbs. I'm soaking wet now...shower time.....so much for working on the Midget!}
 
tony barnhill said:
{EDIT: Of course that started the "might-as-well's", <span style="font-style: italic">"Tony, since you've got your chain saw out...."</span> That ended with 2 large Leyland Cyprus (8' caliper) coming down
Click to expand...

And of course only you would have a <span style="text-decoration: underline">LEYLAND</span> Cyprus - with a 8' Caliper (whatever that is) even when not working cars, you're thinking cars! :driving:
 
JPSmit said:
tony barnhill said:
{EDIT: Of course that started the "might-as-well's", <span style="font-style: italic">"Tony, since you've got your chain saw out...."</span> That ended with 2 large Leyland Cyprus (8' caliper) coming down
Click to expand...

And of course only you would have a <span style="text-decoration: underline">LEYLAND</span> Cyprus - with a 8' Caliper (whatever that is) even when not working cars, you're thinking cars! :driving:
Click to expand...
Means the diameter of the trunk when I cut it down was 8".....hehehehe....didn't even think about that...Leyland Cyprus....hehehe
 
Hope you got the rear end in also today. Times awasteing.
 
Springs successfully installed using the "progressive hex bolt" method. Fist side took about 45 minutes. Second side about 15 minutes. Probably a 20 minute total job if I'd had my act together brfore I started.
 
Excellent, well done.
 
Put my springs in last night with a friend, floor jack and my 220lbs. Took 15 minutes, too easy. Also hung the rear, new front mount spring holders brackets slipped right into place all 4 bolts ere perfect, VB part. Swung the rear up using the floor jack, another easy project finished.

Mark
 
Back
Top