Quote:
Originally Posted by gearheads78
I know I am late to the party but as a tip for anyone one else reading... throw your spring compressor away. Take a chain or heavy duty tow straps and attach the bottom of the floor jack to the top of the frame. Use the jack under the control arm to compress the spring. This method is much faster and much safer than the junk parts store spring compressors I see people use.
Also there is a small hole on the top of the spring pocket. Looking through the hole you can see if you have you spring rotated far enough around.
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I've also done it this way, but it can be difficult to get the spring in the upper pocket and also have it lined up correctly on the lower control arm when you jack it up. The Chassis Service Manual actually shows a method where you connect the ball joint but leave the inboard end of the LCA loose and jack up that way to solve this problem. In fact, there is a factory tool that goes up through the center of the spring through the shock absorber hole at the top and is a threaded rod spring compressor to be used instead of a floor jack.
In any case, the problem with the floor jack is that it doesn't work if the engine is not in the car. That's why I bought a quality KD spring compressor.