D'oh! Spring/Strut Compressor FUBAR

Well. I bought RE 5.5 springs to ditch the cheap 2" coil spacers I was using.
Mistake #1: well i don't have to drop the axle.. i'll just go rent spring compressors.
Mistake #2: renting from Kragen/Schucks. they gave me a Powerbuilt strut compressor.





Mistake #3: stay tuned. i'll have someone post in my stead as i'm sure i'll be in the E.R.

as you can see. they binded themselves royally and even with the end nut loose they won't budge. i didn't even notice they were doing this until it was too late.. they went on smoothly and with little resistance with hand tools. I've tried hammering.. throwing the spring on the ground.. etc. I can't get the bracket pieces to pop off the threads they have settled into.
anybody have any ideas as to how i can get these things off? I would prefer to keep my left testicle and my opposible thumbs... and my eyes. :bawl:

put the springs in, the weight of the jeep should straighten that out

good idea. i'll give it a go. spraying pb blaster on control arm mounts when you read this.

k. LCA's disconnected at frame end. the compressors didn't get the spring even to the same size as old springs. and LCA's were binding at axle end so had to drop them to go lower.. now brake lines are maxed and i'll have to d/c those as well. *sigh* knew i'd have to spring the 83 bucks for new brake lines anyway. might as well do it now.

ok. sort of an epiphany occurred to me while i was on the can. backing the nuts off about 1/2 inch at a time.. holding the spring upright and giving a sharp thwack with a sledge at the points indicated worked.

even the spring recoiling 1/2" at a time was something for my forearm to behold.
On the off-chance that someone as mechanically challenged as I am were to come across this problem with powerbuilt compressors.. this thread is for them!

When I do front springs, I found it doesn't pay to F* around.

Put truck on TALL stands about where the X member is.

Remove:
Shocks
Swaybar links
Drag Link
Brakes (and tie the calipers to something with isn't going to move soon)
LCA at frame

The old spring will drop out when the axle drops.
Insert new spring, you should have plenty of room.

Jack up axle, and attach rear LCAs (looks easy in print )
Reassemble all above.

Ron

Zuki-Ron said:

When I do front springs, I found it doesn't pay to F* around.

Put truck on TALL stands about where the X member is.

Remove:
Shocks
Swaybar links
Drag Link
Brakes (and tie the calipers to something with isn't going to move soon)
LCA at frame

The old spring will drop out when the axle drops.
Insert new spring, you should have plenty of room.

Jack up axle, and attach rear LCAs (looks easy in print )
Reassemble all above.

Ron

Click to expand...

Agreed...seeing how spring compressors are pretty much lethal, I always take the extra time and drop the whole axle.

And yeah, reconnecting the LCA's is quite easy...in print lol.

wow, that doesnt look good. I've always borrowed from AutoZone. They may not be the best spring/strut compressers, but they are much better than those POS ones. To fix that problem, you could have rented a second set to relieve the tension and uninstall those bad spring compressers.

Wow! Glad you got them off and you didn't hurt or destroy anything.

lilredxj99 said:

Wow! Glad you got them off and you didn't hurt or destroy anything.

Click to expand...

me too! its been a while since i've done anything like this... lifting the vehicle originally almost two years ago. so i've been having problems getting these springs on.. i managed to get them in position but couldn't get the LCA holes to re-align. axle needed to move forward.. after looking at it for a long while i realized my pinion had changed when i took the coil compressors off.. the spring tension is rotating my axle forward.. pushing the lca axle holes too far back. in the morning i'll work on resolving this. probably re-compressing the springs enough to rotate axle back where it should be then popping all my bolts in place. (hopefully it will go that easy)

Do you have any ratchet straps or a come along or something? You might be able to hook it up to the axle's "C" (where the knuckle attaches) and pull it foward against the bumper unless you have something sturdy in your garage to pull from. The rear tires would at least have to be on for this procedure and the parking brake set as well as the vehicle being in gear.

You could also try stretching out and pushing against the front axle with your feet while holding the rear tire while somebody tires to get the control arm mounted and the bolt through the mount. Probably not as good as an idea because most likely a jackstand will be in the way of your stretching!