HELP installing front springs

i am installing a 2 in lift and i tell my dad im puting new front springs on and he flips out and says "if i were you i would have somebody install them for you they are very dangerus" if you follow the instructions and drop the axel and stuff like that is it hard

Number One you neeed to listen to your Dad!

Seconedly, it can be dangerous. But it's not rocket science either. I only did it once. So I'm no expert therfore, I may leave out something too. Find a friend or a shop teacher etc to help ya.

You will have to buy a coil spring compression tool. $25 local or alot cheaper on ebay.

1. Properly block and set emergency brake
2. Raise vehicle and place jack stands under frame
3. Remove tires
4. Remove shocks by loosening top nuts under the hood
5. Remove the bolt keeper at the bottom of the coil spring
6. Take special care with the coil spring compressor tool, tighen each side a little at a time.

Do some searches and find a wesite that shows some pictures too.

:huh:
you don't need use a coil compressor unless you are lazy and dont want to disconnect the axle, and for a 2" lift there is not need to disconnect the axle.


1. ebrake it
2. lossen up lug nuts
3. jack it up
4. put jack stands on
5. take tires off
6. take a good look at it right now so you will remember where it all goes
7. disconnect shocks
8. take off coils
9. put on new ones
10. and put everything back


Yes, it can be very dangerous but be carefull, take your time and learn how to work on your rig yourself. It will save you money and give you a better sense of ownership and pride in your junk.

just my .02 about that... no one is working on my rig if I can do it.

Geeze, put the XJ up on front jackstands, right under the firewall area back where the doors start, put the jackstands under the frame rails. Remove the tires/wheels, unbolt the shocks, take the little retainer clip out on the bottom of the spring. Let the front end droop then put the floor jack under the drivers side axle right under the control arm and pump the jack a bit, the passenger side axle will drop even more as the drivers side goes up and the spring will just about fall out so watch your toes and fingers. Install the spacer and put the spring back and the clip back on then repeat on that side only this time you will be doing the drivers side by pumping up the passenger side. Once both spacers are in reconnect the shocks, put the wheels back on and you are done. Think of it like a lever...
If you start pumping the floor jack and the XJ starts lifting off the jackstand STOP, you missed something, actually I missed something, disconnect your front sway bar that will allow more droop.. darn it's been a while.... I have two TJ's to do next weekend, at least I won't have to deal with leafs. Those coil spring compressors scare the heck out of me and they are tedious to use without an air ratchet and the compressed springs make me real nervous...

Oh, reconnect your sway bar or better yet put a set of JKS quick disconnects on there, those are downright handy. The XJ is really not safe to drive with on public roads or hiways with the front swaybar disconnected.

Thats about all I can think of, like I said it's been a while since I did my last one.

I guess I never thought of installing the coils as dangerous. :gag:
If you droop the axle fully and use the floor jack from side to side, they slide right in. A 2" lift should be cake.

BillR said:

I guess I never thought of installing the coils as dangerous. :gag:
If you droop the axle fully and use the floor jack from side to side, they slide right in. A 2" lift should be cake.

Click to expand...

They are only dangerous when compressed. When a compressed coil spring gets loose, you do NOT want to be in its path. The only time it happened to me was many years ago when my father decided to "help" me do something on the car I was driving then. I don't even recall why we had to remove the springs, but let's just say it was a seminal moment in my automotive education.

Last spring I put 2" progressive rates in the front of my '91 and it was a pain. I had the spring compressed the furthest you can safely do it and it would go in, still to tall, the spring would get caught on the bunpstop and on top of the axle. I had the swaybar disconected and the exle sroped as far as it would go without unbolting the lower control arms which was what was causing it not to drop far enough. After taking a huge prybar and pulling down on the axle me and my dad finally got em in. This spring I used settles in at exactly 2" over stock but when I had the stock ones out and was comparing them, the new ones were I believe about 3.5" taller. This is just my experience not saying that i wouldnt do it again, but if I did it again, the lower control would be unbolted as well.

Dean

Yes, I watched a compressed spring that broke free off of a 66 rambler american, thing went thru the cinderblock wall of the gas station bay. Sure gave me a very healthy respect of not only springs but quality tools and using the right tool for the job. Up until that time I never really understood kinetic energy and such, a split second educated me more then 3 months of HS physics and bonded it to my DNA....

Last month in class (automotive major) someone released a coil and it also went right thru a cinder block wall. Your dad is just watching out for your saftey. Don't use a coil spring compresor it is more work than its worth, just lower the axle SLOWLY and let the spring release easily then put in the spacers and jack it back up, bolt it down and your ready.

quick tip

This may help you, especially if you don't have a helper around. Do as Rich P says and the axle shoud drop enough. Alternately, you can slip a small ($5-ish size) bottle jack between the top of the axle and the framerail where it curves up over the axle. Jack the bottle jack up (actually "down") and it'll push the axle down steadily and securely enough to hold the axle while you slip the springs in/out. Don't forget to unscrew the bumpstops before you try to take out the coil (pull them out along with the coil), and don't forget to put them back inside the new spring before you install it.
HTH,
Jeff

DDCxj said:

Last spring I put 2" progressive rates in the front of my '91 and it was a pain. I had the spring compressed the furthest you can safely do it and it would go in, still to tall, the spring would get caught on the bunpstop and on top of the axle. I had the swaybar disconected and the exle sroped as far as it would go without unbolting the lower control arms which was what was causing it not to drop far enough. After taking a huge prybar and pulling down on the axle me and my dad finally got em in. This spring I used settles in at exactly 2" over stock but when I had the stock ones out and was comparing them, the new ones were I believe about 3.5" taller. This is just my experience not saying that i wouldnt do it again, but if I did it again, the lower control would be unbolted as well.

Dean

Click to expand...

I just installed RE4.5" coils and I just disconnected the LCA's and they popped right in (with a little muscle and prying). Never had that much problems.

Shannon

i used hose clamps to compress my 6" springs and installed them without disconnecting any controll arms...it wasnt much fun

HOSE CLAMPS ?!?!?!??! Geeze, shoulda used vice grips like they did at the gas station I worked at in HS, the 'mechanic' got the spring compressed and layed it gently on the floor, two seconds later 'click' went one set, 'click' went another set and the spring was almost bent in half. Got one quick look at it before the owner/neighbor shoved/tackled me into the office when 'blam' new vent hole in the wall... and a broken windshield on donnies 66 3 month old T-bird rag top....

well, sounds like i should be happy to still be able to go through the metal detectors at the airport...lol

i installed some 3 inch rough country coils back in december, wasnt hard at all. just take your time. 1 word of advice, a couple days before you start spray your bolts with pb-blaster. just drop the axle, slip out, and slip back in. it was painless (except for broken/rung off bolts)

i do have a coil story of my own though. when i was in high school a freind had an early 80's crx and i was gonna help him lower it. we start tearin the front end apart and blam the coil spring shoots up tears the hell out of the fender, bounced and it tore up the lca and busted the cv joint in the axle!! i was very uneasy when taking my suspension off the xj because of this. but i wouldnt hesitate doing it again. prolly one of the easiest things to do.