front springs

[ed39]

im going to replace my front springs in my gn, this a hard or easy job to do?

[Ts86ttype]

Ed39, It is not THAT hard, but not really easy... You need some good jack stands and a good floor jack. You need to be care full, that spring is under a lot on tension... I did mine by taking out the shock, caliper off and out of the way. I took off the rotor hub assembly, so all that was in front of me was the upper and lower A arms and the spindle. I even took off the brake dust cover. You need to have the front end jacked up high enough so the lower A arm can swing down to the floor so you can get the spring out. Putting a small chain around the spring and the lower A arm to hold it in place is not a bad idea... With the floor jack under the lower ball joint spindle area, disconnect the ball joints, I took the spindle out for more easy access to the spring. With the floor jack , lower the lower control arm down, SLOWLY to the floor, take the spring out. Then reinstall. Notice how the spring fits into the upper and lower A arms... There is a slot for it to ride in... That is it... Not really hard but not that easy... Good luck Tom G.

[ed39]

thats wat i figured, one of the guys i work with gave me his tool for the springs so im less likely to have it come flying out on me..

[kenmosher]

Safety chain in addition to the tool is always a good idea!

I had a friend in high school who's Dad got hit in the face with a spring that flew out while working with a car. The spring crushed his skull around his eye sockets and almost killed him. He was in a coma for a long time, went thru years of reconstructive surgery and lost both eyes and had numerous neurological problems.

The guy was the nicest person too ... made a lasting impression on me how much energy is stored in a spring, and to this day I'm ultra careful about it.

[81 elky]

For what it's worth, the local Auto Zone loaned me (after a $50 refundable deposit) a spring compressor. I removed the spring with a floor jack as describrd above, but reassembly is much easier with the compressor. The end of the bottom of the coil should sit in the drain hole/slot. Get new spring isolators before you start.