Fitting Springs

[Anonymous]

I'm fitting sum -40 puma springs this weekend.

i know i need spring compressors and a socket set to undo the bolts etc

is it a hard job? i've read haynes and it looks a piece of pi55? do i just follow the haynes and i should be fine?


Nova Community
Visit: www.RoyBacer.co.uk
Email: Ged@RoyBacer.co.uk

[Anonymous]

im not sure bout fronts but rears are easy, open boot, take off rubber caps, undo those bolts, jack up car (on that arm bit), pull the old springs out, put new ones in, low car slowly on jack making sure the top of the shock goes thro its hole, lower completly, do up nut, put rubber cap back on, simple!! (well thats how me + breeny done mine)

[Anonymous]

fronts are well easy, I did a full swap from one scrappy nova to a decent one and had both cars rolling again in a couple of hours and that was on cars where the bolts had rusted up!!!

Garages sticking to their promises???? not likely!!! :(

[Anonymous]

so i'm just sticking to haynes instructions then and i can't go wrong?


Nova Community
Visit: www.RoyBacer.co.uk
Email: Ged@RoyBacer.co.uk

[Anonymous]

u need a swan neck spanner for the fronts to hold the bolt in place whilst u turn the inner nut, you will need 2 spring clamps for the fronts aswell. If you follow the haynes you should be fine, rear are easy peasy, just do as Rob says.

[Anonymous]

ohh yea ged if ya front shock bolts are rusted on your in trouble, they do come off, but u need a lot of effort, and exspect your hand to get mashed as it suddenly comes lose!!! :D

[Anonymous]

Think it's a 19mm or 21mm drop nose spanner you need and a 6mm spanner as well to take the top part off of the strut once you have compressed the springs.

Sping compressors are around 15pound from halfords or I'm sure you may be able to hire them from one of those HCC hire shops.

[Anonymous]

u need..
3/4 (19mm) drop nose spanner
19mm spanner
9mm socket

maybe compressors, but u can do it without if u think about it.

Loosen off top bolt and remove before u jack up car, then as u jack it up the spring expands slowly, saves pissin about with compressors!

[Anonymous]

Little tip....loosen the upper mounting retaining nut whilst the struts are still on the car.

In the Haynes, it makes it sound easier than it is...i.e it says "With the spring suitably compressed, unscrew the piston rod retaining nut using a suitably cranked ring spanner, whilst at the same time holding the strut piston rod with a second spanner socket"

....hum, sounds easy enough, but if it's never been loosened since the car was made, they can be a bugger to loosen, hence why I say leave the strut on the car to loosen the retaining nut.
The first time I tried it, I did as the Haynes suggests, but it just wouldn't budge. I bolted the strut back into the car, and tried again....that time, I could get loads of leverage onto the nut, and eventually got it loose. It required the use of two lengths of scaffold poll over the spanners to get the force required :O I'd socked the nuts in oil for ages before hand too!

Yours might loosen a lot easier than that though, but it's still easier to loosen whilst still on the car......don't loosen too much though....you don't want the spring to shoot off when you remove the strut retaining nuts!
The same goes for re-assembly.....easier to get the torque required with the strut held in place on the car...just tighten it enough by hand to hold everything together, release the spring compressors, whip it back on to the car, then tighten up the upper mount nut.

The first time around I did this (fitting my lowering springs but keeping old shocks), it took ages 'cos of all the mucking about, but the second time around (replacing my shocks), it took 20 mins a side.

The rears only took 10 mins.....you DON'T have to undo the top bolts to get the standard springs out...it's miles easier to loosen the bottom bolts instead, which is what it says in the Haynes.