Front suspension spring broke

[teamster1975]

they are expecting starters,alternators and batteries to fail

Yep, I've just been fleeced for an alternator

[steve_earwig]

And I'm saving up for a battery (did the pound drop below the €urine yet? )

[mjb]

I meant in this cold weather, if you try putting one on in the cold will the plastic (I don't think anything's made out of rubber these days) might be too hard and brittle. Just a thought.

Not brittle, but it might be a lot harder to stretch. Some time in a saucepan of boiling water works wonders though especially in the cold (also applicable to bike handlebar grips!)

[marco2002]

Hi Everyone

I don't seem to be having much luck today decided to have another go with the spring compressors today i was so close to having the spring compressed enough to get the top nut on top of the strut & turned it one more turn and bang that was it luckily i had the 2 chains on the spring so that saved the day. Just need to figure out how to release the spring because all the pressure is on 1 side now. I am beginning to think that the spring needs to be pre-tensioned before the compressors go on?

It seems that you have to get the new spring to near enough half the size before you have any chance of the piston going thro' the top mounting plate then the bearing then the top mount. Its just that last little bit to get the nut on lol. The whole thing on the top of the spring doesn't seem to sit very straight either.
Have i missed something here as it doesn't seem quite as straight forward as the manual implies?? Famous last words......
Any help would be appreciated.

[teamster1975]

Hi Marco

The way I did it was to pull the piston to its furthest extent, place the top rubber/bearing assembly on the top, don't engage the spring in the rubber yet. Screw on the nut and you will be able to fiddle the top of the spring into the rubber bush.

[marco2002]

Hi
Had a quick read and I'm still not sure what you mean? I thinking i am definately missing something here....lol

[marco2002]

Hi Teamster
I re-read your post and i get what you are saying in other words the spring is like at an angle not quite sitting on the rest at the bottom of the strut. Get the nut on and then wiggle spring into position on the strut mount and wiggle the top parts as well....

[teamster1975]

Skew the piston so it's not central which will give you just enough thread to get the nut on. Once you've done that you can get the spring into the rubber bush, there's enough leverage to compress the top coil slightly & pop it in. You'll see what I mean when you put it together.

Edit: You beat me to it!

[marco2002]

Thanks teamster
I've had a quick look online and you can get a spring reducer clamp that pulls the spring in before you even put the compressors on its made by sealey looks pretty heavy duty. I guess when they do this in the garage its like a hydraulic compressor to crunch the spring up rather than the way we have to do it.....

[teamster1975]

That's a good idea. To be honest I was scratching my head for a while (thinking sh1t I've got no car!) before I sussed it.

[marco2002]

I'll have another go tommorow. I was so close though. I can see what you mean at an angle it would have been enough for the nut to go on....
I still think the compressors could do with being just a touch longer.

[teamster1975]

Good luck Marco, it was pretty straight forward with that method; there's a fair amount of flex in that top coil.

[marco2002]

Thanks I am kicking myself now i've realised how easy it should have been......lol

[adam03031980]

Mine snapped today bought a spring for £30 and got my local garage to fit for £40 which i thought wasnt too bad i didnt fancy having the hassle of working on the car for hours and possible risk of the spring fling out the compressors.

[Kiwi]

Curious if I have dug myself into a hole.................

My LF spring broke on the small diam bottom coil, the spring dropped and jammed between the inner fender and the wheel. As the car was nose first into the garage and not drivable, I came up with the idea to cut the broken spring out so I can get it to a shop ( about 2 miles) .I was lucky in that it didn't damage the CV boot, brake hose or ABS cables.

Has anyone here gone that route ? I'm worried that the car will drag the front , as before I started cutting the spring, it was still under some compression. The problem is I have no access to a workshop where I could come up with a spacer to sit on the lower spring seat and strut body

All suggestions appreciated.