Alrihgt Buick Chassis tech center. I just bought new FRONT drag springs and shocks for my 72 GS. I have never installed or removed springs before. I am going to be doing this in my garage so I need to know exactly what I need to do and how. Thanks in advance. Josh
Josh; First you need a spring compressor and floor jack along with your hand tools. Jack up the front, secure with stands and remove wheels and tires. Remove shock. Remove lower cotter pin and loosen bottom balljoint castle nut (leave threaded a couple of threads). Smack castle nut with Ford tool (hammer) until it pops loose (remember to keep a couple of threads in the nut and be careful not to ruin castle nut unless you have another one handy). Raise lower control arm with floor jack to remove tension and completely remove castle nut. Lower floor jack slowly. Old spring may come out with long pry bar or massive screw driver. If not use the spring compressor. Use spring compressor to compress new spring and reassemble in reverse order. Some springs may need to be trimmed but let the car settle for a couple of weeks before cutting spring for correct ride height. Repeat for other side. ***Remember be careful the spring can be under great pressure. Hope this helps. Mike
This might not work if you are replacing only the springs (involves a torch). A few years ago when I replaced my front springs I was a "cashier" at an independent BP, and had access to the bays and tools when off the clock. Using a lift for repairs was wonderful, and the mechanics made sure I didn't hurt myself or break anything. Anyway, we had a slightly different approach to removing the springs. With the wheels off, we strapped the upper and lower control arms together so they spring wouldn't come flying out. I think we used the strap that secures a car by its wheels when it is being towed. It was straped very well, several times, and cinched very tight (with the racheting attatchment). Sorry, don't know what all these things were called. I forget if we removed the shock nut or lower ball joint nut first - basically we had only one left to hold the spring tension. When the straps were good and tight, we took a torch to the remaining stud. I would NOT use this method if using a wrench. When we cut the stud, the assembly did violently spring apart a few inches (controlled by the straps) - I wouldn't want my hand near near it. Actually, I let the mechanic do the first one b/c I didn't trust it - but he'd done it many times before. At the time I was replacing the control arms and everything, so cutting these parts wasn't a problem. As for putting the new springs in - the spring compressor was a bit of a pain. Be patient and you'll get it.
Truzi; the stud you cut with the torch was the lower ball joint. Sounds very dangerous! The directions I provided allows the old parts to be reused. Mike
Changing springs Sounds Good. It's sounds easier than I thought. Yeah I plan on useing the old parts. Josh
Changing Springs This reminded me of an interesting conversation I had with a guy I used to know. He was a long time line mechanic at a Firestone store. They used to have competitions yearly for various repairs. They would have local, regional, state, and national competitions. Anyways, this guy went pretty far a few years. One of the tasks was to change all four coil springs and all four shocks on a vehicle. The car was usually a '76-'77 Cutlass or Regal. He did it in 20 minutes! :shock: What they did was put the car on a drive-on rack with weight on the wheels. Put a jack under the lower spring cup. Remove the two bolts on the lower control arm, lower the a-arm with the jack, pop out the spring, jack up the a-arm, insert the bolts, you're done! The ball joint is not touched! I tried this with jackstands and a floor jack and it doesn't work so well. It an was interesting procedure, though. Have fun.
remember to remove the sway bar to lower control are bolts on each side. If you are careful and soak them down, you might not break them off when you goto loosen them. you might need a good spring compressior to get the springs back into the pockets. I cut one-half round off mine and still had to use one. A good safty tip: Use a short chain down through the middle of the spring, just in case the spring shots out at you.
Hi, When I removed my springs I followed the procedures that alot of guys mentioned here, except I didn't use a spring compressor. When I was ready to remove the spring I put a jack underneath the outside lower control arm and popped the ball joint loose. When I did that, all the tension from the spring that was on the lower control arm rested on the jack. I lowered the jack slowly with me being toward the middle of the car, just in case the spring popped out under pressure. I figured if it did, it would fly towards the outside of the car from the angle the spring was positioned in. Once I got the jack lowered and all the tension from the spring was released, I pulled the spring out. I basically did it the same way putting it back in, except it was in reverse. Btw, I had the whole car lifted with jack stands. Rob
Front control arms Whenremoving front arms I have used the same method as the first reply except I use a ball joint fork to seperate the lower ball joint from the spindle. You will have to remove the shock and the sway bar end link. I have also worked in a shop where we removed all bolts with a tall trans jack under the arm and lowered the whole assy down slowly . Moist of your new springs especially drag springs are going to be longer and you must use a compressor to install them. I have done it . Be careful and have a helper if possible .
Well, I worked on mine for about 15 minutes, using all these great tips, and had my first problem. I unscrewed the castle nut on the ball joint and commenced to using my "Ford tool" and I bent the castle nut and damaged the threads on the ball joint end. And it's not loose, so it's off to rent or buy a ball joint separator. No biggie. The stud for the stabilizer in the lower A arm bar is too long to come out at this point, but it looks like there may be a workaround for that. I put my floor jack under the spring cut and pumped a few times... it looked like the spring didnt compress at all, or maybe just a little, and the car lifted off the jackstand. o No: I have to buy a 7/8 6 point box end wrench to try and get the castle nut broken loose on the lower control arm. It's a tight you-know-what! Any other ideas? :beer time! Frank
Frank, The only problem with breaking the lower ball joint loose by hitting it directly with a big hammer is the chance of distorting the tapered hole. Even if the hole isn't distorted a person makes some ugly looking marks on the knuckle. When I do it, I use 2 hammers. I hold one in the exact spot on the knuckle I want the force directed to, and use another larger hammer to strike the stationary hammer. I know it's not a recommended practice to strike 2 hammers together because of the possibility of them breaking and flying apart. To be safe a person should wear safety glasses and a face shield. Tim
