69 Corvette L46 .. Engine out at the moment

I think I have read all of the threads on this subject... still having issues

I have wrestled around with my coiled springs (original to the car ... therefore extremely long) now for a 1 1/2 days .. I'm pooped.

Many attempts ... here's the latest

I bought a 5/8 20 rod from Ace ... mated it with the OEM spring compressor "grabbers" (rented from Autozone)....

I ran the threaded rod through the upper tower and through the spring.

I grabbed the spring 4 coils from the bottom and compressed the spring as much as I could until the "grabber" interfered with the tower cavity.

The spring still would not interface with the lower control arm..(angled and barely hit the outer edge of the pocket of the lower control arm. The lower arm is attached to the cross member .. in other words the lower arms are fully interfaced except to the ball joints.

What am I doing wrong?? Do I need to compress the spring even more. Is there an easier way .. other than hiring a professional to come over and do the job or buying a shorter spring.

 

You didn't say which coils you are hooked to on the top of the spring . You should be hooked closer to the bottom of the spring and not too close to the top because that pocket is deeper and the compressor will hit the pocket . You shouldn't be having a problem if you have the spring compressor attached properly and compressed enough . Play with the location of the compressor until you get it right . It will go right in.

 

I am running the threaded rod through the tower .. through the shock absorber mounting hole.. I'll keep compressing... I interfaced lower on the spring this time. So we'll see how this works.

 

Got the spring compressed enough to where I could almost engage the upper ball joint stud.

Then it appeared that one of the coils of the spring got hung up on the rim of the upper pocket... so I hammered the spring and it broke loose... anyway ..the spring was not aligned with the lower arm pocket... I would have had to pry it in.. why in the hell is this so hard??

So.. another day .. another getting nothing done.

 

My 2 cents,

I have put springs in 3 different C3's up to now and always a tricky job and always very careful to stand off to the side. Few learnings, but not many. If your engine is out so you do not have weight, I would say that in order to use the method below, you need to either add some very significant weight to the frame or install the engine first and then put the springs in.

*On my 68 since one of the springs was bent, I put in new MOOG springs, same spring rate, but shorter. Much easier than reinstalling the factory springs. And not terribly expensive, no more factory spring installs for me.
*For all of the springs, I used the round threaded rod with the top end thru the shock mount plus washers and only one of the hooks from the HF spring package. Hooked and tightened the spring so that it curved in a little.
*Used the floor jack to partially lift the LCA up so that the inside lip of the LCA indent would just engage the edge of the spring. You have to get the LCA at just the right elevation to grab the edge of the spring. And you will likely have to kick the spring in with your heel or use a crow bar to pop it over. Also have to watch the top of the spring to make sure it does not pop out of the upper pocket. You might have to play with the LCA elevation to find the sweet spot. Once you get the spring caught in the right position, finish jacking and carefully and off the side, engage the upper ball joint.

BTW, I run a chain thru the spring to contain it as a safety measure too.

Hope this helps.

 

Once the spring is in the top you probably will have to push down on the lower arm for the spring to pop in.

 

Hey rvzio..thanks for your input..

It looks like you compressed the spring by running the threaded rod through the shock absorber hole in the upper tower, right? ... that's what I am doing..


I didn't understand what you meant by saying "once the spring is in the top"

Isn't the spring in the top while you are compressing the spring??

Could you take me through your process? I'm very interested. I'm going to have another go at it tomorrow. (3rd day)

 

You're working too hard.
I use a standard GM spring compressor.
Using only the threaded rod & washer and just one hook I pull the spring into the upper pocket. Drop the threaded rod down the shock tower and place the single hook midway down the spring and facing toward the A-arm. When compressed this causes the spring to arc toward the A-arm. Once the bottom of the spring is high enough you can swing the lower arm into position with no trouble at all. Place a jack under the A-arm and install your steering knuckle.




Using just one hook on the inside facing the A-arm





Rotate the spring so the lower tip will seat correctly in the bottom of the pocket then compress the spring from the top.





As you compress the spring it will arc toward the A-arm





Once you have it high enough the A-arm will EASILY raise up over the spring





This allows you to check the drain hole and lower spring placement





One hand - no kicking, pushing, hammering to get the spring into the pocket.





At this point simply slide a jack underneath and raise it up until you can mount your knuckle.

 

I just did this on my bare 71 frame. I used the 5/8 threaded rod that was 24 inches long. Used a grade 8 washer on each side and the equivalent nut. I double nutted the bottom. I used an old edger blade and wrapped it with duct tape to keep it from scratching. I ran the rod thru the control arm so that the edger blade was on bottom of the control arm. I then threaded down the top nut as I held the spring in the frame pocket. As it got close I pushed it into the bottom of the control arm. Once it was settled in both pockets I just threaded the top now down and compressed everything. Then lifted up the upper control arm and held the spindle while I dropped the ball joint thru. Bolted up the ball joint and torqued it and finally loosed my compressor tool.

 

Let me add, when you are doing this make sure to align the spring using the hole in the frame pocket. The control arm hole is just a drain hole. The edge of the spring should be just into the alignment hole in the frame. I used a small screw driver and turned the spring till it hit it. The edge should cover about 1/3-1/2 of that hole.

 

I have my method that has worked well. I use the same type of spring compressor as seen in the above photos. I place the threaded block and hooks as high on the coils as possible just before the frame pocket. I the place the slide block on the outside of the lower "A" arm with a pully between the the slide block and a arm with the screw shaft going through the shock hole the treading to the upper block. This clamps and compress the spring to the lower A arm. I remove the lower A arm and spring compressed together. Installing in the reverse. Compressing the spring to the lower A arm allows for easy setting into the lower A arm pocket. Reattach the a arm to the from first with spring in packet (strait up) then connect the lower ball joint to spindle. Upper is already attached before this. I have never had s problem with this method. I use an old pully with a large enough hole for the shaft. Any thing thick enough will work (large washers,steel plate) just any thing that will prevent the sliding block from pulling through and damaging the shock hole.

 

Thanks Hammerhead ... That's a neat trick .. grabbing the spring with just one hook. BRILLIANT!! seriously .. thank you very much.

 

Thanks Mercury .. I didn't pick up the point you were making about just using one of the hooks... Thank you very much.

 

Thanks for the input sigforty ...Good points ... Do you have stock springs?

 

Wow! Very cool Monkey Man..I understand what you did. There's more than one way to skin a turkey.

 

If you find that spring hangs up a little on the lower spring pocket and pushing down on the A arm isn't enough I take a sledge and pop it out by hitting the spring.

Only do this though if you chain and lock the spring with a bolt and nut.

It will pop out with good hit.

 

Had stock springs just put in some 550 springs the other day.

 

When I do mine I use 5/8 fine thread rod all the WAY THROUGH TO THE BOTTOM A ARM ,LOOKING AT THE SPRING COMPRESSOR IN THE PICTURES YOU ARE ONLY COMPRESSING PART OF THE SPRING .My engine was out also and body off .I used double nuts top and bottom .

 

Thanks for the input..

I tried doing that but my springs seemed to be too long to accomplish that. Do you have the stock springs?

 

How tall are your springs ?