Follow on from earlier post. Wife's car is back in one piece but front offside spring has broken, fallen out of its seat and is resting on the
scenery.
Looks like the only safe option is to repair it here. What's involved in replacing front spring on an 04 plate Fiesta? Do I need spring
compressors?
quote:
Originally posted by JeffHs Do I need spring compressors?
Halfords do a compressor.... its only about 15 IRC
I've just replaced a Megane spring and my spring compressors weren't long enough. New springs are long !
Some of the modern springs also curve quite a bit making it difficult to get the clamps on.
Take the leg off the car and take it to your local friendly garage, a drink and 5 minutes later, job done.
Halfords compressor is £19.99 when I looked last week. I used the neighbours joinery cramps to compress the new springs which I then bound up before backing off the cramps and to take the old ones off I just used 2 G clamps. You only have to ease the pressure enough to take the top cup off then take your time releasing. Easy peasy job.
You will need spring compressers to fit the new one. Theyr quite easy to do.
Wheel off. Undo the top nut. The the clamp that holds the strut into the upright the knock it out.
Shock in the vice, compress old spring if you need to then remover top retaining nut, remove springs and carefully remove compressers. Compress up
new spring and refitting is the reverse of removal.
DONT point it towards you when clamping/clamped up.
Failing that as said strut off and take it to kwick fit or local garage at dinner time. Theyl do it for a drink.
Top advice.
I'll take the leg off and go to KwikFit
Thanks very much
i know of someone who was doing this job and the spring managed to come out of the clamps somehow it went straight through a window and through a fence panel so be careful!!
quote:
Originally posted by adam1985
i know of someone who was doing this job and the spring managed to come out of the clamps somehow it went straight through a window and through a fence panel so be careful!!
I've never had any trouble
with them though, just don't be too greedy.
They are scarey. Iv done loads of them and they still worry me. The ones on a passat you have to compress to half the size to get em on.
When i did my old mans my missus let my 2 year old come out and watch even though i told her to keep her well out of the way!!!! When i told her it
woulld kill her if it fired and hit her she soon kept her in.
i've lowered lots of mk4/mk5 fiest's you'll need spring compressors just to get the strut out. jack up, wheel off jack the hub up to release the tension on the ARB so you can get that off the strut, undo the brake pipe guide bracket from the strut fit spring compressors with the upright raised. lower upright loosen but not remove top nut, remove lower bolt clamping upright aroung suspension leg, probably need to use a mallet to convince the upright to drop down, whilst pushing up on the shock leg, and off the bottom of the upright, getting the shock leg to seperate from the upright is the most problematic, after that it's easy even with standard springs you can push down the spring easily enough to remove the nut and spring clip holding the springs top cap in place