Say NO to coil spring compressors!!!!

[Louie L.]

Well every time this topic comes up the safety issue comes up.This time i can speak from experience. While installing a set of moroso front drag springs I was injured when the compresor failed. The job was going well and was on the last spring on the drivers side.

Im very lucky to be here talking typing this, albeit with one hand.When the compressor let go it tore my middle finger apart partially severing the finger at the 1st joint and obviously breaking the bone.It was a blood fest.

Athough there are some safety issues ,like wraping a chain on the spring and so on, this wouldnt have helped.

Stay away from this tool, and preferably this job all together.

Im hard headed and always do ALL of my own work,suspension , motor ,body ect....But overall im very lucky that the spring got jammed in the control arm almost prefectly in place and did not take my face off.

 

[Russ Merritt]

Glad your alright! Musta scared this S%$@# out of ya.

 

[bruce]

I hate hearing of folks getting hurt when working on their cars. I'm glad you we're hurt any worse then that.

Just as point of warning.
Suspension springs are energy storage devises.
The softer the spring (ie drag springs) the more preload it runs. Which means you have to compress it even more then a *stocker*. Springs that lower you car are higher rate and run less preload to be installed.

So while you may follow all the REGULAR precautions, you have to be all the more vigil when using hipo stuff.

Some jobs are just *cheaper* to have done. Cheaper having nothing to do with money.

 

[Red Regal T]

I CHANGED MY FRONT SPRINGS A COUPLE YEARS AGO. I HAD NEVER USED A SPRING COMPRESSOR. I WAS VERY APPREHENSIVE WHEN COMPRESSING THE SPRING. THAT'S A LOT OF ENERGY SQEEZED TOGETHER. KIND 'A SCARY. BY READING ABOUT YOUR EXPERIENCE, I WAS RIGHT TO BE CONCERNED. THAT JOB NEEDS A ROBOT TO DO THE WORK WITH A SPRING COMPRESSOR OR SHOULD BE DONE BY UNDOING THE BOLTS ON THE BUSHING SIDE OF THE LOWER A-ARM AND COMPRESSING THE SPRING BY JACKING THE A-ARM INTO POSITION.

 

[TR Custom Parts]

I've changed springs tons of times over the years and never had anything like that happen though I always was afraid of something like that. Hearing what happened to you sends chills down my spine. I was always more afraid when I used the spring compressor to tell you the truth.

 

[S10xGN]

I've always been lucky enough to have the spring just "drop out" whenever the lower control arm is let down (slowly, with a floor jack!).

 

[strikeeagle]

L,

Sorry. I was vacationing down your way a while ago and stopped by to see Cal. I was hoping to see you in Cal's garage. Never hooked up with him. I guess he was taking you to the ER???

Take it easy...

 

[Chris McDade]

That is terrible Louie. I was just using one of those compressors a couple of weeks ago and I had a lot of tension on it. I would hate to see what would of happened if that thing let go. Im glad that your OK. I hope you make a full recovery.

Good Luck

P.S.
I got my new tires and wheels on my car. Im will shoot you some pics later this week. I went with 15x8.5 with a 5" backspacing &
15x5.5 with a 3-3/8 backspacing on the front.

 

[Donald McMullin]

Sorry to hear about your injury.

To spare the same thing happening to the rest of us, would you explain what failed on the spring compressor tool and what type of tool were you using.

I am sorry we might have to learn from your experience, but maybe some insite from you might spare others.

Deep Enough
Donald McMullin

 

[Louie L.]

Guys,
Thanks for the good words. Just got back from the hand Doc.The bone in the tip of the finger is shattered into 3 pieces!The finger looks like a hot dog cooked in the microwave!This hurts like u wont believe.

The tool i was using was the typical rod with the movable long and short tabs.I bought it at Discount auto parts. As of right now i dont know what failed....that is if the actual tool failed or if it just slipped off from the tension. Either way is a failure.Other than taking a quick peek to make sure that no pieces of my finger were left behind i havent looked at it any further.


Chris,
Shoot me those pics. I would love to see how they look,fit ect.....

Strikeeagle,
Next time u are down, shoot me an email.

 

[PlaneMech]

This is a perfect example of the stories I use when my wife looks at my Snap-On Tools bill.

Thanks,
John

 

[Brian Schauder]

You Sissy.

You hurt your finger and your whining?Gimme a break!!!Okay just kidding Louie.Very lucky indeed.I'm sure it dosen't seem that way right now,but still lucky.Reminds me of changing the Eibach drag springs on my Mustang a half dozen times.I never liked it any time I did it and made a tool to do it.Although it worked I wouldn't call it safe by any means.I have done it the way John was talking and that seemed to work fairly well also.Make tire kingdom do it for ya.LOL What a sight that would be...anyways rest up and stay safe from now on.

 

[musclecar neal]

Get Well Soon!!

Louie,

Sorry to hear of your mishap. Hope the doc can put you back together as good as new. Ever since a good friend lost many of his teeth doing a front spring years ago I have been very very very carefully when doing them. I have a great compressor that I have used over 100 times. I stand back and way from the spring and the path it might take and the lower control arm while doing them. Just last week I was doing some detail work on my front end and had to remove the original front springs to clean them and repaint the control arms. I had one side complete and was just getting the driver side done when the spring compresor failed. Its a unit that goes through the upper shock mounting hole and down through the spring and holds the spring with one fixture. When the spring was about 95% compressed and almost ready to bolt up the lower control arm the threads in the fixture failed and were pulled from the fixture. The only thing that saved me was that I had a floor jack under the lower control arm when it failed and the arm only moved about 1 inch. I had to change my shorts as a result and now that I have sen this happen first hand and now hear of your injury I have even greater fear of doing this job. Please evreyone respect the stored energy the springs contain. And Louie get well soon.

Neal

 

[terryk]

Wow, glad it wasn't worse! Of course the injuries sound bad enough.

I'm not clear on what happened. Were you compressing the spring with the control arm ball joints still connected to the spindle?

I normally place a jack under the control arm, wrap a chain through the spring, pop the lower ball joint and then lower the jack until the spring tension is gone. I also stand well off to the side behind a neutron hardened steel cage with full chain-mail armor. Sometime I'll tell you about the time I removed the top bolt on a strut to see what would happen....

Mind you, I haven't done a G body yet, but I'm getting ready so I'm r-e-a-l-l-y interested in what happen. I know the manual says to disconnect the control arm at the frame. Is that the procedure you were using? Does the control arm not drop enough if you leave it connected to the frame but rather disconnect the lower ball joint and lower the arm with a jack?

TK

 

[Louie L.]

Brian,
I knew youd pipe up since i was razzing you just hours earlier.



The compressor let go while i was slipping the spring into the pocket, The jack was under the arm but there was no tension yet.Just as i was about to pull my hand out......

 

[Red Regal T]

I ASSUMED THAT LOUIE HAD HIS PROBLEM WHILE INSTALLING THE SPRING. HE COMPRESSED THE SPRING AND AT SOME POINT WHILE PUTTING IT IN PLACE, THE TOOL SLIPPED AND CAUSED HIS INJURIES. HOPE YOU'RE OK, LOU.

 

[terryk]

Ah ha!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I just read and watched the video on the MC SS site. No....... the arm doesn't drop enough to remove all of the tension on the spring. I think I'll be doing it from across the street......

 

[Louie L.]

Things i have learned from this:

dont use spring compressors , especially cheap ones.

when things are going well expect them to go bad....fast!

when you smash your finger dont pull it apart just so you can see inside of it!

lortab will not kill this type of pain!

Percosets will just barely

 

[mgmshar]

Several years back, I replaced the front springs on my ole' 1981 Monte Carlo (same front suspension). I did it by loosening the bolts that hold the lower control arm to the frame, and using a jack to slowly allow the lower control arm to come down. On that car, the arm was able to come down far enough to remove the tension from the spring. It came out pretty easy. Putting the new spring back in and lining-up the bolt holes - now THAT was a pain.

I think I had two chains on the spring - one securing the spring to the lower arm, and one securing the spring to the upper arm. I figured that if the jack slipped, the spring at least wouldn't go very far.

After reading this thread, I don't think I'll ever use a spring compressor.

Get well soon...

 

[Buicksx2]

Louie,

Sorry to hear of your accident. Artie Paltz and I just did front springs on our buddy Newman's car using a discount store internal spring compressor and guess we got lucky.

Get well soon bud.