themeltingpointofwax

sorry if this has been covered before. i need some help with this ASAP. im changing my buddies springs for him, and i got the front suspension apart, and the aftermarket springs out, and im having problems getting the stock ones back in. i cant get them compressed enough without the spring compressor being in the way when putting them back in. can anybody help me?

ive got 2 kinds of spring compressors. the ones that go on either side on the outside of the spring, and ive got the one that is just one piece that goes through and has two scissor arms to grab the coil at each end of the spring. the second one would work, but i don't think there'll be any way to get it back out once ive got the spring back in place.


help please?



thanks,
-rick henry

themeltingpointofwax

oh ya, its an 02 mustang. v6... 3.2 liter? maybe 3.8... i don't remember.... sorry, i dont have much experience with mustangs.


-rick

Derf00

You may need to pop the ball joint off the knuckle assembly so the control arm can drop down (swing down) on it's inner pivots. This will also allow you to make sure that your spring is seated properly. Then you won't need a spring compressor. All you do is use a floor jack to bring the arm back up with the spring in place and compress it to get the ball joint back in.

themeltingpointofwax

thanks a ton man, im gonna try it in the morning.

just to clarify, before i go taking more stuff apart.


the control arm is the A-arm, correct?
and by the "ball joint on the knuckle assembly" you mean the tie rod, correct?



one more thing, since im not too familiar with the mustang suspension, on the OEM springs my friend has, they have like a padding that winds around the coil at the top. the person before him didnt put those on the aftermarket springs. they had the black rubber seats at the end of the springs instead. the bottom only gets the black seats, i know, but at the top, should i use the black seats AND the little pad that wraps around the coil? seems a bit redundant to have two pads, and i also dont think that spring would sit properly with both.



thanks again man,
-rick