Safest way?

[SANM4N]

im trying to figure out the safest way to instal my front coils when ive only got the chassis so theres no weight pushing down while i jack the lower control arm up to tighten the balljoint, i dont really want to prop the top of the chassis down with timber from the ceiling or bolt a frame down to the concrete and over the top of the chassis as i have a plaster ceiling and a waffle pod slab so neither would be good for strength/ dont want holes in the concrete, also i have a new set of low king springs, they go standard, low, super low, ultra low i want to buy a set of super lows is anyone interested in the low springs i have? they are brand new they were put in another car and the height wasn't as low as wanted so they were removed and are sitting on my bench they've never been driven with, they lower the car about 30-35mm i think i want KHFL-43 which lowers the car 50mm, id do a swap if someone is interested if they have new springs too, out of interest what are height are you guys running your vans/utes at? im especially interested in those who have the front spoiler/ air dam i think the 50mm lower should be good as my tonner has the 35mm and is a little high for me

[SLR_dave]

Interesting problem, I have do do a chassis change at some point - and swap all the running gear, I hadn't considered that issue....

I think, now considering this thread, when I get around to it I'll do it by putting the body and engine on the new chassis first before swapping the springs, that would be a safer way I think.

Maybe you could temporarily bolt the engine and gearbox back in? That would give you some weight..., might not be enough though, I dunno.

I'd be using a good internal spring compressor too, the external ones can sometimes be made to work on H series, but it's not right, I did it last time with an internal kingchrome one, even then, it only just cleared (with a nudge- grimace! ) and I had to use extra spacers on the compressor.

Sure Ive been told some people just jack em in, no compressor at all, but that always seemed pretty dodge to me from a 'not getting a spring in the head' point of veiw, and also I dunno if they always end up sitting straight done like that, - you also want to make sure the bottom end of the coil sits so it doesnt block the water drain hole in the lower arm.

But I wonder if Holden still sell the original tool - Gregorys manual list it as " Compression tool set number 3A15" and (if you can find one) to Ensure the tool plate is inserted between the bottom 3rd and 4th coils with the offset hole toward the engine " Might be worth a look around, just maybe they are even in stock..., somewhere, I've never seen one, but maybe if you can get exactly the right spring compressor tool, using shorter springs, you might not need to jack the lower wishbone up at all. Probably "safest"?

[SLR_dave]

Actually : Postnote.

I just googled fo th 3A15 and its been out of sight for years, what was I thinking?

But the solution is simple, theres a thread on it on the Old Holden site. You just make your own compressor tool out of threaded rod and lock nuts, if you arange the shape of the lower plate/arm with considered creativity this should work well, I'd use a nice thick spacer washer (or two) for the top of the shock tower. I wouldnt use spring steel for the lower arm though, but def go 5/8' on the rod.
Remember that becuase the coils of the spring are spiral, one side of the lower arm/plate will need to be be higher than the other to get tension on two sides of the spring, ie; it will want to sit on a diagonal, or be shaped with one end higher than the other and perhaps a curl or bend or etc to hold the coil on each side .

http://oldholden.com/node/55828

[SANM4N]

thanks for the reply last night i had a similar idea pop into my head i understand what way your thinking and i read the thread you linked there, im not 100%sure if my idea will work but i was thinking of using threaded rod but rather than compressing the spring as when i release it it may not be in the correct position, if i use the threaded rod from the top of the shock tower to the underside of the lower wishbone with a plate, position the spring and wind the whole lot up together, i think it should work and might be safer than having the spring compressed up there whilst im lifting the control arm up to tighten the ball joint

[thatotherguy]

if you are putting super lows in then you wont need to compress them much they will be short enough, we have just put super lows in my sons HQ prem

[Big Rob]

You can also compress the springs a bit using the threaded rod and plates, then tie some (strong) wire around the coils 2nd from the top to 2nd from the bottom in a couple of places. Then insert them in place, replace the balljoint and cut the wire. I've done it a lot and it works fine. The wire is removed from under the spring by prising the coil with a flat screwdriver and pulling the wire out. Piece of cake!

I'm running standard V8 WB RTS springs that I cut one and a half coils out of and it's low without being stupid-low (and still rides good too).

And as "thatotherguy" says, with super-low's you won't need to compress them much.

[V8VAN]

^That's how I do my torana ones. Compress, tie wire, fit, and cut.

[SLR_dave]

thanks for the reply last night i had a similar idea pop into my head i understand what way your thinking and i read the thread you linked there, im not 100%sure if my idea will work but i was thinking of using threaded rod but rather than compressing the spring as when i release it it may not be in the correct position, if i use the threaded rod from the top of the shock tower to the underside of the lower wishbone with a plate, position the spring and wind the whole lot up together, i think it should work and might be safer than having the spring compressed up there whilst im lifting the control arm up to tighten the ball joint

You'll have to do a try it and see on that I think, but you may find, that due to the angle of the lower wishbone as it comes up, the spring will bend more on one side and you mightn't be able to tell if it's straight without getting in a bit close. With short springs though, it might just go in easy.

Otherwise, the way described in the link should work well, or an aftermarket internal compressor for Holden, (my Kingchrome one is for Falcon I think) but it only cost me 40 bucks. Line it up first, compress slowly just mildly to start with, watch the angles under mild compession, note that the lower end of the spring actually travels up the spiral a bit with compression, release it, turn it to a guestimated position and you'll get it straight, and clear that drain hole reletively easy enough on a couple of goes.

Remember its not just your head and hands to worry about, keep the toe of your foot (and everything else) out from under that lower wishbone!! Very easy to let your foot stray under there.

Also, best practice is not to torque the wishbone pivot bolts untill the car is sitting on the ground with engine and cab weight, it can chew out the new wishy bushes if they are torqued without load, because they then have to twist beyond limits as they take the load up for driving (a tip some miss).

You can also compress the springs a bit using the threaded rod and plates, then tie some (strong) wire around the coils 2nd from the top to 2nd from the bottom in a couple of places. Then insert them in place, replace the balljoint and cut the wire. I've done it a lot and it works fine. The wire is removed from under the spring by prising the coil with a flat screwdriver and pulling the wire out. Piece of cake!

Yes it does work, and many do it that way, but awh geeze, is more effort, (personally I only managed it that way once on at Torana) with HJ/ HX I couldnt get enough compression/self confidence without tieing up the bottom and top coils as well, (hence the wire getting stuck under the spring as Big Rob describes). Even then, dealing with a compresed spring bound up with tie wire gives me the shaking jellies, its like holding an unexploded bomb!

The other thing is that if youve painted your wishbones and springs all nice, scratching em up with wire is a bit of a shame. After messing around a few times with it, I'm glad my wire tie days are over! (No criticism of Big Rob or V8VAN intended here).

[SANM4N]

all good advice i dont have anything to compress the springs with, its normally not a hassle but id like to have the springs in so i can tick a job off the list i could wait until the body is on the chassis and then do it but im keen now, and i dont want to tie them i think i should be alright with the angle ill just have to see, ive got to redo my lower control arms first anyways now as the balljoint hole is too flogged out so it wont be until next weekend or later that ill be fitting the springs, cheers for the replys still havnt heard what height you guys are using

[SLR_dave]

I wanted a standard ride height, I used the ones that were in the car when I got it, the vehicle sits fine, looks about right, but I haven't measured it, - its only got a 202 in it atm, dunno if it will drop when I get the 4.2 rebuilt (one day...).

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