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Ok I just did my suspension on my 1965 mustang coupe. I did the Shelby drop and I installed a set of 620lb 1" drop springs. I have a set of Falken 215-60-15 on it and it seems to still stand to high from the front. I wanted to cut the spring.Butit was a pain to install the springs.I wanted to see what tool you guys used and whats the easiest and safest way to remove these springs. I here this is a trial and error issue so I might be removing this spring more then once. Thanks in advance.By the way this is my very first post on this Forum.
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Wait for a while. Those springs need time to settle before you begin to cut. Wait a couple of months.
The safest way is to remove them and cut 1/4 - 1/3 of a coil at a time with a cutoff saw - do not flame cut them. A plasma cutter might work, but someone else should cover that as I do not know how much the plasma heats the spring.
Go gradually. You'll love getting to know the spring compressor.
With cut 620's your ride will be very harsh. You might have done better with GT's.
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Wait for a while. Those springs need time to settle before you begin to cut. Wait a couple of months.
The safest way is to remove them and cut 1/4 - 1/3 of a coil at a time with a cutoff saw - do not flame cut them. A plasma cutter might work, but someone else should cover that as I do not know how much the plasma heats the spring.
Go gradually. You'll love getting to know the spring compressor.
With cut 620's your ride will be very harsh. You might have done better with GT's.
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Have you driven the car to get the springs and suspension to settle? It might drop down to a level you are happier with. Every cut on a coil makes the spring stiffer so cut carefully but you may not be happy with the ride after. There was a thread either on the new forum recently or just before the switch on the old forum regarding spring compressors of various types and you can go to daze cars site (quick google will get you there) and he shows how to make a compressor. Search the new and old sites here first, though as I think you will find what you need. I don't have much experience with springs recently but apparently many are too tall out of the box. There may be a better bolt-in alternative that gives you the right height without a teeth jarring experience.
Yea car has not be driven yet. Do I need to get it realigned everytime I remove the coil spring?
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The car will sttle about 3/4" over time, and it will need new alignments just because the springs are settling. If you do cut a spring (see my RIDE HEIGHT PAGE) don't cut more than 1/3 coil. That will get it pretty low. Yes, it must be realigned every time you make a change.
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One additional thing that may keep the front end high is the lower control arms. If you tightened the frame mount bolt for the lower contol arm bushing fully with the shock extended or even before you installed the shocks, you may be twising the bushing excessively. I don't know how much this can change the height but it can cause stress in the bushing that can lead to early failure. With the car sitting at current ride height you can loosen the bolts at the lower control arm bushing. I would probably shake the car up and down a little to make sure the bushing frees up and rotates and then re-tighten the bolts. This may have minimal impact on ride height but it can't hurt to check.
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Research tells me stiff springs won't settle much.. if at all.. guess I'll see soon enough.. I had to cut half a coil on my 620 springs to sit right With 17s...If your springs are lowering springs u shouldn't need the tool to remove them... just take off away bar end links and loosen the upper arm nuts almost all the way.. pull the upper arm out till it stops on the nuts and the springs basically fall out
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frankstang65 wrote:
I wanted to see what tool you guys used and whats the easiest and safest way to remove these springs.
Bolt-in. Bolt-in! Bolt-in!!!!!!
Here is an excerpt from my "how to build a bolt in compressor" web page. the following text shows why I only use the bolt-in.
Spring Compressors 101, Why use a bolt-in type?
- When removing a coil spring, it is required to compress the spring to free it from its designed location. Failure to safely deal with compressing the spring can result in serious injury or even death. There are three main ways to compress a coil spring to remove it: external claw type spring compressor, internal claw type spring compressor or a bolt-in type spring compressor.
- An external claw type spring compressor consists of two separate pieces that clamp onto the outside of the coil spring. As the nuts on the two pieces are tightened down, the spring is compressed. There are three main issues with this type of compressor. First, both sides need to be tightened an equal amount and, since each piece has its own tightening nut, this is easier said than done. Second, this type of compressor REQUIRES that the two separate pieces be opposite of each other. Unfortunately, the shock towers of a classic Ford do not allow the two pieces to be positioned completely opposite of each other, which creates an unstably compressed spring. Third, the claws of the compressor are held to the spring by tension from the compressed spring. If the claws slip, the spring can decompress violently. Many chose to use this type of compressor because they are inexpensive and can be purchased for less than $30.00.
- The second type of claw spring compressor is an internal unit, which has four claws (two at the top and two at the bottom) that grab an upper and a lower coil of the spring. One tightening nut pulls the two sets of claws closer together and compresses the spring. This compressor is much better for a Mustang than the above mentioned external claw type, however, it is still not the best option. There are two main problems with this type of system. First, often times on a classic Ford, a 3 to 4 inch spacer (usually a piece of pipe) is required to be positioned between the upper claw assembly and the tightening head to keep the compressor from bottoming out in the UCA. Secondly, as with the external claw type, the tension of the compressed spring is all that holds the compressor in place and, as before, if those claws slip, the spring can decompress violently.
- It was an internal claw type compressor that sent me to the emergency room in June of 2005. After already removing the passenger’s side spring, I was working on the driver’s side assembly, had compressed the spring and was in the process of removing it when the compressor slipped, the spring decompressed and pinned my right hand by the three middle fingers, palm side up, between the bottom of the coil spring and the spring perch. Engaging this type of compressor requires using two hands and, of course, I was alone, the garage door was down, my cell phone was on the passenger’s side fender out of reach and most of my tools, at least any that could have been effective in freeing my hand, were on the floor next to the passenger’s side where I had already pulled the suspension apart. All I had within arms reach was the ½” box wrench (no more than 6” long) that I had just used to remove the shock. I jammed the wrench in between the spring and the perch and was able to pry the spring up enough to get the finger next to my pinkie free. I then pried on the opposite side and got my index finger free. To get my middle finger out, I pried again with the wrench and pulled as hard as I could with the trapped arm and got my hand out. To make a long story short, I still have all my fingers and they still work, however, I occasionally feel some stiffness in the middle finger joints. I was lucky!!!!! Needless to say, it is my personal mission to convince everyone to use a bolt-in type compressor.
- The third type of spring compressor is the previously mentioned bolt-in type compressor. This compressor bolts to the spring perch and the top of the shock tower, just like a shock. Once the spring has been compressed, there is no way for it to come loose unless you intentionally decompress the compressor. The “down side” to this type of compressor is that in order to completely remove the spring, the UCA needs to be removed to get the spring out. This adds about 15 minutes to the task of changing springs, however, that 15 minutes is well worth the improved safety factor.
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If the aftermarket lowering spring has been shortened any at all, you can easily place it in the car without a compressor of any kind. If using a longer original type spring, a compressor like Daze is showing is best. I built my first one in about 1980, using a throwout bearing as a thrust bearing atop a modified upper shock mount.
Practical experience with every 600 or 620# spring I have ever installed (quite a few) shows they will sag over time. I believe this is because they are aftermarket crap mainly, because new car springs certainly don't do that at all. My experience with the supposed GT springs from a major west coast area vendor will sag 3/4". Even the high dollar progressive springs I put on my 66 sagged 1/2" just during the round trip from Dallas to Illinois. It is a pain to keep having to readjust, but that is just the world we live in.
REMEMBER!!! When posting a question about your Mustang or other Ford on this forum, BE SURE to tell us what it is, what year, engine, etc so we have enough information to go on. |