Spring Compressor Questions

[Karl W]

Hi there,

I'm going to strip the front suspension and rebuild the lot, I'm in the market for some new spring compressors mine are getting worn. My question is as a rule of thumb do I need to ensure that any new spring compressors I buy need to cover 7 coils of the springs when they are un-tensioned.

For example, I raise the car off the ground to replace springs and the lengh of the spring compressors cover 7 coils of the spring. The reason I am asking for is that I knew my old ones were a little small. If it's any use the car in question is a W124.

Thanks

 

[bolide]

I believe the "original" compressor for the W124 is the Klann tool. There are copies around

Nick Froome

 

[Karl W]

Do they work with a couple of disks and a central shaft, I think they are just a bit longer than mine, mine is 250mm and does the job with a bit swearing. On shorter springs it works fine I struggled with it on my mates W212.

 

[Dieselman]

Why not jack the wheel up a bit first to gain some extra tension, but then you will need a method of compressing the spring enough to get it off the compressor.

As a poor Youth, I once used a nylon washing line to retain a compressed spring while changing the lower arm.

 

[Karl W]

I used a couple of heavy duty ratchet strapps, nearly the same. I'm just getting a bit too old now to struggle lol, thought I'd get the propper tools seeing my current set have earned their money so to speak.