I suggest you offer it for $10 rent plus freight and the rest of us will store it for you until you need it again. Shorty will wipe the blood off.
Andy, great idea! I like this rig because blood doesn't show until it's really dried out and old (kinda like me).
Hi Bob,
Where did you pick up the spring compressor? I loathe the cheap ones you can 'rent' and have to alternate tightening but do not do enough work to justify the expensive units. This may fill the void for something I may not ever actually need.
Edit: Nevermind, a refresh of the page got me the answer.
Yates, glad you got the answer. My tool comfort zone has changed over the years. It started out at $5 in my teens, grew to $20 in my 20s and 30s and now it's $100. I also figured the $99.99 I paid for that tool was less than the price of having a shop do it. I don't do it often enough to justify the really fancy Branick 7600 for almost $800 (plus $340 for its stand).
Isn't it safer to just buy a 'loaded' strut & spring? I've used the old-style to change-out springs onto new struts, but if I ever have to do that job again, I think I'll just buy them assembled, and save me the pain, the blood, and the 'excitement.'
Or, I'll drive 60 minutes north and purloin Bob's.
I had to change a spring
but had not a thing
to do the job well
I tried, it was hell
perhap's it's fate
efforts of late
now on my fingers
I count only to eight
Philip, I would have purchased the pre-assembled ones but I have Eibach springs on the car. When I bought the PT Cruiser in 2004 I thought it looked like it had a lift kit.
The Eibach springs lower the front about 1.6" and the rear about 2". I also found a billet grill that I thought looked better than the egg-crate one that came with the car.
You don't want to know how I break strut assemblies down. lol
Kirk, I'm guessing it involves an impact gun and a hockey mask.
Worm clamps and zip tips. Ummmm, going to try that.
Yes, I’m always on the ready with the wipes, iodine and bandages. [emoji12]
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Stewart, I only started using zip ties after I turned 50. I felt like such a loser. Only way I can control myself is to limit my collection to whatever fits in a plastic shoebox. OK, one time I may have broken my limit...
So you're telling me you have a bottle of iodine? I ran out a couple of years ago and finally found two bottles hiding on the bottom shelf of my local Walgreens. I figure the bacteria that are resistant to the new drugs don't stand a chance against iodine.
Bob: i'm always amazed at the projects you seem to take on without any fear of not being able to do them probably better than most of us. i know i probably will never take on that strut removal and replacement, but i tip my hat off to you for doing yours if it needed replacing.
WELL DONE SIR!!
Drives, thank you sir!! I tackle projects knowing I don't have the skills or tools to do them as well as some of the greats on this site but I want to show that pencil pushers can do an acceptable imitation. Growing up I found that shocks and struts wear out and lose their effectiveness a little at a time. If you wait until they are completely shot, the handling of the car becomes dangerous. These shocks and struts had 45,000 miles on them and collapsed with very little resistance but the rebound was fine. I realized they needed to be replaced when small bumps had the front end making metal-on-metal noises. It was also caused by disintegrating bump stops. One of the front bump stops was gone and the other was unrecognizable (the brown stuff is what's left of the old bump stops and the white thing is a new bump stop).
Worse? Lay the assembly down in the grass, stand on the coil, and hit the retaining nut with the impact. Bearing doesn't move much and the bottom part usually pops out about 18" into the grass. Pretty anti-climatic.
Kirk, I think that's a great way to get the spring and strut separated -- my problem is getting the springs installed on the new struts. I have done something like that with coil springs, disconnecting the lower control arm while it's held by the jack and then lowering it slowly while I'm at arm's length from the action. Like you say, anti-climactic, considering all the warnings.
Bob i believe that you have had the optional speed alert before the auto makers made them a big option. I like that spring compressor
Dwight
Dwight, my speed alert follows the speed limits religiously. Not the maximum, the minimum. You can get a ticket for going slower than 45mph on an interstate so it's maxed out at 46mph. It also goes 20mph in school zones when the lights aren't flashing (what if the lights are burned out or the power has failed!). The spring compressor makes me want to do struts on random cars that stop by.
That's some nice work Bob! Challenges me to try and do more than just swapping out small components.
I do like your 13/16-inch spark plug socket launcher!
Thanks
Guster! Seems to me your "small components" include a rear bumper cover. I did give the tool a trial run as a launcher but the hydraulic release valve seems pretty small and it just lifted the top plate off an inch or two and everything fell on the floor.
I've had speed alert for years - but sometimes she gets distracted by other things. [emoji1]
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Mark, I find "THRIFT STORE" sounds a lot like "SQUIRREL" because my hearing in that ear is impaired.
Amazing work as usual Bob. [emoji106]
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Thank you
Mark, and thanks for stopping by and commenting.
How many ton machine did you get?
Bobby, it's a 1-ton. I don't drive anything that's real heavy so I figured it would be adequate. The 3-ton model is only about $20 more expensive.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B077TFMS5Q/?tag=atomicindus08-20
You and your wife are members of a rare breed. Met a guy at a party yesterday who was three sheets to the wind. He couldn't understand why his wife told him to leave after 25 years. Apparently she caught him off guard during a brief sober break.
