demarpaint
Well-known member
Thanks buddy! Too bad the car wasn't on L.I. I'd give you a hand.
Strut spring compression tool? Need advice
- Thread starter Hangman
- Start date
I use this type which I have made up a stand for;
www.drapertools.com
I have never seen full struts available new over this side of the atlantic so we are generally always disassembling struts to do broken springs/ laky shocks/ rough top bearings.
Draper Expert Coil Spring Compressor Kit (8 Piece)
Safely and easily compress coil springs with our reliable and durable compressor kit. Browse our selection of spring compression tools!
www.drapertools.com
I have never seen full struts available new over this side of the atlantic so we are generally always disassembling struts to do broken springs/ laky shocks/ rough top bearings.
Ign
Well-known member
It doesn't help the OP in the least but Motorcraft is now offering quick struts for some Ford apps. I learned of it a couple years ago thru a vid FTM did....might have been for an Escape
dnschmidt
Well-known member
First off, there is no spring compressor I would recommend for a budget minded person. Fixing Grandpa's Mini-Van isn't worth an accident.
The Brannick is the bomb and the one sold by Eastwood (and many other vendors) are the only two I find acceptable from the safety standpoint. KYB makes good stuff. Buy their version of the Uni-Strut and be done with it. How long is an 18 year old car going to last anyway? If you insist of using a different strut PAY a shop to swap them out. Easy money for them and it's the most cost effective way to do this job for you.
The Brannick is the bomb and the one sold by Eastwood (and many other vendors) are the only two I find acceptable from the safety standpoint. KYB makes good stuff. Buy their version of the Uni-Strut and be done with it. How long is an 18 year old car going to last anyway? If you insist of using a different strut PAY a shop to swap them out. Easy money for them and it's the most cost effective way to do this job for you.
VolvoRyan
Well-known member
LOL. Pre-assembled struts (quick-struts) are GARBAGE. How can they make money by selling the assembly for the same price as good, quality parts unassembled? Simple: Use poor quality parts. These parts WILL fail in short time. See it all the time with Volvos. Failure within a few months? You're out the cost of the parts and another alignment....
Spring compressor depends on the diameter of both the coil spring and the coil.
-Ryan
dnschmidt
Well-known member
Check the difference in price between Gabriel, Monroe and KYB. The KYB are typically twice the price of the other two. That's how you do it.
engineer2
Well-known member
Never tried their preloaded, but the regular KYB struts where great and lasted for 100,000 miles.
65ranchero
Well-known member
I have also used Monroe years ago (Maybe 40years ago) and it was a respected brand. I had to put struts on my '07 Volvo S60 with 100K. Ordered front and rear Monroe Gas for the front and shocks for the rear. What I found was that the ride became very hard and bumpy. Although it's harsh I liked it because to me it handled better and it was better that what was in there before.
I was considering the pre-assembled and ran away from them when I started to read reviews of them and seeing where they were made..
.
And all of the doubters about shaft and claw compressors, I have used one for over 25 years at the dealer and it is a shop tool suggested by Volvo. I used to use the one from the shop and went and bought one myself after the shop one was broken ( shaft that welded it's self to the claw) by a flat rate monkey who couldn't be bothered to lube it and used his mega impact gun to hammer it down.
Did struts in my drive way on one car, 4 springs on my Polaris Ranger, my present car and who know how many others they performed on.
Never had one claw slip or fall of if it was properly installed and tightened!
paredown
Well-known member
Another Harbor Freight hook style user; did the struts on our V70 a few years ago. Like a lot of tools, as long as you
(a) recognize that it can kill you; and
(b) work safely and carefully
You can get the job done for minimal cash outlay. If I wasn't feeling up to it, I would buy good struts and get them compressed by a shop that has a good wall mount--shouldn't be that expensive. I bought the tool because I expect I will do my Tundra's fronts one of these days... (Most of the pre-made sets are **** as everyone has noted.)
(a) recognize that it can kill you; and
(b) work safely and carefully
You can get the job done for minimal cash outlay. If I wasn't feeling up to it, I would buy good struts and get them compressed by a shop that has a good wall mount--shouldn't be that expensive. I bought the tool because I expect I will do my Tundra's fronts one of these days... (Most of the pre-made sets are **** as everyone has noted.)
Bigblue&Goldie
Well-known member
I have tried about all of them. Don't waste your time or money on the hook style. I did use the OTC clamshell style for a few years and it worked ok in some applications but not all and still made me nervous.
This is hands down the best money I ever spent on a strut compressor, the Brannick 7600. I built a cart for mine as I didn't have the dedicated wall space to lose. This is the best and safest strut compressor I have ever used and wish I wouldn't have wasted money on my earlier purchases as I was told they were junk but in my head I thought they would work for me. They didn't.
Mike, did you look at the Jack Tech SK3000 when you bought your Branick? Seems like the Jack Tech would be more suited towards motorsports coilovers than the Branick. I don't think it's as robust for larger standard struts though. ~$500 with a stand.
Jack Tech (JCTSK3000) Strut Spring Compressor
DetailsFeatures and Benefits:Designed to increase the capacity to hold and compress any type or size of struts and springsEquipped with 14 in. holding vice and 20.5 in. high which can be adjusted to fit and compress any types of strut in upright or upside down positionsOne man operation system...
www.tooltopia.com
I could've used something better than my death sticks tonight. I did a dual rate spring setup on an old Polaris RZR 900 and the death sticks were their usual annoyance. Mine are Craftsman/Made in USA, but they still make your *** pucker every time!
zmotorsports
ALLIANCE MEMBER
Ryan, no, I did not look at the Jack Tech and hadn't seen it before. I can see where it may be a little more geared towards motorsports or powersports as you mentioned but it may be a bit under supported for larger coils. To be honest, I had used a Brannick at a friend's shop and was so impressed with it that I really didn't even look at anything else, I just knew I wanted the Brannick and nothing else would be equivalent.
That being said, I have used my Brannick on several side by side coil overs now for friends that have those "things", as well as a few sand rail Fox coilovers and it works great even on the smaller coil springs. I don't work on powersports equipment any longer but even if I get into working more on the larger coilovers for Jeeps I think the Brannick will work perfectly as they're just a bigger version of the sand rail and side by side coilovers that I've recently worked on. I like how the end of the fingers on the Brannick are necked down to be able to reach inside of smaller coil overs and they extend inwards quite far to reach smaller diameter coils.
Thanks for thinking of my though. If I run into a situation where the Brannick doesn't work as well as I think it should then I will be sure to inform others but so far so good but I've only used it about a dozen times now over the past year plus that I've had it.
bwringer
Well-known member
I've installed at least four sets of the KYB complete struts and they've been fantastic.
Three of those sets replaced cheap struts that failed and started leaking and making noise quickly.
I've been severely disappointed in the others; you'll find an assortment of cheap Chinese struts under various made-up brand names online. They are garbage.
Monroe struts are also relabeled Chinese shite, sold at a markup.
During a collision repair, I once paid a dealer collision shop extra to install two new OEM Toyota front struts (Insurance would only pay to replace the damaged one. Hell naw.)
Imagine my displeasure when the van started groaning and bouncing in six months; upon closer inspection, the dealer had installed "FCS" struts, the absolute cheapest, crappiest garbage on the planet, FCS must stand for "F***ing Chinese S***". $75 each from RockAuto, so you can imagine how little goes into them.
After getting stonewalled with the dealer (of course) I figured I could devote my life to this for the next five years, or just install KYB struts myself and put it behind me. I noticed that the KYB struts weighed significantly more than the cheap imitations, and they've been flawless for many miles since.
If you pay attention, you'll notice that there's usually a KYB rebate promotion about twice a year.
zmotorsports
ALLIANCE MEMBER
Ryan, after reading through a couple dozen reviews of the Jack Tech I am convinced the Brannick would be a better choice. It's kind of a mixed bag on the reviews but it seems that those that have used compressors seem to think the Jack Tech is a bit anemic and a couple comments even mentioning it would be fine for lesser spring rates but much more than several hundred pounds and they feel it is too undersized and almost flimsy. Also a couple comments about the stand being shaky and unstable. Several comments mentioned the Brannick but the Jack Tech being the cheaper choice and that it comes with a stand and if you had to purchase the stand for the Brannick it would be way overpriced. While I agree the stand for the Brannick is another chunk of money, I made my own from scrap so the price was irrelevant.
Kind of reading between the lines I get the feeling that those who either had never used a spring compressor or had only used the allthread and hook style seemed to really like the Jack Tech but then they really didn't have anything else to compare it to.
Ign
Well-known member
Yeah I put FCS on a woman's '02 Impreza... at the time it was the ONLY listing RA offered for the application - not sure why exactly. I could tell solely from the price point they likely weren't quality. I have no idea if they're making noise again....I guess I don't really ever want to know
dnschmidt
Well-known member
I have nothing against Rock Auto. I use them all the time, but, buy the best that they have to offer not the worst. Instead of pick for me the cheapest price they should have another choice that states: "I want the best quality you've got." I have never worked on my car to save money, thankfully I don't have to, I work on my car because I don't trust anybody else to do so. As "Customer Says What" says on YouTube the world is full of Gumbas and Jamokes. I try to avoid them.
Ign
Well-known member
RA would have to up their game on listings. Quite often their "economy" and "daily driver" and "high performance" categories seem to be distinguished solely by price. This means sometimes (often, IME) a good brand name that just happens to be cheaper is listed as economy while a more expensive off-brand is listed as daily driver. And quite often their "high performance" stuff just feels like it should be in the rice burner over-accesorize aisle at Autozone.
Those are merely one man's observations, though....
And RA is typically a good source for Motorcraft....if'n you're unfortunate enough to be a Ford guy like me
This strut spring is similar to garage door springs…………
The hook type for $12.00 and some minor precautions, common sense and it’s done.
Or just borrow the tool on the loaner program at the local parts store.
vssjim
ALLIANCE MEMBER
We use KYB's as a first choice always over all the others and have had no problems over the years, the others I can't say the same about.
bwringer
Well-known member
RockAuto does mark the OE supplier or OE part when they have this information. I'm most familiar with Toyotas, so it's not uncommon to see things like NGK spark plugs, Aisin water pumps, Denso O2 sensors, Bando belts, etc. marked as such.
As far as struts, I know KYB is an OE supplier for Toyota, but I don't know whether the KYB struts you can buy retail are the actual OE part for any given vehicle. I can say KYB struts are the only ones that have delivered OE ride and longevity for my Toyotas, at about 1/4 - 1/3 the cost of ordering via Toyota.
YMMV depending on the vehicle, of course. No idea who the OE supplier is for Chrysler, GM, Ford, etc. or whether the parts from the OE supplier brand or dealer are the same or better than the parts the car was made with. It's always something of a crapshoot with only partial information, unfortunately.
As far as struts, I know KYB is an OE supplier for Toyota, but I don't know whether the KYB struts you can buy retail are the actual OE part for any given vehicle. I can say KYB struts are the only ones that have delivered OE ride and longevity for my Toyotas, at about 1/4 - 1/3 the cost of ordering via Toyota.
YMMV depending on the vehicle, of course. No idea who the OE supplier is for Chrysler, GM, Ford, etc. or whether the parts from the OE supplier brand or dealer are the same or better than the parts the car was made with. It's always something of a crapshoot with only partial information, unfortunately.
2ndGearRubber
Well-known member
What's the issue with FCS? Yeah, they're cheap, that's the while point. I have zero issues and have installed a few hundred I'd guess. They are functional dampers and do their job. No, they're not KYBs. People with 2007 ford fusions and other shitboxes dont need KYBs. They need non blown seals, and mounts/springs that aren't broken.
On higher end stuff, I use premium options. But I have only replaced a handful of dampers for ride quality issues in my career. People change them because they have to, either because the broken coil spring slashed the tire or the puking damper failed state inspection. Mounts making noise? Everybody wants a "free estimate", than balks at the price to do a proper job. Thus, FCS is my first choice for the dampers I do change.
What's so bad about them? They're 100% superior to anything I'm replacing.
On higher end stuff, I use premium options. But I have only replaced a handful of dampers for ride quality issues in my career. People change them because they have to, either because the broken coil spring slashed the tire or the puking damper failed state inspection. Mounts making noise? Everybody wants a "free estimate", than balks at the price to do a proper job. Thus, FCS is my first choice for the dampers I do change.
What's so bad about them? They're 100% superior to anything I'm replacing.
bwringer
Well-known member
But not for long...
That said, you do make an excellent point.
AFAIK, FCS struts are not actually unsafe, and often just getting down the road another year or so for the minimum amount of cash is exactly the right call. By the time they need struts, most cars have a lot of miles, plenty of other current or upcoming issues, and aren't worth a whole lot.
Still, there are cheap parts here and there that are legitimately unsafe, or where you know the odds are against you. There's an art to making the right choices.
lethal-6
Well-known member
Buy the Brannick or the strut tamer 2 extreme. Either one would be the best. They both work extremely well. Choose your price. I think that the strut tamer is a little more beginner friendly, but the Brannick is very good. Don't waste time or money on the cheap tool.
fuggle
Well-known member
I would just rent a spring compressor from one of the auto parts outlets. Especially if this is just a one-off repair. I've used the hook style spring compressors many times. They work. An impact wrench makes quick work of it.
I believe its too late now, but why would you buy a pre assembled strut? The spring is fine. Just buy the shock.
I believe its too late now, but why would you buy a pre assembled strut? The spring is fine. Just buy the shock.
bwringer
Well-known member
A whole new strut also gets you a new mount, spring cushions, boot, and bumper which are always just as worn out, and often the original spring is a bit sagged after many moons and miles.
As far as total cost, a quick strut, if a good quality version is available, is usually a no-brainer compared to buying the parts separately to actually do the job right.
As far as total cost, a quick strut, if a good quality version is available, is usually a no-brainer compared to buying the parts separately to actually do the job right.
toddmorr
Well-known member
Yeah, agree with fuggle. I always go kyb, and have used the lisle tool many times, no issues at all. Did an rx350 last week that really required high compression on the fronts, the lisle tool didn't complain a bit.
toddmorr
Well-known member
I only trust kyb, if I could find them in assemblies I'd go that route but they are rarely available that way
The Frisco Kid
Well-known member
My advice is simple... don't do it. Just use quick-strut assemblies. They are already installed and you are good to go so much more quickly. Fresh spring and strut in one shot.
I know this thread is a little dated, but for posterity/future searchers adding my agreement to using the tool above. I got mine 8 or 9 years ago and have done three of the family cars, the cars of several friends and loaned it out to a couple others. Great tool, very safe and a bargain for what they're selling for now. I halfway considered selling my old one for cheap and ordering the one above for the spring pads and the better case: (the one shown is now cracked at the hinges)
2ndGearRubber
Well-known member
Nobody ever thinks about the bumpstops. They act as a protector of the damper internals, and as a spring assist at the limit of compression travel. Can't tell you how many "just change the part that's bad" jobs I've done where there basically isn't even a bumpstop left. I used to cut down civic bumpstops to length and use shims if need be, but now I just do whole assemblies.
By the time most people - need - new dampers, the car has 5 years left.
Do you use that for struts only? I was considering using it to assist installing rear coil springs mounted in perches between a control arm and the unibody. Usually drooping the arm give you plenty of room, but an extra 1/2 of compression would be nice.
I tend to replace all the soft bits when I do anything.
If I understand what you're asking, I did use it on my wife's car to get that bit of space, but on my old BMW (which was the job I originally bought the tool for) I either didn't know what the hell I was doing or didn't see a way to do that. I screwed together a number of pieces of wood to make a sort of pyramid and used my jack to press up.
It is easy to overgeneralize, and oversimplify the replies to a topic.
I see posts about spending a boatload on a nice spring compressor, and posts about using cheaper parts as if any vehicle a few years older is already trash and not worth bothering.
Any vehicle you want to continue using with more than bare minimum value (say $1500 or less) should get parts deemed mid-grade at a minimum unless the vehicle has some other outstanding issue that you expect will end its life soon... not just "it's old" or "I don't like that make/model/whatever".
If the original springs are sagging, absolutely replacement springs are worthwhile unless the budget is so extremely tight that you can't justify it but then, don't even replace struts unless an inspection mandated it. Otherwise, if the OEM springs aren't sagging or are sagging equally between front and rear and you are only trying to meet a safety inspection mandate, replacing only one axle with quick struts can make the ride height and handling uneven, or even worse if you are only replacing the single strut that failed the inspection.
I don't usually wait till a vehicle is low value to replace the struts. In my area there are many hills and curves and a passenger sedan might make it close to 100K mi but anything, even a minivan potentially hauling a load, I'd replace struts on closer to 50K mi and at that point the vehicle has a lot of value left in it even if seldom driven so the bluebook value is less than the true value to the owner. This is very often the case for people who maintain their vehicles well.
In other words you can let a vehicle degrade not just from failure to maintain it but also by using inferior parts to the point where you compromise the ride, and expectation of time till same repairs need done again, even on a wear item like struts there is the frequency in which you have to redo the repair with new ones.
Getting the new parts along with the struts is good for cheap repairs on vehicles long past due but I've never needed more than the strut itself for the first strut replacement. I usually try to time it along with 3rd (2nd after the factory set of) tires so an alignment is done just before new tires, which puts it somewhere south of 100K mi., closer to 50K mi.
Anyway back to my opening statement, each vehicle design, environment and driver is different. It's not cut and dry how much to replace except after considering all the variables including budget, but generalizing (lol) if the budget is tight or the vehicle has limited time left on the road, I'd only replace the strut itself. More often than not I wouldn't use quick struts and especially not the lowest cost you can find, unless you come across some beater and are just trying to flip it and let everyone else deal with it later so you can increase profit yourself.
Some might say that adds value to the vehicle and it might, depends on what the buyer wanted, just road worthy for a while at lowest cost or if they instead didn't want the sale value increased when they'd rather do it better themselves.
Ultimately my biggest issue is when someone tries to act like low value vehicle deserves garbage parts, when if it was just maintained properly it wouldn't be slipping into the grave in the first place. It is madness that people today act like a 15+ year old vehicle should be scrapped for the metal value, when bluebook only assumes that is what the owner let happen instead of good maintenance with good parts.
The sad truth is that my oldest vehicles are my best ones, in that they will cost me less in the long run to keep on the road than the newer ones. Granted I drive the newer more often but already got those miles out of the older ones so still a reasonable comparison.
I'd not bother at all for a vehicle you think has only a year left. Seriously? If you're going to let a vehicle decay to that point, sell or scap it already, not pouring money into junk parts. If it only has a year left it is worth sub-$1000 so quick struts and the needed alignment are not at all a good investment, at that point it's a mechanics special and just has to drive away from its location to the new owner's location.
I see posts about spending a boatload on a nice spring compressor, and posts about using cheaper parts as if any vehicle a few years older is already trash and not worth bothering.
Any vehicle you want to continue using with more than bare minimum value (say $1500 or less) should get parts deemed mid-grade at a minimum unless the vehicle has some other outstanding issue that you expect will end its life soon... not just "it's old" or "I don't like that make/model/whatever".
If the original springs are sagging, absolutely replacement springs are worthwhile unless the budget is so extremely tight that you can't justify it but then, don't even replace struts unless an inspection mandated it. Otherwise, if the OEM springs aren't sagging or are sagging equally between front and rear and you are only trying to meet a safety inspection mandate, replacing only one axle with quick struts can make the ride height and handling uneven, or even worse if you are only replacing the single strut that failed the inspection.
I don't usually wait till a vehicle is low value to replace the struts. In my area there are many hills and curves and a passenger sedan might make it close to 100K mi but anything, even a minivan potentially hauling a load, I'd replace struts on closer to 50K mi and at that point the vehicle has a lot of value left in it even if seldom driven so the bluebook value is less than the true value to the owner. This is very often the case for people who maintain their vehicles well.
In other words you can let a vehicle degrade not just from failure to maintain it but also by using inferior parts to the point where you compromise the ride, and expectation of time till same repairs need done again, even on a wear item like struts there is the frequency in which you have to redo the repair with new ones.
Getting the new parts along with the struts is good for cheap repairs on vehicles long past due but I've never needed more than the strut itself for the first strut replacement. I usually try to time it along with 3rd (2nd after the factory set of) tires so an alignment is done just before new tires, which puts it somewhere south of 100K mi., closer to 50K mi.
Anyway back to my opening statement, each vehicle design, environment and driver is different. It's not cut and dry how much to replace except after considering all the variables including budget, but generalizing (lol) if the budget is tight or the vehicle has limited time left on the road, I'd only replace the strut itself. More often than not I wouldn't use quick struts and especially not the lowest cost you can find, unless you come across some beater and are just trying to flip it and let everyone else deal with it later so you can increase profit yourself.
Some might say that adds value to the vehicle and it might, depends on what the buyer wanted, just road worthy for a while at lowest cost or if they instead didn't want the sale value increased when they'd rather do it better themselves.
Ultimately my biggest issue is when someone tries to act like low value vehicle deserves garbage parts, when if it was just maintained properly it wouldn't be slipping into the grave in the first place. It is madness that people today act like a 15+ year old vehicle should be scrapped for the metal value, when bluebook only assumes that is what the owner let happen instead of good maintenance with good parts.
The sad truth is that my oldest vehicles are my best ones, in that they will cost me less in the long run to keep on the road than the newer ones. Granted I drive the newer more often but already got those miles out of the older ones so still a reasonable comparison.
I'd not bother at all for a vehicle you think has only a year left. Seriously? If you're going to let a vehicle decay to that point, sell or scap it already, not pouring money into junk parts. If it only has a year left it is worth sub-$1000 so quick struts and the needed alignment are not at all a good investment, at that point it's a mechanics special and just has to drive away from its location to the new owner's location.
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2ndGearRubber
Well-known member
^ There's a difference between GJ members, and the general public. You would recoil in disgust if you saw how the general public "maintains" their vehicles.
By and large, 2006 vehicles in the rust belt are pretty much done for. I told the front desk last week to inform the customer to just stop changing the oil on their car. Waste of money, the car is so beyond junk and will be totaled when it needs its 4/32 tires replaced or the brake lines finally blow. It doesn't have 15k miles left, so don't waste money dumping oil every 3months/3k miles. But some are stuck in their ways. Leaking coolant, **** tires, rusted over brakes, holes in the shell/unibody, leaking/loose exhaust, dash full of warning lights, every panel dented, etc.
But your point is valuable - if one does not defer maintenance and repairs, vehicles are unlikely to become "mechanically totaled".
By and large, 2006 vehicles in the rust belt are pretty much done for. I told the front desk last week to inform the customer to just stop changing the oil on their car. Waste of money, the car is so beyond junk and will be totaled when it needs its 4/32 tires replaced or the brake lines finally blow. It doesn't have 15k miles left, so don't waste money dumping oil every 3months/3k miles. But some are stuck in their ways. Leaking coolant, **** tires, rusted over brakes, holes in the shell/unibody, leaking/loose exhaust, dash full of warning lights, every panel dented, etc.
But your point is valuable - if one does not defer maintenance and repairs, vehicles are unlikely to become "mechanically totaled".
bubinga
Well-known member
KYB complete front struts for my 01 Grand Prix SE are about $100.00 each at Rock Auto.
Do you think those would be good for my car?
bubinga
Well-known member
KYB complete struts?
Or just the shock part, using the OEM springs and top mounts?
bwringer
Well-known member
Yes, they would be perfect. KYB makes very high quality stuff.
You can get cheap horrible Chinese shite under assorted doofy brand names for less if you're selling the car tomorrow, but the minor cost difference is well worth it.
Just to mention something I never thought about ......... I used the strut assemblies on a '07 Entourage van & a '07 Pacifica.
They can screw up your alignment and in the case of the Pacifica the only way to get the vehicle in spec was to change the diameter of the mounting bolts to the knuckle.
They can screw up your alignment and in the case of the Pacifica the only way to get the vehicle in spec was to change the diameter of the mounting bolts to the knuckle.
VolvoRyan
Well-known member
KYB seems to be OE for a number of Japanese brands, but their offerings for other makes are pretty...... bad. I've used a bunch of their products over the years and am always let down. Similar stories on the forums. My bet is that their OE and aftermarket stuff is made very differently, and in different places.
-Ryan
VolvoRyan
Well-known member
I'll add that the yardstick for measuring vehicle longevity uses a much different scale than the yardstick for parts quality these days. For every "dollar saved" on a part, the "quality" typically drops off exponentially. It's a phenomenon that still blows my mind. Longevity is one thing, but I've been burned enough by parts that don't even fit. Waiting for a week for replacements that *do* fit isn't a luxury that everyone has.
This is why my own beater wagon (an '87 with 400K miles, that's worth waaay less than the sum of its parts, but refuses to die) winds up getting the best parts I usually can put on it. By the time you do the math for TME, top shelf parts make sense even when you DIY.
If you're in a tough spot in your life (we've all been there), that changes the formula. Otherwise, get the good stuff.
-Ryan
I just bought a cheap version of a set like that from amazon that has the plastic. Worked well on an e46. I was surprised that I actually could it move with a ratchet and not have to use an impactI know this thread is a little dated, but for posterity/future searchers adding my agreement to using the tool above. I got mine 8 or 9 years ago and have done three of the family cars, the cars of several friends and loaned it out to a couple others. Great tool, very safe and a bargain for what they're selling for now. I halfway considered selling my old one for cheap and ordering the one above for the spring pads and the better case: (the one shown is now cracked at the hinges)
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01DP2CDJU/?tag=atomicindus08-20
Yeah - I think they frown on putting an impact on it (binding?), but I did use my M12 ratchet on it recently when I was building struts for my Mini. Worked fine. I'm very much a slow & steady guy when it comes to those springs. I get why people say "be respectful of the tool and the claw-style will be fine" but back when I was shopping for this originally (7/8 years ago) I saw enough videos where people made mistakes that I went to something that had more of a safety-margin built in.