Replacing the front coil springs on your car requires proper skills and equipment. While this isn’t the most difficult task of all, it surely is risky. Should you intend to install replacement coil springs yourself, you’d better observe some mandatory safety precautions meant to prevent injuries. To see high-quality performance parts see ‘performance parts RFT‘.
Step 1: Raise The Car
In order to access the coil springs, you must raise the car off the ground to a safe height. Before anything else, remember to loosen the nuts of the wheels while the vehicle is still on the ground.
Jack up your vehicle, taking care to secure it properly before proceeding. It’s not a bad idea to support the suspension with the help of a hydraulic jack. Use preventative measures to stop your vehicle from slipping off the jacks. Such incidents are more frequent than you might think, so make sure you do everything the right way.
Step 2: Remove The Wheels
With the vehicle jacked up, carefully remove the front wheels. Always observe the car owner’s manual to ensure you use the correct removal process for your specific vehicle make and model.
Step 3: Remove The Lower Ball Joint
In order to remove the ball joint, you must use a socket. Ensure the socket fits the size of the ball joint you want to remove. Then, separate the friction fit between the spindle and the control arm by using the pickle fork. Next, jack up the rotor to separate the spindle strut from the control arm.
Step 4: Strut Removal
Now you must open the hood to locate the three mounting bolts that attach the strut to the body. Once you finish undoing the three nuts, you’ll be able to slip the strut out of its normal position and then out of the vehicle. Make sure you keep the nuts safe, as new coil springs don’t come with nuts included.
Step 5: Coil Compression
Safety should be your first and foremost priority when attempting to remove the coil from the strut. In order to be able to undo the bolt and the top of the strut, you must compress the coil spring. This is one of the most dangerous operations, as the spring can accidentally uncoil and cause severe injuries. Place the compression brackets at 180 degrees to one another on the coil spring. Tighten them evenly with eight to ten turns each. Then, you’ll be able to remove the bolt and safely extract the coil spring. Be extremely careful, as this is the most dangerous step of all.
Step 6: Install The Replacement Coil Spring
In order to put the new coil spring into position, you will need to compress it. Employ the same method you used to remove the old coil spring, making sure you keep the compression brackets at 180-degree opposite angles. Once the new coil is compressed, you’ll be able to place it on the strut. Locate the groove at the lower end of the strut and make sure the coil spring slips and sits into it. Carefully tighten the top bolt until the new coil spring is fully installed and secured. Next, remove the compression brackets, making sure you loosen them equally to balance the forces.
Step 7: Place The Strut Back Into Place
This technique follows the exact removal procedure, but in reverse. First, replace the strut in its hole, and then replace the three bolts. The next step is to jack up the rotor, in order to bolt the control arm and the spindle back together. Replace all remaining parts by following the reverse procedure.