>
>I have the front end of 95 dakota torn apart. I've replaced the ball
>joints
>and several bushings. Now it's time to install the coil spring. Any
tips
>on installing?? I tried last night. But the strut spring compressors
I
>got
>front autozone just weren't doing the job. I think I need to get a
coil
>spring compressor. Hopefully that will make it easier. Can I keep the
>lower control arm bolted up?? The FSM mentions something of removing
the
>lower control arm. When I had it apart I could not get the bolts out
>holding it. It seemed they were bound in the rubber bushing. I guess
if I
>have to take them out I can take the torch to them... Any tips would
be
>appreciated.. Then it's on to the new drop spindles...
>Thanks,
>
>
>Mike K
>94 SLT,CC,239,2wd,auto
>95 Sport,RC,360,5-speed
>http://www.hornok.com/zig
>
Yeah. The strut compressors won't fit up in the spring pocket. Like
you said, what you need is the internal coil spring compressor. In my
experience, nothing else needs to be removed to get them in there. I
found it safer to leave the spring compressed until I had the spindle
ready to bolt up. That way there is much less tension on the lower
a-arm, and the spring is less likely to want to forcibly eject itself.
This allowed me to easily maneuver the ball joints into the holes in the
spindle. The maddening part is trying to find the correct position for
the spring compressor tips to clear everything in the spring pocket
(they stick out a wee bit but enough to count) and still have enough
compression on the spring to easily attach the spindle. You may still
need a floor jack to raise the lower a-arm the last fraction of an inch
or so. You may also have to disassemble the compressor to remove it.
You'll know what I mean when you get to that point.
Tim
.
.
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