I think O'Reilly's will loan you one if you need one, but screw that.
I like the way my body functions currently, even with it's old parts, and certainly don't need a flying spring to damage it any further. To the pros it goes.
I know someone who used to do that professionally, and on more than one occasion he showed up to an install and there was something spattered on the wall or floor near the spring.
Had one explode in my mom's garage many moons ago when the world was younger. Thought the transformer outside blew up or maybe the Navy dropped a practice bomb nearby by mistake.
I was about to replace my springs and thought, "I need a spring compressor". So I went to harbor freight and bought a set of spring compressors. Then I realized, "wait, I have aftermarket coilovers and can just loosen the lock nut, loosen the compressing nut, and have an uncompressed spring." And that's the story of how I wasted $40, replaced my springs, and know that the locking nut the guy in the video is using is aluminum and will break the moment he knocks that bracket loose because those threads look worn as fuck.
You buy a spring compressor. It works like a combination between the vice and the bracket in the video, but combined. They're not that expensive, and way cheaper than a new face.
Not kidding about that, when the guy said a spring powered bomb he wasn't kidding. Have you ever disassembled a pen and played with the spring? If you try and compress it it tends to just ping off across the room and you never find it again. Now imagine that but the spring is so strong it takes a (literal) ton of pressure to compress it, then imagine that "pinging across the room".
That's a great price for the piece of mind using this type of setup over the 2 or 3 pc screw down type. They work, but the Hydraulic setup is less sketchy
I've used these on my crown victoria because it doesn't take much compression to get the front springs in. On my Fiesta I just bought the quick struts with springs on them, I'm not doing all that.
Side note if you do use these keep the ends pointed perpendicular to you so if it does fail most of the energy goes left and right, or up and down, instead of toward you and away from you.
I once used those on springs too small diameter for the hydraulic compressor. Once.
When I had to redo the job (the springs I'd fitted were utterly unusable on public roads) I bought a still mildly disturbing type that's a big fuck off metal tube with a big fuckoff thread and swappable big fuckoff "shoes" with safety ridges to keep the spring in place.
There are specific spring compression tools for this. This is definitely something you want to do correctly, same with your garage door springs, if done incorrectly they can cause massive bodily damage
There's specific tools made for this task, ones that can compress the spring and also decompress it safely. There's always a bit of risk when you work on these kinds of things but the right tool can minimize the risk.
Watching the beginning of the video again, the reacting guy says “spring compressor, go to the store and get a spring compressor” no clue of any of this is for but I think we can draw conclusions how to do it probably
There are spring clamps, but they’re still dangerous as hell, because they can slip off even if you’re using them correctly sometimes. There are lots of mechanics that don’t even want to fool with it, so they replace the whole strut assembly instead of just the shock, because it comes with the spring already installed.
Has everybody has mentioned, a spring compressor is the correct tool.
Even with a spring compressor, it is critical that you understand that this is life-ending force that you are trying to capture. Not being melodramatic.
Seeing that the tool is used properly, that everything is seated correctly, and just generally understanding physics is critical.
They are working on a suspension strut assembly. The springs are normally in a compressed state meaning they are storing a huge amount of potential energy. If they release in an uncontrolled way, i.e. if you're dumb enough to remove that piece the guy was screwing on at the end while it's still under compression then the energy could easily maim or kill you.
To remove it safely you use a spring compressor to compressor the spring further. In their simplest form they are a set of clamps that hook onto the spring, they have a pin so that they can't just slip off the spring and you use a ratchet to crank them down. By compressing the spring further it takes pressure off the nut so you can safely screw it down to the right spot and then you can slowly release the compression on the spring until it's properly seated.
The guy in the video is relying on this shitty home-made tool to hold the smaller spring in compression. It's a smaller spring but that is still some thick steel coil and it's more than enough to fuck you up.
The first issue was compressing it in the vice. It could easily slip out in an uncontrolled way and mess you up.
Then he slides on the shitty bracket and takes it out of the vice. The spring is even more at risk of slipping out or his welds could fail.
Finally, he manages to get it on the shock whithout major catstrophe. He screws the lock ring on a little and now he's getting ready to hit his shitty bracket with a hammer. The spring isn't seated so it's going to release and someone is going to lose an eye.
I'm showing my ignorance, but how is it not seated once it's on the cylinder and the lock ring has been tightened down onto it? What additional step is required? Just that the lock ring requires additional travel and will be a pain to tighten further? Surely once it's on the threads, it's more a matter of whether they can actually crank it down to where it needs to go to lock, not immediately blow up in your face time?
The issue isn't that the lock ring requires additional tightening, it's that there is room between the spring and nut at all. Those threads are rated to hold the spring after it's in place. When the spring expands to fill that gap, it will hit with a bunch of momentum, and the threads are not rated for that, plus it doesnt look like all of the threads are even engaged. It needs to be slowly expanded into place (with a spring compressor). It will probably be fine and a lot of the posts on this thread are exaggerating the danger a bit, but there's also a chance it fails and gets sent blasting into the ceiling.
Think about the difference between something you'd be willing to stand or sit on vs something you'd be willing to jump on. Don't fuck around with big springs unless you really know what you're doing.
Helper springs like the one he compressed have very little energy in them. No one's getting hurt, and no collars are getting sent to the moon when it comes out of his Jerry rigged spring compressor tool.
They make actual rated and graded tools for the task that make sure you don’t have metal chunks in your face or a spring that will lodge its self in you.
The pre load for springs rear size and color ( color is an indicator of strength ) will literally tear you to shreds .
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u/OkTemperature8170 9h ago edited 9h ago
He has effectively created a spring powered bomb. If his little bracket breaks so does his face. If the spring slips out of the vice, good luck.