Ya'll ain't going to believe this - spring compressor problem - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

engatwork · #1 10-29-2008, 09:21 PM

I was in the process of changing the lower control arm bushing on my 300D this evening using the proper Baum coil spring compressor tool. When I tightened it down and the spring started compressing the largest dia section of the tool (right under the nut that you tighten it up with) went through the hold in the frame. Seems that the hole in the frame ID is very close to the OD of the Baum tool. I did not have the plates far enough apart so when I compressed the spring it did not compress it enough to remove it. Anyway, I tried to remove the tool and found that it can't be removed from inside the spring area. It won't come back out through the hole. I removed the lower round plate of the tool and the upper plate is still in the spring with the compression part of the tool still stuck in there. I will get back on it tomorrow evening and may even go ahead and try to compress the spring again. What a pia this job is turning into. I had to finally walk away from it this evening and will try agian over the next day or so. I am going to take my die grinder with me when I return tomorrow and if it comes to it I will remove a little of the ID metal to provide clearance to get my tool out.

bgkast · #2 10-29-2008, 09:35 PM

With most aftermarket compressors you need to dremel out the hole in the spring perch to allow the tool to fit through.

DeliveryValve · #3 10-29-2008, 09:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by engatwork

.... I am going to take my die grinder with me when I return tomorrow and if it comes to it I will remove a little of the ID metal to provide clearance to get my tool out.

This is exactly what you have to do before using the tool. Some of the spring compressors are too wide to fit through the hole. So you have to bore it out a little.

RML · #4 10-29-2008, 09:37 PM

Wow! I thought this kind of stuff just happened to me. Sounds like I am in good company.

engatwork · #5 10-30-2008, 05:42 AM

Glad to hear it is common to have to open the hole up a little.
thanks

mdlwolf · #6 10-30-2008, 11:09 AM

I had to grind the hole in the spring perch too. Also, getting the plates of the compressor into and out of the spring was a bit tricky for me.

lowriderdog37 · #7 10-30-2008, 11:56 AM

I just let it go through on it's own. When I put the spring back in, I just made the compressor pressure the head back through the hole. Just be careful.

patbob · #8 10-30-2008, 12:05 PM

Yes, the entire tool is supposed to fit through the hole in the frame. Since yours needed significant tension on it to pull it through, you'll probably have to enarge the hole a little more to get it back out.

Also, when I did mine, I found that I had to compress 8.5 coils with the tool -- any less and I wouldn't have been able to get the compressed spring past the perch. I had to raise the wheel a little with my jack so the spring would compress and become straighter in order to thread the plates towards the ends of the spring in order to capture that many coils.

FYI, my compressor tool didn't come with instructions -- it looked to me like it was meant that one should grab N + 0.5 coils. That way, the coils exit the compressor plates on opposite sides, which just seemed like the right way to use it (more balanced stresses).

This is what I did, but like I said, my tool had no instructions and I couldn't find any anywhere either. Don't assume I did things right, or even the safest way -- it was my first time and I just had to reason it out and guess. You might want to give others a few days to comment on what I did and point out any flaws before doing what I did.

engatwork · #9 10-30-2008, 04:40 PM

I'm going back to the shop to take a look at it again here in a few minutes. I am getting to the point where I don't get the enjoyment out of working on cars like I used to and I'm considering buttoning it up and driving it. I am pressed for time pretty badly these days and don't have time for wrenching. A single man does not have time to be working on old cars.

winmutt · #10 10-30-2008, 05:20 PM

Metal rasp did the job in seconds.

DeliveryValve · #11 10-30-2008, 05:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by winmutt

Metal rasp did the job in seconds.

Especially the ones that are rotary and attached to an air die grinder.

engatwork · #12 10-30-2008, 07:31 PM

Die grinder did not take long at all to sort it out. Pulled spring compressor and plate out, bolted the wheel on and brought it back to the house. I'm going to drive it a while longer beore I tear into it.

swheele2 · #13 04-13-2010, 09:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lowriderdog37

When I put the spring back in, I just made the compressor pressure the head back through the hole. Just be careful.

I definitely advise against this approach. These spring compressors are not made to work this way, and if you apply too much pressure the spring compressor will just tear itself apart, perhaps violently.

winmutt · #14 04-13-2010, 09:39 PM

Yup that top part and bottom part are only held together with a c clip going the other way.

Sev · #15 04-14-2010, 02:19 PM

what i would do in this case is to use the non-original mb compressors that clamp from the outside, and once the compressor grips the spring from opposite ends, you can put a spare wheel under the control arm (so it doesn't pop out accidentally), and then once that's secure remove the bolts that hold the control arm to the chassis. that is if the upper cup won't come out no matter what else you try. anyways this method isn't necessarily safest so this method is shared as-is and not as advice to you--just what i've done myself.

personally i've used even more ghetto methods to remove springs on my own cars when id idn't have access to a spring compressor, such as grinding down a factory mb jack and pushing it into the middle of a spring and jacking it up. but that's just me. like i said, as-is