HELP! spring compressor lodged in the suspension system - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

hk20000 · #1 02-23-2007, 01:13 AM

I was trying out my newly acquired spring compressor and I think I messed up the procedure somewhere

I slid the plates into the spring, the one with fat opening in the bottom the smaller opening on top, inserted the telescopic compressor into the holes on the plates, and I cranked away

the spring got compressed so much that the top of the spring dislodged from the top spring perch, the compressor treaded rod is pushing (off center) on the top spring perch and the lower control arm is pushed down by the compressor

if I loosen up the compressor the bottom spring perch will be locked in the lower control arm, and if I tighten it up the control arm will be pushed down

I have no clue how I can remove the compressor now

what if I fully compress the spring with the compressor, let the compressor take *most* of the spring's force and remove the lower control arm bolt? I know it'll be forced down quite harsh but with the compressor in place it shouldn't be too harsh?

here is a adobe illustrator image of what has happened (MSPaint is for cheaper car problems)

I really need to get the spring compressor out of here asap I need the car tomorrow!!!!

omegabenz · #2 02-23-2007, 01:29 AM

Did the spring have a spring pad shim on the top? Im wondering why the spring came out of the perch?

Which car is this? Front or rear? What brand spring compressor? What were you trying to do?

hk20000 · #3 02-23-2007, 02:33 AM

rear of a W202

JTC tools Mercedes special spring compressor

the top has no access on the W202....

the thing is when I had the compressor at full compress holding 5 coils the coils aren't binded yet, so the coil came loose but it wasn't enough to come out (would not clear the bottom perch because it's a deep recess, the spring compressor body is longer than the spring after compression as well) and then when I loosened the spring compressor I loosened it without looking and had the spring sit off the top perch. Further wiggling only made it worse and about 1 coil is completely off the top perch now.

the top still has the rubber on it...doesn't matter tho at this point? The car can't be driven like this....

here is a picture of the actual compressor:

unlike the SIR tools the JTC one does not allow joining the shaft to the plate from the side, it has to be inserted from below/above.

help!

raymond~ · #4 02-23-2007, 03:36 AM

(99 E320)
coincidentally, i was under the car doing similar just now. yeah, that has
happened to me several times with minimal trauma. since my car is up on jack
stands, i simply use the floor jack to support the inside (near driveline) of the
control arm. if you have wide, concave contact point on jack, just place a large
25+mm socket so that it will better fit that narrow end of the LCA...between
the two frame 'ears'. I drift the bolt out and lower the arm completely. the
shock etc holds everything else in place

the spring is compressed and simply falls out. I unload the tension and respace
the plates so that they're better positioned.

the trick with the Klann/clone compressor plates is how they are placed on
spring, they need to be spaced far enough apart for maximum compression,
yet close enough together so that when uncompressed, it wont touch the top
perch,nor will the plate touch the LCA. this may even take 2 or more tries.
compress spring to full lock

place floor jack underneath control arm. but do not jack up. this maintains
maximum space between top/bottom perch for spring re-entry.

position spring between perch. BE SURE you have the spring correctly indexed
into the perch....top spring pad, as well as the lower control arm. you'll see
little indents for end of coil.

with one hand, maintain spring roughly indexed. with other hand, slowly jack
up....and eyeing back and forth spring and jack. ensure jack and control arm
is lining up with with holes. you may need to gradully use diff diameter screw-
drivers (increasing diameters) to help hole align.

also, keep spring indexed so that when perch clamps spring, it'll be properly
positioned.

so you need to multi task as you raise the jack: 1) spring alignment,
2) maintain jack-to-LCA position, 3) LCA to frame bolt hole alignment

go slow and careful. it'll line up. much of the spring tension will be held
by compressor so lowering the control arm is a piece of cake. still, be careful
and move step by step methodically.

i've done this for my car 3x for each corner now, trying to get the look as I
swapped out spacers and springs over the past two weeks.

if you need pics, i can send to you that i've collated from various MB boards.
i studied these prior to jumping in and tackling this as a DIY. quite easy...more
of a tedious job than difficult.

hk20000 · #5 02-23-2007, 05:27 AM

thanks for the excellent writeup I came up with the same idea just now by removing the inner LCA bolt

I undid the shocks at the tower end too so the control arm literally drops to the ground

before I started I was under the wrong impression that after compressing the springs, I could simply slide out the springs from their seat (I've been toying with too many Japanese cars that will do that) so I never realized that the plate themselves could get locked into the suspension itself.

new lesson learned: to remove spring, remove LCA mount bolt....

I was pretty stumped by the multilink (5 of them + sway bar!!!) jungle out in the back...... with all this complexity and all of them are mounted to the car via a subframe via some flimsy bushings.....

....to top that off NONE of the links are adjustable!!!

tvpierce · #6 02-23-2007, 06:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hk20000

....to top that off NONE of the links are adjustable!!!

The control arm is adjustable for camber isn't it?

jp

#7 02-23-2007, 07:14 AM

Have you raised the body?

raymond~ · #8 02-23-2007, 10:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hk20000

.........before I started I was under the wrong impression that after compressing the springs, I could simply slide out the springs from their seat ......

you can....if you had lowering springs in there, which are shorter. but with
OEM springs, designed for comfort, they'll prob be a bit longer.