On the 124, and I have done this six times in the past 18months, you can remove the spring w/o a compressor. Installing it again is more difficult.

You will need to remove the sway-bar or do both together.

If you use a jack (or lower the car enough to use a garage floor) to hold the spindles at full-extended strut level, disconnect the struts, then raise the car they will eventually either fall out or come close to falling out, half of mine didn't fall out and were a little difficult to remove because the control-arm bushings are keeping the control arm from going down enough.

The ones I removed at a junkyard were easier, I just removed the top of the strut and let them fly as I didn't want them anyway (gassers), first one doesn't (with swaybar in place), second ones pops out and usually takes the first one out at the same time.

I don't recommend doing it without a compressor, but it can be done. I have the side-spring style compressor which is not nearly as good as the one referenced above, barely does the job and not nearly as safe/idiot-resistant.

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Gone to the dark side

- Jeff