I asked this question in the leveling kit thread but I think it got lost in all the other posts...

Anyway, I saw here and there where some people were saying that you often need 2 sets of spring compressors to adequately compress the front coils on a truck to remove them. Have you guys run into this issue? I've never dealt with coil springs on a truck before so I'm not really sure what to expect.

 

there is a lot of potential energy there when compressing a spring. there is no way in hell i would use those C-clamp style compressors on these trucks. if one of those goes and you are in the wrong spot...you will be getting coloring books at christmas for the rest of your life

 

I don't know I would go that far but it can be dangerous.


I've not done it so I don't know that a normal spring compressor kit won't work on the truck. But there are different versions. If you are unsure look for a load rating on the spring compressor - and see that it seems high enough for the weight of the vehicle.

I've seen people use 2 kits on one spring - meaning they used 4 compressor bars. One kit being 2 bars.

I've also seen kits that use a plate that covers the entire top and bottom of the spring for stability. And I've seen people put them in a standing arbor press.

If you don't feel comfortable with it - see if a local tire/suspension shop will do the strut swap over for you - many will. you bring them the assemblies - and the new struts - and they will use their compressor which often has a cage and uses and hydraulic ram.

 

 

I just installed Bilsteins on my truck this weekend. I got two sets of loaners from Advanced Auto. It wasn’t that bad once I got the compressors placed evenly around the spring. Worst part is that most instructions tell you not to use an impact so it’s a lot of hand ratcheting.
I ended up tightening back and forth in a criss cross pattern until I could remove top cap.
The part no one told me was that after removing the factory shock, the spring needs compressed a lot more to get the Bilstein shock installed on the highest setting.
No way I’d try this with only one pair of compressors. The ones I borrowed were pretty sturdy and brand was Powerbuilt.

 

And looking at the angle he's already got on that spring... he's about to line up for the coloring books and drool trays...

 

I tried the auto zone loaner compressor. The coils on my F150 are so thick that the retention pins wouldn't even close on the clamps. I started to compress the spring anyway and saw the tool was going fail way before the spring got close to compressing enough. I have the max tow so "max springs". Before it got too out of control, I unloaded the tool, took the struts to 4wheel parts and for $100 labor they swapped the bilsteins in. I would highly recommend having a shop with a real compressor compress the springs. You can save a bunch of labor by removing and installing them from the truck yourself though.

 

The Widowmakers

 

The screw style ones from harbor freight work just fine. Amazon also sells a bunch of them too. The key is to use 3 clamps on one spring. I hope you have an air compressor!

 

Well when I said 2 sets I meant 2 sets of 2 compressors.

I do have a compressor but no impact for it at the moment. I have an electric 1/2" impact and a cordless impact though. The electric one has served me pretty well.

Well, I dunno. There is a shop near my house that does a bunch of work on Jeeps, maybe I could ask them how much they'd charge to do it though I'd kinda like to do it myself if I can.