I have a question that may seem trivial to some. I need to know if the front springs on my 69 GS400 need to be taken out with a spring compressor or if there is an alternative way to remove them. I've never had to remove springs before, but i know that it can be dangerous. Any & all input will be appreciated.
the easiest way it with a floorjack. position it under the lower control arm and jack it up until there's some pressure on it. then once your ball joints are undone you just slowly lower it to let the pressure of the spring.
maybe You can do it that way, maybe. First make sure you have a strong chain through the spring so if it pops it won't go far. The maybe comes in if the spring is too long, in other words you run out of height before the control arm is low enough to get the spring out. Many parts stores loan spring compressors, makes the job a lot easier! Theres a few threads on this, search under springs or control arms. Heres a link to one: :TU: spring removal - Bill
I have two spring compressors... I think they cost me 12 bucks a piece. I used them on the front springs, along with the jack method.
I have always left the ball joints and knocked the bushing bolts out. You can then change the spring and use 2 jacks to position the control arm correctlyfor re-install. This saves the ball joint boot from getting cut by the pickle fork. If you are going for new ball joints, the other way may be faster.
I began mine with the floor jack, but unfortunately I didn't have the car sitting high enough to allow the control arm to drop far enough to let the spring fall out. The control arm hit the floor before the spring was free. So I had to borrow a compressor to finish the job. It can be done without, but for the cost of the rental I think it is well worth it to use a compressor. Oh, made it much easier to go back in too.
