Broken shock question

[91 Malibu]

I was out on a club run on Sunday, when coming out of a corner hit a large pothhole causing the thread to be stripped & the retaining nut to fall off front right shock, which then dropped into the shock tower. Was able to limp the car into Warrigal, get an RACV inspection & then have it towed home.
I have a set of coilovers to put in it, so I think now would be a good time to fit them ,I havent fitted springs or shocks on a car before so my question is.
Will it be harder or trickier to get the shock & spring out of the car now that nut is not there?
Will it mean that the spring is now disconnected from the shock & therefore need some sort of compression to remove it?

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[greenMachine]

That nut hold the springs in, as it stops the shock absorber from extending beyond the shock absorber full droop position. Without that nut, the shaft of the shock is free of the car's structure/top mount, and when the front of the car is lifted the weight of the front wheel assembly will pull the whole shock/spring assembly down. Currently, the only thing keeping that from happening is the weight of the car compressing the spring.

You should not have a problem, if you undo the upper inboard bolt holding the top suspsension arm. This will allow the arm to move outwards and down, providing clearance for the spring/shock assembly to be lifted out.

I suggest removing the undamaged side first, as that will be pretty straightforward, and when you do the damaged side you will have a better idea of how it works. Note, you undo the two nuts flanking the central nut (the one on the shaft), NOT the nut on the shaft. The nut on the shaft is keeping the energy in the compressed springs in check, and this is where you use the spring compressor, but you only do this if disassembling the spring/shock.

I doubt that a spring compressor will be required to remove the 'disassembled' spring/shock, but if you can access one readily it might be good insurance to have.

Good luck!!

[hks_kansei]

Spring compressors can be picked up for about $50 or so from supercheap etc.

probably better to make sure they've got two hooky things to hold the spring, more stable that way.
and also remember to ALWAYS point the spring away from you, and brace the end of the shock (not an issue if it's still in the car) if the compressors let go the spring will come flying at you with rather a high speed and mass.

[91 Malibu]

Thanks for the answers guys
Like the idea of yours greenmachine to remove the good side 1st.
Will be a good project while I'm on holidays in a couple of weeks time.

[project.r.racing]

wtf??? just undo the lower bolt on the shock and pull the whole unit out. even easier now that the top bolt is not there.

[Locutus]

wtf??? just undo the lower bolt on the shock and pull the whole unit out. even easier now that the top bolt is not there.

the nut that has gone missing is not responsible for holding the shock/spring assembly to the car. the assembly will be longer than usual since the spring will be fully extended when the car is jacked up, making it more difficult to remove.

[lukearama]

another tip. disconnect your sway bar on he damaged side to allow you to make the job a little easier. If you are struggling with the fully extended spring and cocked shock cut the spring in half. ie cut the coil half way up. They will then roll inside each other. Gas axe or Sabre Saw would be the way to go...

have fun.

[project.r.racing]

wtf??? just undo the lower bolt on the shock and pull the whole unit out. even easier now that the top bolt is not there.

the nut that has gone missing is not responsible for holding the shock/spring assembly to the car. the assembly will be longer than usual since the spring will be fully extended when the car is jacked up, making it more difficult to remove.

i doubt it would be enough to cause major issues though.

[ricky-pinky]

I agree with Locutus. This will be more difficult to remove because the spring will probably still have some compression even when the suspension has drooped fully. The difficulty will be compounded by the fact that the coil over passes through the upper control arm and the spring will probably catch on the drooped upper arm. Be very careful of a (even partially) compressed spring. You may have to try to restrict the expansion of the spring somewhat. Conventional spring compressors will probably not be suitable as they won't fit beside the spring where it passes through the upper control arm. You may have to lash it with wire. Be advised, though, that a spring compresed to normal ride height has about a 350kg load on it. Removing the lower control arm inner pivot bolts will give you more room to move, but will probably require a wheel alignment after reassembly, whereas removing the upper control arm inner pivot bolt means that a wheel alignment is not necessary, although many might argue with that statement.

Be careful. Good luck.

[greenMachine]

another tip. disconnect your sway bar on he damaged side to allow you to make the job a lot easier. If you are struggling with the fully extended spring and cocked shock cut the spring in half. ie cut the coil half way up. They will then roll inside each other. Gas axe or Sabre Saw would be the way to go...

have fun.

Fixed You will need to do this with the car on the ground, or by jacking under the sagging side, to relieve the tension on the end links. Good suggestion Lukerama

To the OP, don't cut the coils unless necessary. If undoing the upper wishbone isn't working, then undo the lower arm too (at the inner ends). Simple solutions first! Don't worry about having to do a wheel alignment, you will need one anyway after you have installed the coilovers.

[manga_blue]

I'd still be very worried about a compressed spring letting go and knocking your head off. The OEM springs are very long uncompressed and I think they are unlikely to be fully extended when they're still on the lower control arm.

How about using spring compressors to squeeze them while you take off the upper control arm and undo the lower control arm? Then take the shock, spring, lower control arm and spring compressors out of the car as a unit. You can finally separate them all on the bench.

[lukearama]

I'd still be very worried about a compressed spring letting go and knocking your head off. The OEM springs are very long uncompressed and I think they are unlikely to be fully extended when they're still on the lower control arm.

How about using spring compressors to squeeze them while you take off the upper control arm and undo the lower control arm? Then take the shock, spring, lower control arm and spring compressors out of the car as a unit. You can finally separate them all on the bench.

First rule of bush mechanics says get the Oxy set....

MX5 owner need to be firing up the gas axe a little more often.

Too many white gloves in MX5 garages...

What would a Ford Falcon owner from the western suburbs do????

Cut it with the Oxy torch every time.

play safe guys.

[greenMachine]

I'd still be very worried about a compressed spring letting go and knocking your head off. The OEM springs are very long uncompressed and I think they are unlikely to be fully extended when they're still on the lower control arm..

If this is the case, it will be evident with the car jacked up. However the endlink needs to be disconnected first to allow the wheel to droop as far as the suspension allows, which will be further than the other side hence the need to de-couple the two sides by disconnecting the sway bar.

How about using spring compressors to squeeze them while you take off the upper control arm and undo the lower control arm? Then take the shock, spring, lower control arm and spring compressors out of the car as a unit. You can finally separate them all on the bench.

Yes.

Note that if you use the spring compressor this way as soon as you undo the first control arm, it will start disassembling itself, as that arm will swing out of the way, and the spring will be free. Separate it, and then release the spring compressor. After that the removal of the other one is going to be a breeze! IIRC, there is no need to do anything like this for the rear, just undo the two nuts holding the assembly in place (in the boot, beside the fuel tank), remove and replace ...

play safe guys.

Too right! Compressed springs can do a lot of damage, and the more compressed they are, the more damage they do. You can sense the buildup of energy they are storing by the increasing tension on the nuts as you compress the spring, so treat it with respect. I know that when I am handling a compressed spring I get quite nervous, and watch everything like a hawk ...

[manga_blue]

Cut it with the Oxy torch every time.
play safe guys.

On second thoughts I reckon you're right. Cut it. The shock is rooted and the spring is worthless anyway

[lukearama]

Cut it with the Oxy torch every time.
play safe guys.

On second thoughts I reckon you're right. Cut it. The shock is rooted and the spring is worthless anyway

plus its fun to play with gas....

hey they could go techo and get a plasma cutter out. a lot cleaner and generally better consentration of heat so less burning rubber....