Good luck with those front springs, Even with the engine out they still possess a lot of stored energy due to still being partially compressed.
There are a couple of schools of thought on freeing them from their captivity. The safety crats recommend the use of a heavy chain wrapped around a couple of the coils and then wrapped and secured to the frame. That way when you pull the cotter pin and remove the castile nut from the lower control arm ball joint, and then persuade the ball joint to let go of the spindle, the spring will stay more or less in place once you use a long pry bar to jack it out of the lower control arm spring pocket.
The not so safe option includes most of the above, but eliminates the presence of the safety chain, meaning the coil spring is free to go and do whatever it wants.
If you don't plan on keeping and re-using your stock springs, then your options list just got a little longer. Assuming the possession of a Big Red Wrench aka Oxy-acetylene torches, you can either just cut the coil in a couple of places to turn it into smaller sections that can be fished out one by one or, you can put the heat to the coil to the point where it glows yellow-red at which point it should start to lose its temper and sag or collapse. If you go the heat and collapse route, that lets you go back to removing the castle nut, dropping the lower control arm and using the long pry bar without having to worry about what the spring will do whether or not you have it chained down. Be aware that, even collapsed, it might still offer some fight so it could fly around when you do pop it out. Whatever method you opt for, don't stand in front of the control arms when you go to use that pry bar and don't have anything valuable located anywhere close by! Willie and the twins will be grateful to you.
Nick
There are a couple of schools of thought on freeing them from their captivity. The safety crats recommend the use of a heavy chain wrapped around a couple of the coils and then wrapped and secured to the frame. That way when you pull the cotter pin and remove the castile nut from the lower control arm ball joint, and then persuade the ball joint to let go of the spindle, the spring will stay more or less in place once you use a long pry bar to jack it out of the lower control arm spring pocket.
The not so safe option includes most of the above, but eliminates the presence of the safety chain, meaning the coil spring is free to go and do whatever it wants.
If you don't plan on keeping and re-using your stock springs, then your options list just got a little longer. Assuming the possession of a Big Red Wrench aka Oxy-acetylene torches, you can either just cut the coil in a couple of places to turn it into smaller sections that can be fished out one by one or, you can put the heat to the coil to the point where it glows yellow-red at which point it should start to lose its temper and sag or collapse. If you go the heat and collapse route, that lets you go back to removing the castle nut, dropping the lower control arm and using the long pry bar without having to worry about what the spring will do whether or not you have it chained down. Be aware that, even collapsed, it might still offer some fight so it could fly around when you do pop it out. Whatever method you opt for, don't stand in front of the control arms when you go to use that pry bar and don't have anything valuable located anywhere close by! Willie and the twins will be grateful to you.
Nick
