changing shocks and springs

My 83 t-type sat in a grassy field for more than 5 yrs. Man did i have a fight bustin the front end down. The v-6 springs had 3 spacers on one side, n 2 on the other. the spring on driver side - broke at the base. I had to cut off links,shocks,nuts etc. it 's good to have a vice and a air tool with attachments... didn't know if you were changing bushings, but i put v-8 spings back in and coil over shocks. I installed the springs with a long steel pole and 2 floor jacks...... sounds easy. But my buddy help me keep the car on jack stands when you go putting lower arm n spindle back together....Now i got the back to do..good luck with that...

There's a few videos on youtube about it.

There's a couple ways of doing it, some not as safe as others. I use the floor jack method to remove springs, a home-made "all thread" compressor to install them. I got that idea from Shotgun and it works great. I feel much safer using that instead of a traditional spring compressor.

Treat that spring with respect. Your face won't be recognizable if it gets loose under pressure. Otherwise it's not too bad of a job.

you can take your new springs to a suspension shop and they can compress and bind the front springs for about $10...once the spring is in place you just cut the strap...

pontiacgp said:

you can take your new springs to a suspension shop and they can compress and bind the front springs for about $10...once the spring is in place you just cut the strap...

Click to expand...

Have never heard of a suspension shop that does that, not around here anyway. Depending on the spring and if there is an engine in the car, you may or may not need to compress the spring to install it. It all depends on whether you are installing stock springs or lowering springs. I have installed them every which way you can, with and without a spring compressor.

I've done it by myself a few times now, as recently as 2 weeks ago.
REMOVAL (FRONT)
For the front, jack up the entire front of the car and sit it on jack stands to remove the shocks first. There only three things holding them on, one nut at the top and two screws on the bottom. Separate the balljoint on the lower A-arm from the spindle. Place a big hydraulic jack, not the small cheap one, under the lower A-arm. Swing the spindle out of the way and raise the jack just enough so that the A-arm is parallel with the ground. Remove the two bolts on the lower A-arm where it bolts to the frame, close to the engine bay. After you get them out, slowly lower your jack to bring to A-arm and spring down and out. This is also a good opportunity to replace that balljoint if necessary. Repeat these steps on the other side of the car.
INSTALL (FRONT)
Place your lower A-arm on the jack with the spring sitting in it. Raise the jack up while making sure that the springs seats appropriately and that the lower A-arms' two bolts are lined up with the frame mounting holes. Reinstall those two bolts on the lower A-arms and tighten them down. Reconnect the spindle w/the lower A-arm's balljoint and tighten it down as well. Lower the jack down and out of the way. Install the shock w/the nut at the top first and then the two screws at the bottom of the shock. Double check and make sure everything is installed properly and make certain that all of the bolts and screws are tightened down. Don't forget to insert a new cotter pin after tightening the lower A-arms' balljoint nut down.

The rear is much simpler than the front.
REMOVAL (REAR)
Jack up the rear of the car so that the springs are not compressed and sit it on jack stands. Remove the nut that holds the shock to the mount on the rear axle. Separate the shock from that mount. Remove the two screws at the top of the shock and lower the shock down and out. Place the big hydraulic jack under the axle tube on the opposite side from where you just removed the shock. Raise the jack until the spring on the side you're working on is off of its perch and you can just pull it down and out. Repeat these steps on the next side if you don't already have new springs and shocks. But if you do already have new springs, leave the jack up on that axle tube after you remove the spring...
INSTALL (REAR)
...and install the new spring. Sit the spring on it's axle perch and slowly lower the jack until it's completely off of the axle, which will raise the axle and spring into there position. Make sure that the spring is seated correctly. Install the new shock w/the two screws at the top first. Install the shock into shock mount on the axle, you may have to use the jack to get the shock mount hole to line up with the shock. After that's good to go, install the nut and washer and tighten it down. Get the jack out of the way and make sure that both top screws and and the nut at the bottom are all tightened down. Now repeat on the opposite side.

Reading all of this will probably take about just as much time as actually doing it. It gets faster and easier each time you do it.

1983regal said:

pontiacgp said:

you can take your new springs to a suspension shop and they can compress and bind the front springs for about $10...once the spring is in place you just cut the strap...

Click to expand...

Have never heard of a suspension shop that does that, not around here anyway. Depending on the spring and if there is an engine in the car, you may or may not need to compress the spring to install it. It all depends on whether you are installing stock springs or lowering springs. I have installed them every which way you can, with and without a spring compressor.

Click to expand...

there are shops that will do it and for those who are doing it for the first time it makes life alot easier. I have lowering springs but they are 660 spring rate so I use a spring compressor to get them in even with the engine in place.

Here ya go: viewtopic.php?f=14&t=19114&start=0&hilit=spring

well i wanted to keep the normal ride height with the 72 v-8 buick motor swap.whould the v-6 spirngs support the motor weight. i installed v-8 coil springs and it sets too high in the front.