Suspension Removal

Tom Wilson · Post by **Tom Wilson** » Mon Apr 21, 2008 11:56 pm

Tom Y - As I recall, Francois removed your suspension for you. Was this done because he volunteered or is it too tricky for mere mortals? Not that I consider your work to be that of a mere mortal of course...

Also, do you have a source for the torques for the suspension nuts when reassembled?

Post by **tyang** » Tue Apr 22, 2008 8:41 pm

Hi Tom W.,

It's a little tricky, but easier to remove than to put back together! The factory meant to have the springs come out the bottom of the buckets by removing the huge c-clip, but that is usually rusted in place. Francois showed me a technique that unbolted the upper and lower castle nuts of the control arms, and when the the spring was compressed with a jack, the pivots were driven out. With the pivots out, the spring was carefully released to full extension. The installation was in reverse with a little more care in compressing the spring. You need the weight of the engine, or something to compress the spring. Francois had a set up that braced the suspension on an overhead I-beam instead of the weight of the engine.

It's not for the faint of heart, or for someone with an ounce of doubt. It's about as dangerous as the R&R of the rear suspension. Neither is impossible, but BE CAREFUL!

Tom

John Vardanian · Post by **John Vardanian** » Wed Apr 23, 2008 12:41 am

tyang wrote:Hi Tom W.,

It's a little tricky, but easier to remove than to put back together! The factory meant to have the springs come out the bottom of the buckets by removing the huge c-clip, but that is usually rusted in place. Francois showed me a technique that unbolted the upper and lower castle nuts of the control arms, and when the the spring was compressed with a jack, the pivots were driven out. With the pivots out, the spring was carefully released to full extension. The installation was in reverse with a little more care in compressing the spring. You need the weight of the engine, or something to compress the spring. Francois had a set up that braced the suspension on an overhead I-beam instead of the weight of the engine.

It's not for the faint of heart, or for someone with an ounce of doubt. It's about as dangerous as the R&R of the rear suspension. Neither is impossible, but BE CAREFUL!

Tom

Hi Tom,

After struggling with the giant c clip, I did the very same thing for removing the front springs.

When installing the spring back in the car (provided the engine isn't in yet), how about compressing the spring with the clamps that are used for do it yourself strut replacements?

john

Tom Wilson · Post by **Tom Wilson** » Wed Apr 23, 2008 2:21 am

Interesting method of removal Tom. I will take a look at the car and see if I can safely do what you suggest. I have a couple of ideas already. I am not faint of heart, just like to do my homework before I dig in to a project I have not tried before. I would prefer not to go into this area, but unfortunately, most of my connections look like this:

<a href="http://i107.photobucket.com/albums/m290 ... -Large.jpg" class="postlink"><img src="http://i107.photobucket.com/albums/m290 ... -Small.jpg" border="6"></a>

I guess I am going to need a source for gaskets (if that is the right term for suspension rubber) and bushings!

I will keep you all informed of my progress and would appreciate any other suggestions.

Keith Milne · Post by **Keith Milne** » Wed Apr 23, 2008 2:40 am

Tom - I did a front suspension R&R about a year ago. Others here suggested using an inside spring compressor, but they were impossible to find for rent and ridiculously expensive to buy for one job. I was successful in getting a small pair of outside coil spring compressors to work. I made sure a floor jack was ALWAYS under the spring cup. Installation was a bit of a headache, but not impossible. I did find it a little easier than the rear suspension. As Tom Y says - be careful!

Dr. Ian Levy · Post by **Dr. Ian Levy** » Wed Apr 23, 2008 5:15 am

Hello Tom
Greetings from here in rainy Manchester.
Every nut & bolt I removed looked pretty much the same as your pics so i assume yours was not a California car from the off?
My method is to prepare a couple of days before with a stiff wire brush & some penetrating fluid.
After removing the surface rust I then applied the fluid every 3-4 hours or when I got the chance.
Those that were resistant to that treatment received a good heating up & then some even sheared off after all that.
Most of all be very careful
Regards
Ian L

Post by **tyang** » Wed Apr 23, 2008 8:26 am

AH, and don't forget the cotter pins. The $&*# cotter pins! Cleaning everything off like Ian suggests will help. Start soaking everything now with penetrating oil.

I'm sure you're bagging and tagging everything, but since you sent us a photo of the sway bar bushing, make note of the orientation of the steel spacer at the end link. The steel link is Nickel/white cad plated along with the nylock nut, and the sway bar is painted black. If I were doing my front suspension again, I would be making a pile of parts to take to the powder coater.

On the spring compressor, I've seen a bunch of homemade compressors made from thick threaded rod, and end plates welded with a nut and 1/4 steel plate. I'm no engineer, but I would get the thickest rod I could get, like 3/4 inch or thicker to hold the tension of the spring. You can custom fabricate something to fit inside the spring and come out through the small hole at the bottom of the spring cup...provided your spring cup has a hole. I've seen some 250s with a solid aluminum piece at the bottom of the spring cup.

Tom

kare · Post by **kare** » Wed Apr 23, 2008 4:42 pm

tyang wrote:I'm sure you're bagging and tagging everything, but since you sent us a photo of the sway bar bushing, make note of the orientation of the steel spacer at the end link.

Sharpened and against bushing, flat end against nut. Been there, done that. Today.

afwrench · Post by **afwrench** » Wed Apr 23, 2008 6:46 pm

Hi Tom, on the safety end of things .I have in other situations,non Ferrari, placed a chain or nylon tow strap around the spring or through one of the coils ,just in case it decided to take off. Might save a trip to the dentist ,such as me!Good luck,Mike

David Booth · Post by **David Booth** » Thu Apr 24, 2008 12:41 pm

Tom is right - the front springs are easier in some ways than the rears. It takes some experimentation with external spring compressors to get ones that will work in the narrow confines available, as well as the close coil spacing. I've used those, plus a floor jack under the spring bucket and a chain under the jack and up over the frame to get the right combination of compression and then release room.

If you go this route, and most people do, keep an eye on your compression pieces as you're working to make sure they're not squirming out of position.

There's a German company that makes specialty tools for Mercedes and Audi work that has one for this kind of stuff that's pretty slick. Imagine two saucer-like plates, rigidly connected at their respective edges by an Acme-thread screw. As the kids say, it's the s**t. Expensive? Of course. But way less than the cost of dental implants.

Tom Wilson · Post by **Tom Wilson** » Thu Apr 24, 2008 10:15 pm

Every nut & bolt I removed looked pretty much the same as your pics so i assume yours was not a California car from the off?

Actually, the car has been garaged withing the Los Angeles County lines since the day it was purchased from Hollywood Sports Cars in 1963. Imagine what it would look like if it had been driven in a place where they salted the roads!

As for everybody else, you have given me a lot to think about. I am going to remove the suspension myself, but will be taking lots of precautions before I do. I will check the bottom of the springs to see if there is a hole that I can push a rod through. I have spring compressors that will be attached before I loosen anything. And the first thing I will do is run some sort of strap through the springs, because after visiting Mikes garage, I know I cannot afford his services!

Keep the advice coming and when I make my move, it will be well documented for you guys to see.

afwrench · Post by **afwrench** » Fri Apr 25, 2008 3:29 pm

Hi Tom, good luck. And not to worry, any oral surgery you might need as a result of the old car hobby will be at the www.tomyang.net discount rate! Mike

Tom Wilson · Post by **Tom Wilson** » Sat Apr 26, 2008 6:30 pm

I have no intention of putting myself in a position to take you up on the offer, but the gesture is appreciated!