Front spring shock dissassembly HELP

PostPost by: foggy » Mon Feb 20, 2006 12:39 am

I couldn't find any combination of tools in my extensive collectoin to
compress the front spring of my armstrong units.
Any suggestions?
Are these any good?

I need to go up to about a 140-160 lb. spring
to balance with 95# rears(?).

Thanks, all
Steve
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PostPost by: Lincoln62 » Mon Feb 20, 2006 2:34 am

Steve

Have a look in the photos section under "spring compressor". Rob's is a
good as I have seen.

I made my own more agricultural compressor but the principle is the
same, a couple of threaded rods then some plates to go top and bottom.
You need to compress the spring from the platform rather than grabbing
the coils like a normal compressor. The springs are really long when
they are uncompressed so you need long threaded rods.

Cheers
Peter
66S2

foggyalfa wrote:

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PostPost by: frearther » Mon Feb 20, 2006 12:24 pm

You can also do it with three nylon web clamps such as woodworkers
use. they cost a few bucks at the hardware store. Thread the web down
between the spring and the damper body, then back into the ratchet
mechanism. Use three to spread the load; tighten each one a couple of
clicks in turn until there's enough compression to allow removal of
the collar.

Keep your fingers out of the way, and make sure the spring doesn't
point at anything critical (esp. body parts), just in case of failure.

Art
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PostPost by: Rob_LaMoreaux » Mon Feb 20, 2006 7:11 pm


Steve,
As someone pointed out there are pictures of the one I bought from a Lotus
Mechanic who was retiring. It works very well allowing me to change both
front springs in an hour last year without being afraid of loosing an
appendage.


I would think 140-160 lbs/in would be a bit too much for 95lbs/in rears. I
put on 95 lbs/in rears along with 115lbs/in fronts last year and they feel
very nice and balanced. There was a discussion about this on the ElanMods
group ( http://groups.yahoo.com/group/elanmods/ ) a month or two ago and
Rohan recommended 50% stiffer than stock (so 115 front, 102 rear) and a 3/4"
or 13/16" anti roll bar in front for a nice road setup. One of these days
I'll get the bar upgraded, but this winter the engine is getting work, since
a cam lobe went on the engine in the car.

If you're anywhere near Michigan I can loan you my spring compressor, but if
you can weld it would not be hard to make your own.

BTW, what Alfa do you own? My wife's 1972 Berlina with a 2.0L TwinSpark
upgrade should be arriving in the next week or two. She might even let me
drive it since she gets to drive the Elan when it is running.

Later,

Rob LaMoreaux
Ann Arbor, MI 48108-1273
Home: 734-971-5583
Work: 734-822-9696
Fax: 734-973-1103
Cell: 734-604-9280
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1969 Lotus Elan....It's not a restoration, it's a never-ending adventure.
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PostPost by: wgrainge » Tue Feb 21, 2006 1:53 pm

Here's a photo of mine. A local welding shop made it for 50 bucks. I
supplied them with the threaded rods and a sketch of what I wanted.
It was really worth it. Easy to use and safe as far as I can see.

http://members.shaw.ca/lotuselan/elan/s ... essor.html

Will
45/9693


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PostPost by: Briggs1 » Tue Feb 21, 2006 2:01 pm

You can do the same thing with Plywood.

I made one for my Europa shocks and it worked like a champ.

Double up the plywood on the ends and there is NO deflection. I used 3/8"
board.

There are a few pictures in the Europa Group Yahoo pictures section.

Briggs Pletcher

-----Original Message-----
From: ***@***.***lto:***@***.*** Behalf
Of Will Grainger
Sent: Tuesday, February 21, 2006 8:51 AM
To: ***@***.***
Subject: [LotusElan.net] Re: Front spring shock dissassembly

Here's a photo of mine. A local welding shop made it for 50 bucks. I
supplied them with the threaded rods and a sketch of what I wanted.
It was really worth it. Easy to use and safe as far as I can see.

http://members.shaw.ca/lotuselan/elan/s ... essor.html

Will
45/9693


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