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 front spring removal
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ade
V4 Fan

United Kingdom
171 Posts

Posted - 01 Jul 2012 :  18:08:39 Show Profile Reply with Quote
having read a few posts about this, am getting a bit nervous about it....tried to get bump stop off with pipe wrench: rusted on, of course.....don't want to remove rebound stops as i'll probably destroy them in the process.....i've got 2 threaded spring compressors, each hook is a double, so it should be fairly safe.....but, i reckon the spring should come off if i compress it as much as possible, then unbolt the lower spring pan from the top wishbone, then the spring and pan should lift away.....

is this feasible, or is there another way......adrian

n/a
deleted

297 Posts

Posted - 01 Jul 2012 :  19:03:56 Show Profile Reply with Quote
Hi Adrian
I'm up at Biggin Hill if you want to borrow the real saab compressor and unwinding tool. It is quite a dangerous thing to do on the V4.
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ade
V4 Fan

United Kingdom
171 Posts

Posted - 02 Jul 2012 :  19:12:02 Show Profile Reply with Quote
thanks njic, might take you up on that offer....i still can't see why its a dangerous job, especially if i strap my 2 threaded compressors together to stop any tendency for them to splay apart....Adrian
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n/a
deleted

297 Posts

Posted - 02 Jul 2012 :  20:10:56 Show Profile Reply with Quote
It is possible using standard heavy duty compressors but beware, I've know friends that have had 'Heavy Duty' ones bend alarmingly and they don't unwind enough to remove the spring (threaded rods not long enough). The Saab V4 coils are quite long and when fitted under a lot of compression. I was told by a Saab dealer (Becketts of Eltham-back in the 70's) that a person was killed when the spring shot off.
If you can't get the stops off then you are going to have to jiggle and force the spring alot (and sometimes with the stop off as well)so you better make sure that the compressor is well attached and wont slip around the spring. This still leaves you with the problem of unwinding the removed spring. Some peeps wrap rope through the compressed spring then cut it off once it is clear of the car..Better than a pacemaker. Best of luck Adrian but the offer is still on the table if you change your mind.

Tools of the trade -









Designed and made for a reason.



Edited by - n/a on 03 Jul 2012 22:15:23
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john-saab
Administrator

United Kingdom
2679 Posts

Posted - 04 Jul 2012 :  07:43:12 Show Profile Reply with Quote
I tried to use standard spring compressors once...2 sets were needed to 1st get the springs down..then you insert the 2nd set to close the spring even more..trouble was that the 1st set prevented the spring compressing properly so I gave up and removed them..its then disaster struck..the 2nd clamp jumped off leaving the coil spring in a large "C" shape...I left the area pretty quick until I was sure it wasn't going to let go..I was stumped as to how I was going to compress the spring safely..in the end i attached a 15ft length of rope to the middle..walked out of the room and gave it an almighty tug..the rope was ripped out of my hand when the spring let go..it bounced off the ceiling 20ft up..off a brick wall and punched a hole in a stud wall.
From that day to now I have always played extra safe when dealing with the front springs on a 95 or 96..a ratchet strap is used along with the proper SAAB tool..(belt and braces)..I don't know of another car that has the same set up but all springs are treated with care now.

'72 95 (The Flying Banana),'72 96 (Bridget),'74 95 (Veronica)
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ade
V4 Fan

United Kingdom
171 Posts

Posted - 06 Jul 2012 :  19:54:12 Show Profile Reply with Quote
just wondering whether anyone has any thoughts on length of spring to cut off

it looks like theres about 70mm between top of wheel and wheelarch lip(measured vertically) so i reckon a front drop of 50 mm would look right, but theres only about 55mm from underside of bump stop to spring pan

has anyone cut down the bump stop housing so the bump stop is raised higher, hence allowing a ride height drop but still keeping the same amount of travel before the bump stop contacts the spring pan?

trouble is, the lower wishbone might contact the body first??

even a ride height drop of say 30 mm will leave only 20 to 25 mm of travel before bump stop hits

my car won't be competitively rallied, btw......adrian
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GeoffC
V4 Mad

United Kingdom
507 Posts

Posted - 07 Jul 2012 :  00:08:49 Show Profile Reply with Quote
I was always after more ground clearence for my Rally 96, the works springs helped of course but after I had yumped it a few times I was back to where I started!!

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Woody
V4 Guru

United Kingdom
2758 Posts

Posted - 07 Jul 2012 :  13:22:17 Show Profile Reply with Quote
The stance on the "Troll" is with used/good Forest front and progressive rear springs, used good Bilsteins gas shocks, and all new bushes. The ride is firm with not too much roll on the corners. I have never been keen on the standard ride height on the V4 as it tends to snout and spoils the look of the car.
I bought my spring compressor from Saab in 1982 after one let go and almost took my head off. I had survived with the other compressors as I was using rally springs on the cars. The only time I have had problems is with standard front springs which are longer than the rally ones. see other links below photo:-



http://www.saab-v4.co.uk/speedball/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=400&SearchTerms=spring,compressor
http://www.saab-v4.co.uk/speedball/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=620&SearchTerms=spring,compressor
http://www.saab-v4.co.uk/speedball/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=2363&SearchTerms=spring,compressor
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Wheelspin
V4 Beginner

Denmark
99 Posts

Posted - 07 Jul 2012 :  14:37:52 Show Profile Reply with Quote
This is NOT the way to do it: http://www.garaget.org/video/1yiez4ktuv7w
Be warned: This is not for the faint hearted.
Skip to 1.47 for the worst part.
Regards, Mads
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TTruckie
V4 Fanatic

United Kingdom
320 Posts

Posted - 07 Jul 2012 :  21:36:16 Show Profile Reply with Quote
nice moves! must remember that little trick next time access is a bit tight!
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ade
V4 Fan

United Kingdom
171 Posts

Posted - 11 Jul 2012 :  21:31:32 Show Profile Reply with Quote
i've done some measurements with the body jacked up one side (upper wishbone sitting on rebound stop)and i reckon theres about 108 mm of travel before the spring binds...theres 80mm space below the bump stop and i'm guessing the bump stop squashes by about 10mm.
So, there's 108-80-10=18mm of spring travel which is "dead" or not used.
So, unless i cut the spring down more than that, i wouldn't need to cut down the length of the bump stop mounting.
Also,the distance, measured across the car from upper wishbone pivot to spring centre is 200 and from pivot to tyre centre is 340, a 1.7 ratio.
So cutting the spring so that it is effectively 10 mm shorter at normal ride height will give a 17mm drop at the tyre.

I'd be keen to hear from anyone who has first hand experience of shortening their standard springs.....Adrian

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ade
V4 Fan

United Kingdom
171 Posts

Posted - 17 Oct 2012 :  20:10:59 Show Profile Reply with Quote
was reading a 70's road test which said that Souvenirs had lowered suspension, but didn't go into details...rear is already low, so can only assume front was lowered...anyone confirm this or not?
Anyone got any thoughts/experiences re the suggestion above that standard springs have a dead or unused portion of about 18mm, which could be cut off without affecting the amount of suspension travel before contact with the bump stops. This 18mm translates to about a 30mm drop at the tyre, just enough to stop that nose-up stance.
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rsimps
V4 Guru

United Kingdom
1616 Posts

Posted - 18 Oct 2012 :  16:40:31 Show Profile Reply with Quote
The later (rubber bumper) cars had a different coil winding to the early cars, I dont think mine was any lower though.
XP Sweden I think did some shortend hex bars (the bit that the bump screw into) and shortend bump stops.
My white car has cut down Rally springs and it handles quite well on tarmac. Steve at Malbrads can get them made to near enough the original forest spec then you could cut them down and have a nice firm suspension set-up with adjustable/uprated dampers.
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Lupo
V4 Fan

Switzerland
105 Posts

Posted - 22 Oct 2012 :  21:22:48 Show Profile Reply with Quote
Hi guys,
I was inspired by discussion about front springs and tools, on my photo the ugly ones are compressors I made myself 35 years ago (very similar to WOODY's , seems the same supplyer) used a lot also on another cars without accident (sure once spring compressed can't be handled as basket ball). The new ones on photo I bought 2 years ago as a help to my restoration project, but never used them, don't feel them confortable.



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Saabo-John
V4 Beginner

Australia
84 Posts

Posted - 04 Nov 2012 :  09:12:23 Show Profile Reply with Quote
Hi Ade. I've had a similar experience to John-Saab and after that I'll only get the local Saab spe*****ts to do it... Those single or two pronged compressors can bend alarmingly and let the spring bend and 'spring' out - think of a slinky going down a step... The one I was doing was outside and I jumped out of the way quickly enough to see the spring flying off about 50 metres across the countryside.

BTW, cutting the spring isn't really a good idea, the heat from the cutter can affect the tempering. In some places [not the UK it seems] cutting springs is illegal for that reason.
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ratty
V4 Fanatic

United Kingdom
340 Posts

Posted - 04 Nov 2012 :  19:47:10 Show Profile Reply with Quote
Don't like ordinary individual spring compressors potentially dangerous. We are using uprated springs which are a lot stronger than standard, so bought Sealey hydraulic spring compressor.A bit expensive, but it does the business, can change front springs in about half an hour safely and easily.
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