Anyone remember my topic, asking for a cheap solution?

Well, I have succeeded in making a tool and exchange the faulty front spring.

I used the trapezium threaded bar from a car jack like this:

Car jack

I made two plates to compress the spring. Here it is in situ:

Spring compressor in situ

It had to be compressed quite far to be able to get the spring out. This made me feel somewhat uncomfortable...

I got the spring out using some 'persuasion'

During this action, the spring wanted to jump out of my compressor. Luckily I used an internal spindle.


Whoops

When placing the replacement spring, I welded a few pieces to the plates, preventing the plate to slip. For removal of the tool from the spring in situ, the welded pieces had to be removed.


spring compressor


Job done! total cost: € 10,- for the spring and a car jack.

As a locoster, you should be inventive!

that looks really dangerous!! I'll bet there is enough force in that spring to put a fist sized hole in your skull!!

As said, at that point I felt somewhat uncomfortable...

It is an understatement...

I was told by my mechanic, a long time ago, a spring compressor failed, luckly enough, my mechanic was on the phone across the workshop and the spring went through the concrete roof and landed there in the end.

It would fail if the spring was strong enough to strip threads, or the plates were too small or made out of material too thin. If the plates don't deform under load then I think it'd be OK.

quote:

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Originally posted by scudderfish
It would fail if the spring was strong enough to strip threads, or the plates were too small or made out of material too thin. If the plates don't deform under load then I think it'd be OK.

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quote:

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Originally posted by Mr Whippy

quote:

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Originally posted by scudderfish
It would fail if the spring was strong enough to strip threads, or the plates were too small or made out of material too thin. If the plates don't deform under load then I think it'd be OK.

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ditto, considering the threads designed to take the weight of half the car and that plate isn't going to bend so I see no problems at all. I'd still have just used ordinary spring compressors.

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There is no space to use ordinary ones. Plus if I had used them, and they came loose like in the pic, I wouldn't be here typing this.

good thing there are actually people dumb enought to try this so we dont have to

why didnt you just drop the shock top mount??

I would have splashed out on a bit of M16 stud bar and a couple of nuts. Those jacks are built to a price - I think VW Transporter ones have been failing recently for example.....

You cant beat the buzz of sailing close to the wind though