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I know this is a dumb question but, I just bought new springs and they dont have any markings on them.

I am wondering if the flat side goes up or down. only one side of the spring i can set on the floor without them toppling over. Also the rubber goes on top of the spring correct? The rubber to quiet any road noise/vibrations transfered from the suspension to the body.

I believe that is correct, flat side down and the rubber insulator on top.

Awsome, thanks clyde!

hey 71 ls go to post in the suspension section(last post, dated jan 19 09 titled front coil springs by 1973 vegasandiego. he tells you the correct way to install the spring. this was a fairly recent post good luck chevy art

Ah ok, i thought i read it somewhere but i wasnt sure if it was on this forum or not. they will be going in tomorrow, i cant wait! Thanks for the help!

hey 71 ls. lety me know after you didthe job exactly sthe sequence you did the job in, and if you had difficulties, and is is dangerous ulloading the coils. i will be doing mine this spring and i have never done a front coil spring change and i don want to ,kill myself with an exploding spring thanks chevy art

Well to take the springs out, all i did was get the car up on jack stands and leave the suspension hanging. then i put a jack underneath the lower control arm. and i dissasembled front suspension. removed the shock, upper ball joint and lower steering arms ect. but before i took off the lower ball joint i put a little pressure on the lower control arm. when i took it off i had to tap it with a hammer just a little and it popped loose... I made sure i had the car high enough off the ground where i had enough clearance to lower the jack enough to where i was able to get the spring out.

Im sure this is probably the worst way to take the spring out but thats how i did it and it seemed to work very well just be very cautions!

To put them back in i have not gotten that far since i have to replace the lower ball joints after i do that i will probably rent a small spring compressor and compress them a litlte bit then use the weight of the car to get them back in.

I Beleive alot of people are using long lengths of large diameter threaded rod with nuts washers and plates(for more surface area at the top and bottom to help compress the spring but not certain to how well that works?

ill post when i actually do it to let you know how it goes.

take your springs to your local spring shop . probably for a few bucks they can compress and band them for you(steel strapping) then all you do is install them attach the balljoints to the spindals put the jack under the lower control arm and cut the straps. way easier than trying to compress them at home and much safer!

There we go, a much better idea! its all about being safe!

With the spring out of the car, check out inside the upper spring pocket. You'll be able to feel a high point where the end of the coil is designed to rest in.

hey astre gt good idea thanks. hey marco thats a real good point to check on so that spring goes to the right place the first time thanks for some good pointer guys chevy art

take your springs to your local spring shop . probably for a few bucks they can compress and band them for you(steel strapping) then all you do is install them attach the balljoints to the spindals put the jack under the lower control arm and cut the straps. way easier than trying to compress them at home and much safer!

Recently I've seen activity on other boards regarding the use of industrial strength zip ties to do the same thing…using a spring compressor to shorten the spring, zip tying it off and making for an easier / safer install.

Couple of UToob videos demo the process. I have some pretty decently thick and masculine zip ties that I was thinking of using to install my new front springs.

Here are some shots I've collected online.

WOW!!
That ... if ... when .... I'm just speechless.

Ken

Kenova wrote::shock:
WOW!!
That ... if ... when .... I'm just speechless.

Ken

No kidding. Duct tape, WD40, and zip ties. Tool kit for survival on Mars.