whats it take to put some drop springs on..

[oldblue1968chevy]

toying with the idea of ordering drop springs.....

whats it take to put them on, how hard, what tools thanks!

[westbrookw]

Not hard. A jack, maybe some impact ratchets and sockets, common tools(wrenches, ratchets, sockets, screwdrivers, etc), jack stands. Get some break free while you are at it. Oh yeah, BFM (Big F@#*in Mallet)

[oldblue1968chevy]

bout how long should it take to replace all 4

[westbrookw]

Originally Posted by oldblue1968chevy

bout how long should it take to replace all 4

You could do it in a day if you have all the tools. The hardest part will be getting your spindles out in the front. That is where the mallet comes into play. Not a hammer or sledge, but a mallet. It doesn't tear things up. The rears are easy. Two bolts each.

[oldblue1968chevy]

k, thanks!

[cdowns]

good idea while taking the front apart is those 40year old balljoints tie rod ends shocks etc might need attention then out back theres the need for adjustable panhard, shock relocators and drop shocks also the 40 yearold bushings in the trailing arms might b due too// after all thats done take it to the alignment shop

lowering correctly isnt just a matter of slapping in 4springs

[see ten]

Seperating the ball joints from the spindles is actually pretty quick. It's just a matter of a couple well placed whacks with the hammer and they'll pop apart. (YES a jack was under the lower control arm during this. YES we've already been chastised for not tying up the caliper with a piece of wire to keep it from moving like it did in the vid. Just trying to show how quickly they can be removed.)

[IMG]http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i228/71see1...

[Kayotic]

Ok, some problems you could run into.

The rear - if the bolt's are in bad shape that will slow you down a bit. Plus getting a socket to line up square on the head of the bolt through the spring.

The front - jack up the front(safety first) set on jack stands let front suspension hang. Next place a jack under the lower control arm just to compress the spring some. Loosen both castel nuts(do not remove) but run them a few turns to make sure the threads are clean so that the nut is flush with the end of the ball joint. The fun part - beat the hell out of it(I did mine with a 16oz thumb tack hammer - took more swings but worked) strike it from different areas around the joint.

The idea is to have the spring work for you. It will pop when it breaks free so be prepared(thats why you leave the nuts on).

Once both upper and lower are free you may want to tie your spring to the arm. Remove the lower nut and slowly let the jack down.

To shorten this post I removed the word "TO" and added it here.

Yes even if you have a miserable time you should be able to do it in a day.

[PanelDeland]

Start 2 days before the swap.Spray the PEE outta all the bolts on the rear,maybe tap a couple times with a BFH.Buy new bolts for the rear.You will want to replace the 40 year old bolts errr rust.Feel around and look at the rear spring retainers.They can be bought thru vendors or use in the classifieds,if they are rusted away.
The fronts may be easy or they may suck.I spent about 3 hours breaking loose the right side with a BJ seperator(AKA pickle fork) and a BFH.The left side I jacked up and set the stand put the jack under the LCA after loosening the nut and whacked it twice.The second swat and bothe BJ's popped loose.
Before you do anything go to the car wash with a couple cans of degreaser and spray the crap outta the suspension parts you will be working on.The wash it down.It's always nicer to work on something that's cleaner than it was.I took a hour or two a day and had it done in less than 8 hours and did new BJ's and tie rod ends.I also replaced the spindles with 2 1/2 drop ones.

[Longhorn Man]

I've neverr seen ball joints come apart that fast. I've had to put a biottle jack in there and the arm was flexing like mad, beat with a 2 pounder for 30 min and STILL not come apart.

[see ten]

Andy, I guess we've just been lucky! I think we've got it down to under an hour to swap out a pair of front coils and spindles.....But we've done it a few times now. These weren't broken loose and snugged back up for the sake of making the vid. We made it simply to show how we've been doing it.

Another board member that lives pretty close by called me to ask how to swap his spindles. (Before I had a video that I could send a link to). After explaining how to do it/where to strike the spindles (and the subject still sounding unsure about my instructions) I just drove over to his place with a couple big hammers in tow. Less then 15min after I got there we had both of his spindles changed out. Of course he already had the truck up off the ground with the wheels off and the tie rods off. He was just stuck on breaking loose the ball joints.

[chevy_mike]

Originally Posted by Longhorn Man

I've neverr seen ball joints come apart that fast. I've had to put a biottle jack in there and the arm was flexing like mad, beat with a 2 pounder for 30 min and STILL not come apart.

There's your problem... you were only using a 2 lbs. sledge. They come apart much quicker when using a 5 lbs sledge.

[eightbanger]

Good thread! saved to my favs for when I do mine. Thanks for all the info guys and to the poster.

And next time you guys make a vid turn it to the guy with the BFH, they love to be on film.
"Turn it on me"

[texanidiot25]

My passenger side ball joint took 4-5 hours of hammering and messing around with a ball joint fork. The drivers side took 45 minutes.

The rear took me about an hour from the moment I lifted the rear to when it was back on the ground. If I recall right, all 1/2 inch bolts with 3/4 nuts. You'll need a big 3/4 wrench, a deep socket 3/4 and a regular socket 3/4. Impact wrench will be your best friend on the bottom, and a cheater bar to slip over the ratchet for the top bolts will make things easy.

[Longhorn Man]

i don't doubt you Asa... but i do find it amazing though.
The funny part is, the one that I refered towas my old 69 GMC. While it was NOT a clean truck, it was not fron the rust belt either. Spent most of its life in Kansas, and then a decade or so in central texas.

[NWD02]

A day is overkill.... unless you have some old rusted bolts as I did. When you do it replace the rear spring plates and bolts attaching the springs to the frame and trailing arms. Most auto parts sells the ball joint tool that looks like a tuning fork. This makes it easy to separate the lower ball joint from the spindle. When you do it use GREAT CAUTION!!!! Make sure your jack is under the lower control arm and touching it, if not it'll be like opening a can with the spring in it... remember that toy from the "old" days. Hope this help.

[see ten]

We just installed a set of coils in the front of one of my buds 67 pickups. From the time he pulled it in the shop to the time he pulled it out was one hour. Disconnected the swaybar, shock and tie rod from the spindles. We only seperated the lower balljoint and lifted up the spindle while the coil was being swapped. Made another vid....thought I rotated it in editing...apparently not!

[IMG]http://i272.photobucket.com/albums/jj166/seet...

Remember...Wear your safety glasses and don't be afraid to hit it with all ya got!

[john]

I also remove them like see ten. If they don't come loose right away grab a second hammer and hold it on the other side of the joint as a backup and it will pop loose quicker. It helps distort the taper.

[Hard On Parts]

If your balljoints are good, you can go another route.

Put the truck up on jackstands, and put a floor jack tight under the lower control arm. Unbolt the swaybar endlinks. Take the nuts off the horseshoe bolts that hold the lower control arm cross shaft to the crossmember. Let the jack down easy and then replace the old spring with the new. Replace the horseshoe bolts and nuts. Then get a front end alignment. Done this a couple times, pretty easy really.



Again do this only if you know your Balljoints and Tie-Rods are in good shape.