rear coil spring removal

[wannabep71]

Alright everyone, who can tell me the easiest method of removing the rear coil springs on my 98 grand marquis? I don't want to pull the rear shocks and sway bar unless absolutely necessary

[nfldfordltd]

You should be able to do it by following these steps:
1. Lift the car good and high by the frame
2. Detach the shocks from the axle only. Swing them to one side enough to clear the mounting brackets/bolts
3. Use a long pry bar (I find a length of 2"x4" works well) and pull the axle downward, providing enough clearance to pull the springs out
That is assuming you don't have air ride suspension.
Good luck.

[wannabep71]

I was hoping that I would not have to remove the shock mounting bolts. I do own both strut spring compressors and coil spring compressors, would either of these allow me to not remove the shocks?

[sly]

no need to remove the bolts, just take the nut off the end and remove the shock from the bolt, push to the side of the bolt... then lift the car up higher.

[wannabep71]

Alright, sounds like I'm going to give removing the nut a shot, my main concern is rust

[LithiumCobalt]

A little PB Baster will do wonders.

[wannabep71]

Pb is an amazing product, especially in Minnesota

[kishy]

Basically, what's been said up to this point is valid.

In my case I've done my rear springs twice, once going from factory original to CC819 wagon cargo coils and then from CC819s to CC817 sedan cargo coils.

I've used both "inside" and "outside" style spring compressors. I tried to remove my shock nuts (there is no "bolt" on factory shocks, it's captive, held in a bushing on the bottom end of the shock) but the captive bolt/stud was spinning so I had to give that idea up. If you can successfully detach the shocks then you don't need spring compressors at all, but I wouldn't start the job without having some available.

The inside spring compressor will punish you. Don't do it! You'll think you're all perfectly good to go when you get the old one out and then realize how screwed you are when putting the new one in and can't get the thing positioned right to be able to be undone. Go with the pair of outside compressors all the way, just make sure you use the safety pins and do them up roughly the same amount at a time.

Using the outside compressors it was a fast and easy job. For the side(s) with an exhaust pipe, you may opt to remove the wheel and wiggle the spring out the wheel well, since the exhaust will interfere with getting it out under the car.

In case it doesn't go without saying: jack the car up by the bottom of the diff housing (don't wreck the cover!) as high as you can get it with the front wheels chocked in both directions. Set up your jack stands at a good point on the frame (in front of each back wheel, before the frame curves upwards are good) and then gently let the diff down with your jack...if your stands aren't dinky little toys, you should have plenty of clearance to work with since the diff is the lowest lift point and therefore you get the car higher (supposedly the diff is not considered a good lift point, but unless you have catastrophic structural issues in your axle housing, shouldn't be a problem)

[LithiumCobalt]

Out of all the Panthers that I have worked on from the north I don't think I've ever had trouble with the rear lower shock retaining nut. A car from the northeast however may be a different story.

[wannabep71]

We shall see over this weekend how the last 16 years of Minnesota winter have affected the but, hopefully not much

[nfldfordltd]

My car is a Newfoundland car, where salt spray from the ocean comes from and I have never had an issue with removing the lower shock nuts.
The upper nuts however are usually a job for a reciprocating saw and a long blade...

[IPreferDIY]

If you find the nut breaks loose but is a bitch turning on the threads, you can supplement your favorite penetrating oil by cleaning the bolt/stud threads with a wire brush or, better yet, a wire wheel on a drill or grinder. Even if you can only get to half the threads, it should be enough of an improvement (at least with a wire wheel) to get the nut off. I usually find that cleaning the threads properly before reassembly gets things pretty close to normal. You can also add anti-seize to avoid future problems.