Originally posted by stingray454:
The problem was installing the new ones were impossible without compressing the sping and strut, as the control arm does not move down enough to install it with the suspension fully unloaded...the only way to get the new arms in was to use a hydraulic jack under the ball joint and load the suspension so I could get the control arm mounting points level with the sub-frame.
Reminded me of an article I saw in Popular Science (or some similar not-quite-auto magazine) many, many years ago, a how-to on compressing struts. It had you compress the strut with some sort of clamp, then put the assembly in a waterproof wooden box, fill with water, and put in a chest freezer (I swear I am not making this up). You removed the clamp, the ice (theoretically) holding the strut compressed, installed the strut and waited for the ice to melt, releasing the spring. Even at my then tender age (12 or 13 or something) it looked so terrifyingly dangerous that I couldn't believe that anyone would try it, much less write it up in a magazine. Anyone else ever heard of this one?
