How do I get the front coil springs off of my 1994 Mighty Ma

[metalmysiah]

I have a 1994 Mitsubishi Mighty Max, 2wd, 4cyl, i have a pair of lowering springs I would like to put on but I cannot seem to get the factory springs off.

I saw this explination of how to remove the springs....

http://arrc.epnet.com/autoapp/8666/chil ... 68005L.gif

...and I HAVE done these exact instructions, but even once all bolts & nuts are removed, the lower arm (that the spring rests on) refuses to move, the spring still stays compressed and everything, it doesn't make sense. There is also a bell-housing around the spring that is not shown on the picture in that link that makes it very difficult to get the spring out without the arm moving downward. Help!!

[LethalEthan]

ok, that link took to long to load so I didnt wait for it. They way I did it was to have the truck up on jackstands, take a floor jack and put it right under the bottom control arm, close to it but not touching. I mean maybe a 1/4in below it. Take the lower ball joint nut off, you may have to remove the strut bar and sway bar its been a while since ive done this. Now, once you have everything disconnected and the jack in place, take a good mallet, hammer, whatever your choice of beating device and smack the side of the spindle nice and hard where the ball joint goes up through. It may take a couple hits and you might need some penetrating fluid (pb blaster, wd40 whatever) DO NOT hit the ball joint stud you could damage it. Only hit the spindle. Now this spring is going to have some serious pressure on it. The purpose of the jack is to catch the control arm when it drops, also keeping the spring compressed in the truck so it doesn't fly out and kill someone. After you have the control arm dropped onto the jack, you can slowly lower the jack until the arm drops all the way, then bam your spring is out. Assemble in reverse order.


PS. Its a good idea to use a chain or something and chain the spring to the control arm through the shock hole in the bottom just for an extra safety measure.
PPS also make sure you have the shock removed. Im gonna move this to the proper section and maybe a few others will chime in as well

[pennyman1]

I had this happen to my 1980 - the lower control arm bushings were early urethane and galled to the shaft and control arm. It was so stiff that I popped the lower ball joints and the arms didn't move - even with higher rate coils installed! I ended up puttlng my foot on the control arm, grabbed the frame, and stepped down on the arm while pulling up on the frame. I ended up tossing the frame when the shafts Couldn't be driven out of the bushings.