Coil Swap Disaster!

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RedHotMark96

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I spent the weekend trying to swap the coils in, and had a pretty awfull time of it. The rears took ages, I had a pretty good share of problems, the tool was extremely difficult to use, took 3-4 attempts to get each coil compressed properly, then I couldnt get the tool out. I eventually figured out how to disassemble the tool inside the spring and take it out, but then had to reassemble it inside the spring and clamp inorder to lift the LCA so I could get the shock bolt in. Then it took an hour to get the tool back out with the LCA lifted by the shock bolt.

The fronts were going pretty smoothly until I tried to get the lower strut bolt off the driver's side. It absolutely wouldnt budge, I tried pb blaster, torching it and even using a sledgehammer. Ended up destroying the LCA bushing, and now I think I need a new lower control arm. I think I'm gonna have to have it towed in since I have no more time to fix this.
 
u didnt buy a conversion kit? if you were putting parts together, you build the assembly off the car.
 
I'm really confused by what you were trying to do with the rears....

The lower bolt on the fron can be a bitch... I take my impact and put it on the bolt side and give a hit in revers so that it breaks the rust free and it usually slides out after that.
 
kustomizingkid said:
I'm really confused by what you were trying to do with the rears....
Click to expand...

Sounds like he was trying to use a spring compressor to get the rear coil springs in. :confused:

RedHot: With the shock, sway bar and upper link disconnected you can slip the coil spring right on in.

Have you looked at the instructions on American Air's and Arnott's websites?

http://www.arnottindustries.com/file.asp?Manual=TRUE&ProductID=131&Size=SMALL

Reference the front strut to lower control arm bolts: A good soak with PB Blaster works wonders!
 
Nuts, I messed around with them a bit then just assumed the rear springs had to be compressed.

With the front lower strut bolt, I think it may be bent. There's no way it should still be in there. I did hit a nasty pot-hole on a trip to New Orleans and had to replace the stabilizer link, so this could be due to that.

The lower control arm looks like a difficult fix, is this something I could do on my own, given another weekend? How involving is replacing a front LCA and how long does it take? Are there any write-ups on it?
 
We have a write up in our tech section on lower ball joint R and I. I Recently had my mechanic friend replace both upper and lower control arms that included the ball joints on my 94. The parts were priced great from Max. I googled for quite a while. I seem to remember a write up on control arms. Even checked MarkVIII. org w/ no luck. Maybe some one else can assist you further. Gary in Elmira, NY.
 
Redhot: I found a full step by step with pics on another site. I'll PM you the link.
 
The first tool every mechanic uses is information, remember this next time and things will be easier
 
On the rear you simply jack up the car, take the wheel off, place jack under a arm, undo the lower shock bolt, undo the top sway bar nut lower jack, pull old coil/air bag out, put new coil in, then reverse. No lie, I can do both rears start to finish in 20 minutes. There is no need for a spring compressor or special tool.
 
converting to coils is probably one of the easiest jobs on a mark VIII, and we all know there arent many easy ones lol!
 
took me maybe an hour and 3 beers to do the whole car...

american air had the best set of step by step instructions ...
 
My internet wasn't working so I had no way to look up any writeups.

I'm going to order a new lower control arm, and upgrade the rear sway bar while I'm at it. I understand the thunderbird LCAs are cheaper and will fit, but which year is best? '97?
 
You should have messaged me, I just did mine about a month ago. I would have been able to come over
 
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