Finally replaced the front springs - nothing to it

Here's a video of the suspension noise I was having


From discussion on V8Buick.com, and talking to other Buick guys, I knew the problem was the springs. Its one of those problems where people tell you what to check, but you cannot picture it.

So for a $22 diagnosis, Pepboys immediately heard and saw the problem and I got to stand under the car for the first time. The springs were in right side up, but they were clocked wrong. The end of the coil was about 3" past the 'peep hole'
To remove and replace the springs (I had new ones) Pepboys wanted $108/hr and said it was almost a 3 hr job. I declined as I had thought about doing them myself anyway.

After the mechanic at Pepboys showed me what was wrong, how the spring was not clocked right, I could immediately see the problem.
My first idea was to use a spring compressor and compress the spring in place, then twist it to the proper location and release.
I rented a spring compressor at Autozone, but I could not get it into the spring though the coils or up though the lower control arm.

The scary part, besides not having done any spring work before, was reading about springs that pop out and fly around the garage taking a chunk of your skin with it. After all the springs are huge and under a lot of pressure

For anyone planning to do this.. here's the basic steps I took.

Raise the car and support it on the frame behind the front wheels
Let the front wheels hang
Remove the brake caliper and hang it, I used some wire to tie it to the frame
Remove the top shock bolt
Remove the bottom shock bolts and slide out the shock
The sway bar can get in the way, at the very least you'll have to remove the end links. I loosened the bushing brackets too

Remove the cotter pin in the upper ball joint bolt
Loosen the castellated nut - my ball joints are new enough that the pressure from the spring was enough to separate the joint
You may need to smack the knuckle with a hammer or use a pickle fork to separate. if using a pickle fork take care in not destroying the rubber boot if you don't want to repalce the ball joint too.

At this point, I took all the safety considerations I read about and I did put a change though the spring and lower control arm and bolted the ends

Put a floor jack under the lower control arm, and take the weight off the spring.
The upper ball joint should get loose now, and you can likely remove the castellated nut by hand

Stand away from the wheel well opening, the handle of my floor jack was at the front
Slowly lower the jack and the ball joint will separate. Keep lowering
The spring will 'pop' loose as shown



When I did the other side, I didn't realize I put the chain around the sway bar too..it kept the control arm from lowering fully
Seeing how uneventful the passenger side was I had the guts to push on it, thats when I realized the chain was too tight.




So I removed the chain, and the spring popped right out



Here's what it looks like, with the spring removed



To put the new spring back in, push it up in the upper spring pocket, there are a couple tabs up there that fit inside the spring to keep it centered.
Hold the spring and lift the lower control arm, aligning the bottom of the spring into the lower spring pocket. It went in with a 'snap'
It does not fit in there easily, so get your jack under the control arm to take the weight.
I then used a 3ft pry bar, to pry the spring into the pocket.
I got both springs aligned on that 'peep hole' on the first try
Once the spring is in, jack up the lower arm and guide the ball joint into the spindle
Put on the castellated nut, tighten and replace the cotter pin
Remove your jack.
Put the brakes back on
Put the shock back on

After both sides are done, put the sway bar back on

The job took me about 4 hrs
That included staring at the springs for a while to decide if I was actually going to do it
And gathering tools and cleaning up the garage
With help it would go much faster.

The springs I removed were Hotchkis
I really didn't have any issues with the ride, but decided for factory springs to go back in.
The Hotchkis springs are really heavy duty, and just a little shorter than the replacements, but I never felt the car was low in the front




Only one booboo too... When I was taking the castellated nut of the passenger side ball joint, the wrench slipped off and I scrapped my arm on the wheel well molding. A very minor scratch but it bleed like I dont know what. One of those cuts you get where there's zero pain, but you sure look like a tough guy with blood running down your arm and dripping on the floor LOL

All back together now




And on all 4 wheels




Test drive today at lunch time!!!!

Front Springs

Since I got the Buick, every now and then, Id get a crack or pop noise from the front springs, more-so on the passenger side. I had checked all nuts and bolts, everything is tight, the car has all new bushings, springs, ball joints, tie rods etc so I was not too concerned to drive it.

Finally I had enough, discussed with a couple 'Buick' guys and consensus was that either the springs are not oriented right or their upside down. I could not find any pictures, including Google and the 70 service manual, on how the spring was to be positioned so I had no idea what I was looking at.

I stopped at a garage thats close by on Wednesday, told the guy my issue, he says "Oh you need to talk to Bob". So Bob comes out and the first thing I think is... "Oh good, Bob is at least older than the car" LOL

Bob seems knowledgeable, we chat for 10 mins, tells me he's restored a few chevelles and a cutlass etc. Nice guy. Gives me a good vibe.. and tells me to come back at 8am on Friday.
So this morning, I was up at the crack of crow piss, and on my way
The damn car never made a crack or pop the whole way up there...

Anyway, I see Bob, couple cars ahead of me but they pull the Buick in pretty quick. All the service guys are around it looking LOL Im standing back, outside, watching from 50 ft away... they start bouncing the car.. as sure as there's shit in a cat, it cracks on every bounce.. thank god


The lift arms come out and up goes the car
They guy knew exactly what he was looking for.
The springs are in the right way up.. but they are not clocked correctly.
The top of the spring has the last coil ground flat, as the spring pocket in the chassis is flat.
The bottom of the spring however has just a cut coil, and that cut end needs to fit into a slot in the bottom control arm.
Both springs are way past this slot.




Bob brings out the book for labor hrs.. and the book says 2.5 hrs to replace the springs.
Since they are aftermarket Hotchkis, I already had a factory set to go back in.
And at $108/hr I politely declined. The diagnosis was only $22..cheap!

So its not a difficult fix, just need to let go the ball joints, pop out the spring, put in the new, and jack up the lower arm again to assemble the ball joints.
I was never worried about the process to remove/replace the spring, but I had no idea until seeing it today on how to seat it correctly. Now I know and I'll be doing it myself.

A sunny March 18th photoshoot

Heads are primed

The heads cleaned up well. Some time with paint stripper (being carefull not to get any inside the valve cover area) and wire brushing was worth the effort.



Also notice that because the heads are of the 1972 vintage they have a '72' cast into the number 1 cylinder exhaust port. This is highly visable when you open the hood. So I removed it. Afterwards I had to 'texture' the metal so it looked more original as grinding the numbers off made it really smooth.






Taped up




And primed






Next step - Spray with Buick Red high heat paint
But I may wait until the motor as a whole is assembled as thats the way it was done from the factory.

Heads are back!

Picked up the heads today.
Cleaned and degreased
2 new valves
New oil seals

I cant wait to wire brush them and spray with high heat primer and Buick Red!