I recall years ago, when I was a youthful delivery guy for a parts
store. I entered one shop with an armful of struts and shocks. Struts
were relatively new at the time. I found the shop owner attending to a
strut assembly w/coil spring, clamped by it's lower end in a vise. The
spring coils were compressed and held that way with several rounds of
baling wire. I asked what he was doing.
"Changing the struts. Bobby over there (indicating large person) sat on
the fender, and I got under and wrapped this wire".
As he spoke, he was using a pair of diagonal cutters to snip the wire,
one at a time. I suggested he sign the ticket so I could get the hell
outa there.

Returning later that day, I asked if he had finished the strut
replacement.

"Sure did. You shoulda seen that spring when it came loose! It shot
all the way across the shop and back, hit the floor, then the roof, and
finally bounced under the bench. Cleared the shop floor in a hurry!"

It's a wonder we're alive.

- -
Rex Burkheimer
WM Automotive
Fort Worth TX

Nigel Eaton wrote:
In article , Rex B
writes

This one raised the hair on the back of my neck!


Pah! Youth of today...

Last time I did this[1], we used a jack in a shed doorway to compress
the spring, tying rope around it to keep it compressed. Several stages
were involved, with paving slabs being used as "shims" to get the
bomb^H^H^H^H spring to where we wanted it.

Then we installed it, and sent an idiot^H^H^H^H^H volunteer in with a
hacksaw to cut the rope.

It made quite an impressive bang when the last strand let go.

And the front end of the car did "fly" a bit. But only a bit.

The volunteer's laundry bill was the most costly bit of the whole exercise.

(Nobody died, by the way).


[1] Long, long ago; in a Universe far, far away.