Replaced my front springs yesterday. Not exactly a fun job, but not too bad... and the results are quite good.

I followed the procedure described in the FAQ, with just a few exceptions:

+ I used a tie rod end puller to remove the tie rod spindle from the conrol arm. This little piece worked like a charm. I borrowed it from AutoZone, which also lent me the spring compressors I used.

+ I should have made the J-hook for suspending the strut, as described in the FAQ. Instead I used a wire hanger, which worked OK but I wouldn't particularly recommend...


+ I had a heck of a time trying to get the top of the strut out from under the wheel arch, so I unbolted the chassis end of the radius arm. This made it much easier to manipulate the strut.

The job took about 4.5 hours - not including maybe 15 minutes for breaks, and 45 minutes of chatting with curious passers-by (I was doing all this in the parking lot of a strip mall). I felt like I spent more time tightening and loosening the spring compressors than anything else. The 4.5 hours also does not include the time I spent chatting up a local repair shop guy before he agreed to loosen my strut-top nuts with his impact gun...

The new springs I installed are Scan Tech stock-type springs from FCP Groton. The new springs were a bit shorter than the old ones:


Results...

+ The front of the car is about 1/2 inch lower than with the old springs... which is a good thing! With the old springs, it had the appearance of sagging in the rear (front was too high)... now it looks nice & level. With the old springs, the passenger side was about 1/4 inch higher than the driver's side... now that bias is more like 1/8".

+ Much less brake dive than with the old springs.

+ Slightly more comfortable ride over bumps. There's a stretch of cobblestone road (maybe 4/10 mile) I drive on a regular basis... it was not quite as jarring an experience today as in the past.

Many thanks to all you who helped answer my questions, and contributed to the FAQ!

- Brian '93 945T... 111k miles