[ws6speedpaul]

Thanks everyone for all the valuable feedback!

I safely removed both coils and control arms yesterday, using just a hydraulic jack.

The spring compression tool ended up being just a distraction, and added no real value in my case.

My SD remained all its life in Tampa Bay, until I moved it up to north Georgia, so everything came apart super easy due to having zero rust/corrosion.

The car has 76K miles on it and all the original steering and suspension components...and even one of the factory spring tags was still attached to the coil!

[Sirrotica]

To install springs on a car without an engine. Simply take a length of chain, run it around the axle of the floor jack, and over the frame rail. This allows you to jack up the front lower A arms using the jack against the chain.

Changing springs isn't hard if you use common sense, even if you don't have a spring compressor it can be accomplished with basic tools. I actually prefer to use a floor jack because it is overkill for what you're doing, and even if it fails the release is measured and slower.

If a screw spring compressor fails all the stored energy is released 100% in a split second. You won't have any chance to get out of the way. I did see one spring compressor fail, fortunately the spring was lying on the ground, and it didn't hit anyone when it shot the length of the shop.

Been there and done it dozens of times as my profession.

If you do use a spring compressor, or a length of all thread, DON'T use an impact wrench on it. It fatigues the threads and rolls them over causing them to fail. I own a strut compressor that was used in a shop by everyone. They used a impact wrench on it and pulled the threads out of the welded nut that the screw went into.

Even with it greased and oiled up it still ruined the threads. The manufacturers put warning labels on most of the ones I've used for a reason. Don't use an impact wrench on them, they will fail spectacularly.

The shop owner bought a new one and sold me the damaged one for $5, I cut the ruined nuts off and welded new nuts on it. It's been working fine for me for decades, but I never use an impact on it, just a ratchet and socket to tighten it.