Any suggestions for a good brand of spring compressors that won't kill or maim me?

I want to replace my front coils and am looking for a descently safe set of spring compressors. I'd prefer to buy and keep them not rent. Any suggestions?

 

I'll apologize in advance for not answering your question and instead giving you my opinion.

Screw hand held compressors. For a Honda Civic sure, but given the length and load of our springs, all of the cheap options are sketchy. I'd only want to use a free standing compressor for our coilovers. Unfortunately those take up a bunch of room and most push 1000 bucks.

Pretty much every local mechanic has a compressor. I've dropped mine off twice over the period of eight years for $35 per coil. Pretty low stress/risk way of doing it.

 

I bought these but have only used them on my GTO’s struts. my buddy has used them on his Tacoma‘s coilovers.

https://www.carid.com/specialty-pro...40260.html?singleid=82332156?utm_source=email

 

Someone in my off-road club bought this type of spring compressor. Even though it looks sturdy, the arms broke on first use.

 

I have one of these. It made short work of changing the front springs on my 2003 Tacoma, and we used it on the front struts of my son-in-law's Lexus GX350. I have not tried it on my 4R, as I got it after I did the Eibachs on my 4R, where I used the 'no compressor' spring removal method.

$113 ATPEAM Macpherson Strut Spring Compressor Kit Universal Interchangeable Fork Coil Extractor Tool Set

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0922W5XHB?ie=UTF8

It felt very safe using it, but not everyone has the same level of comfort with this type of tool.

 

Don't risk hurting yourself dude. Any local shop can make quick work of that for cheap. Even places like Big O and Firestone has legitimate wall mounted coil spring compressors.

 

I took my front coils apart to adjust the spring seat height using the 4runner as the spring compressor. However, that is not a recommendation. I’m not recommending anyone do this, because simple mistakes can lead to damage or injury if you don’t understand how it is exactly that you could be injured. That said, disassembling the coilover on the vehicle seems to me like it will contain a “mistake” more than a broken arm on a tool like the one below which will result in a flying spring along with the shrapnel from the tool. Pretty scary stuff.

I like youtube for all the educational videos on how one can take struts/coilovers apart using sketchy techniques. However, someone considering doing this on their own should also watch “fail” videos of these flying apart when various sketchy approaches or tools are used. It’s the best way to make fully informed decisions lol.

 

The transition from potential energy to randomly directed kinetic energy is bad event to attend in person.

 

I've done the in-vehicle method a couple of times. It's quite safe if the spring rate is low enough. It doesn't always work if the spring is too long or the spring rate is too high - the vehicle will lift off the jack stands when you jack up the LCA, because the vehicle corner weight isn't enough to compress the spring from the free length to the installed length. If you can sneak a compressor tool in-situ, though, that'll work.

 

This is a perfect example of a little unanticipated thing that will bite you if you arent super careful and hypervigilant about what’s happening with everything on the shock and around the vehicle as you lift. I saw what you mentioned on a video, and I essentially reproduced it on mine before I took things apart. In my case, I noticed the entire front end come up evenly, even though I had the jack on one lower control arm. Weird.

I might do it again, but again, I’m not recommending anyone try it.

 

Not a good idea to get hurt this badly. I wouldn’t trust any tool off the web. Especially Amazon.

Do it once at a shop. I did mine twice at a shop, went from 1.5 to 1.9”. That’s the end of it and I’ll never adjust them again, and I’m still alive.

 

I just recently had a "high quality" NAPA spring compressor let go on me. The threaded 3/4" bolt that does the compressing broke. Luckily and on purpose nothing was facing toward me, I was outside with plenty of room, and I was tightening slowly. The release of energy was shockingly powerful and so fast. I managed to escape with only scraped knuckles, through gloves. Fucking scary. Glad to be telling this story. I won't mess with them again because IMO it's not a matter of "if", it's "when". Take them to a shop. It could literally save your life.

 

The style @glwood54 posted would be my choice. Not with that particular brand, but I have compressed hundreds of springs with similar. Fast, safe and effective. Routinely inspect prior to use.

 

Wow! What style of compressor? Was it the cantilevered arm type like the ones linked so far in this thread?

But regardless of design, your experience and the one @3JOH22A mentioned really show that the materials used in “consumer grade” spring compressors are probably insufficient. That’s hard to tell just by looking at it. And it results in immediate and violent failures without warning. Too much risk.

When bought my front suspension from exit off road, I just paid them to have them assembled before getting them shipped. That’s the safest route. And one less source of installation error.

 

What's your price limit?

 

This was the one I had. https://www.napaonline.com/en/p/SPC39730 Seemed like a quality tool. It was the only one that seemed like it was capable of compressing larger springs.

 

I had this one. Bent really bad on the first use of bilstein 6112. Do not recommend at all!

I do suspension for folks often, so I went and bought the best there is. Branick 7600 wall mounted spring compressor. Has paid for itself. It's SO nice to have compared to anything else out there.

 

This is the standard for compressors. But they're not cheap. It also does not have to be wall-mounted. They make a portable stand for it, but that's another $500. I was fortunate enough to find both used for a song.

A little cheaper is the Jack Tech brand. I've not used one, but I've heard good things about them. And they're considerably cheaper.

 

Ah ok. I bought something like that to potentially use on my front , but I couldn’t actually fit them onto my front IMS coilover/strut.

Still have them around to potentially use to help install some taller rear coils (just to compress them an inch to help avoid trying over extend the rear axle). Not sure if it will work, but we’ll see. Hopefullly that woukd be less stress on them compared to a front coil.

 

Op here I'm going to buy a Branick 7600 off fb marketplace.

 

Cool. We can all have our struts done now!