2nd gen IFS help...

[02ultraZ]

Hello all,
I was wondering if anyone would be able to give me some tips on what i should do to solve my problem.

I recently had my car repainted and much to my surprise the body guys kind of effed up. They didn't properly seal the engine bay and i ended up with a ton of over spray all over under the hood. I have been buffing and cleaning to try to get it all but, now i've decided that i want to drop the sub frame (with the engine and tranny.) This way i can repaint most of the parts on the suspension and the subframe itself.

So maybe i haven't decided yet, should i drop the subframe? Or would i save myself hassle by just pulling the control arms off and painting everything with the subframe on the car.

Plus i want to pull the headers, paint them and put new gaskets on...

I have never removed struts/springs before. I have searched for threads with specific tools needed for removal but came up with nothing.

Any help would be appreciated, sorry for long post.

Pics of overspray...

[pajeff02]

The subframe on the 2nd gens is held on by 4 bolts under the body. It would take quite a bit of work to try to pull it. Better to remove the other pieces and rehab it in the vehicle. With lots of elbow grease and masking off of other parts it can be done with good results.

You need a coil spring compressor to remove the front springs. This is semi-dangerous as there is a lot of stored energy in them. You start by removing the wheel and the shock. The tool is essentially a threaded rod with two (2) fingers that clamp over the spring coils. The tool is inserted from the top, through the hole the shock was bolted into. There is a nut, which is pinned to the threaded rod, that you will turn to tighten the tool after you insert the fingers from the bottom and properly position them.

By turning the nut, you slowly draw the spring up and take the pressure off the lower control arm. You then pop the lower ball joint and swing the arm out of the way before slowly releasing the pressure on the spring. The trick is to position the tool right so you have enough room to pull it off the control arm, and then enough thread to drop the spring back down.

It is best to use a pickle fork to pop the ball joint, although it can also be done by loosening, but not removing the nut, and then whacking the joint with a good sized hammer while the spring is pushing against the lower control arm. Obviously, the latter is the more dangerous of the two methods. It is not a bad idea to safety chain or cable the spring to the upper mount so it cannot fly out if something lets loose on you.

[pajeff02]

This is an example of the tool: http://www.summitracing.com/parts/KTI-70375/ For front springs, you remove the upper set of fingers as the frame of the vehicle holds the nut in place.

[02ultraZ]

Thanks for the info man and good info at that. I am going to have to hold off until tomorrow and get the pickle fork for my airhammer and also the spring compressor. Not too terrible of a price on summit, would you think a local store would have one for around the same price?

[pajeff02]

Thanks for the info man and good info at that. I am going to have to hold off until tomorrow and get the pickle fork for my airhammer and also the spring compressor. Not too terrible of a price on summit, would you think a local store would have one for around the same price?

I believe I have seen them for sale at NAPA and Autozone.