How do I install the coil spring of the front suspension on a 1999 Crown Vic?

Go to the parts store you got the springs from and borrow a spring compressor and clips and compress the spring before you re-install them.

DANGER WILL ROBINSON!

I have never replaced front coil springs on a Crown Vic, but I have replaced them on several other cars.

My first episode was on a \'63 Impala convertable. I was 16 years old. I did not use spring compressors. Three of us completed the task without serious injury but it was a minor act of GOD.

The auto parts store where you bought the springs (REPLACE BOTH) should loan you the spring compressors for free. DO NOT USE LESS THAN (2) TWO spring compressors per spring. Three might be a pain, but it gives you a 50% safety factor.



DO NOT REMOVE THE OLD SPRINGS WITHOUT SPRING COMPRESSORS!!!!!



Place a jack close to the ball joint on the bottom A frame. Lift the car until the tire leaves the ground. Place a jack stand under the frame of the car. The frame behind the wheel well next to the rocker panel on the jacked up side is a good stable point. You may need to jack the A frame higher to secure a stable jack point on the frame.

Release the jack until the frame is sitting on the jack stand.

Raise the jack until the frame barely leaves the jack stand.

Remove the wheel keeping the jack in place.

Remove the brake caliper leaving the hydraulic line intact. Remove the brake rotor.

Install the spring compressors on either side of the spring or at 120 degrees if you have three. The spring is still under the load of the car so it won\'t take much to unload the spring. Tighten the spring compressors one or two turns each until the spring starts to move.

Remove the nut from the top of the shock absorber piston shaft. You can buy an expensive tool from Snapon to hold the piston shaft or you can use a pair of vise-grips and a lot of perseverance.

Remove the two bolts from the bottom of the shock absorber.

Remove the shock absorber from the bottom A frame.

Release the jack under the bottom A frame. As the A frame drops the spring will become very loose.

Turning the steering wheel to either direction might ease the removal of the spring. Try every thing you can to get the spring out.

If there is no physical way to remove the spring, the lower ball joint must be removed to allow enough room to remove the spring.

Measure the height of the old springs before you remove the compressors.



TO INSTALL THE NEW SPRINGS:



Install the spring compressors on the new springs. These aren\'t 15 year old loaded by a land barge springs. They are brand shiny new with tons of torque springs. The object is to compress the new springs to the height of the old springs. I would use two sets of spring compressors alternating 180 degree compression by 90 degrees. If the compression is one inch, I would use 16 steps increasing each 0 and 180 degree compression at the top and bottom of the hour end each 90 and 270 degree compression 15 minutes after and before the hour.

This might seem like overkill but load stress on the new springs and the compressors is thousands of pounds. Sixteen steps graduates load failure sixteen times. The last step will unload the compressors at 90 degrees. Remove them from the spring.

Install the loaded spring in the gap above the lower A frame. Jack the lower A frame up centering the spring on either end. If the lower ball joint had to be removed, align the lower ball joint to the wheel casting and continue to lift the lower A frame.. Torque the castle nut and insert the split pin on the lower ball joint.

Insert the shock absorber thru the lower A frame and into the shock mount above the wheel well. Secure bottom of shock with original bolts. Secure top of shock with expensive tools or perseverance.

Now do the other side.



SO,

My first question would be, why do you have to replace this spring?

If the spring is broken and you are flipping the car, use a spring from the Crown Vic salvage yard in the sky.

If this is your baby and you have it up on jack stands, replace everything in the front end. I did this with my father-in-laws 1997 Lincoln Mark VIII. I was 55 years old at the time and bought a compressor and an air hammer before I was done. Sixty dollars for a front end alignment and the car is perfect.

This was Amos\' dream car. On the way back from Miami University (Amos was in a clinical trial to replace his aortic heart valve through a 1" incision in his chest AND IT WORKED)we were tooling along at 80 mph on alligator alley. I asked Amos if he had any idea what this car could do. He didn\'t say yes so 5 seconds later we were going 130 mph. The air ride suspension automatically lowers the car so it sticks to the road. With a big grin on his face he said, "We\'re not going to tell Vicki about this." I miss him.



Hope this helps.

Take pictures.

Steve

Coil spring compressor,may be able to rent from auto zone or advanced.