Good Call. A Vice is very handy for this job. Otherwise you are wrestling the parts all over the bench or the shop floor.

sounds scarey....think I'll let someone else do it....Thanks all

Carl, it's "vise" not "vice".

There's nothing to be scared of. Just respectful, that's all.

Carl, it's "vise" not "vice".

You haven't scene my garage!

(Many of my vices are located in the garage)

My garage is a shameful mess. It's pathetic and useless as a working area.

everyone forgets teh most important factor in using a spring compressor. IT HAS TO BE GREASED!

Carl,

"(Many of my vices are located in the garage)"

I shudder to contemplate your collection...Underware with sandpaper inserts :stupid: , a hot tub with 500 gallons of lime jello :classic: , and a life time supply of plastic sheets and motor oil-well that sort of belongs in the garage!

Bryan,

I have found that a firehose and a box of detergent can cleanup most messes-you might as to borrow them from Carl's garage :eek:

Will

I'd have to get rid of all the junk from moving a year ago first.

I resemble that remark!

Will

I read all of this with great interest. The springs can be removed without a compressor or a Z and other cars too. However, I recommend a compressor and a good one at that. I used to work on cars in the garage for play money. On one occasion I was working on a Mazda replacing the struts. I was using one of those cheap compressors with the hooks and threaded rod. While compressing the spring one of the forged hooks gave way and the spring expanded rapidly. In a blinding moment my left thumb was stripped of flesh. I curled it into my palm and held tightly as the blood poured, yes, poured from my hand and down my arm. After the shock had passed I looked expecting to find my thumb gone or partially detached. The nail was gone as was a lot of flesh. I bandaged the thumb and called a tow truck to carry the car up to a local shop to finish the whole job. I lost money on that one! Anyhow, the point I'm hoping to make is safety should NEVER play second to anything else. I will only use a good hydraulic compressor now. Even with it's cheap

(poor quality) tools at Harborfreight, the $100 hydraulic spring compressor is a decent tool for most of us. It only takes ONE time to F**K up your life or limbs. Play it safe...always!

Food for thought for the safety first crowd: What is the stock spring rate on a 240Z and how much compression is there on a stock spring as it sits installed on the strut when there is only one thread left hanging on? If you can figure this out then you'll know why I've never used a spring compressor on a Z strut. I usually just zip off the nut while the car is on the ground. The car isn't even going to budge since the spring is already compressed just by the weight of the car. If the strut is off the car completely then I lay the strut down facing away from me and zip it off and let the spring fling off (doesn't go very far, maybe 3 or 4 feet). Note that I'm always installing aftermarket springs or coilovers that don't require a compressor to put back on.

Is this dangerous? Well I suppose you could accidently point the strut at your crotch and zip the nut off, but if the person doing the work isn't a complete moron I think a quick check of the math will show that it isn't terribly dangerous...

EDIT--I should also say that I've worked on some Porsches that were VERY dangerous. The danger is related to the spring rate and the amount of compression.

Since many of the people here on the site are having some of their first experiances working on cars in general it is probably best to go with the safety first attitude. Compressed springs are a danger, how much may depend on it's particular application, but still a danger in anycase. Personally anyone that jumps from a perfectly good airplane is a moron IMHO even though it isn't "terribly dangerous" with proper training and a good parachute The right way is the best way to do things safety wise, even if it take special equipment and more time.

No flaming intended just my $.02...