Tools
This section will describe the tools I fabricated. In the technical
section I will describe how I use them.
The article does not represent an invitation to build a copy of the
tools shown as I cannot guarantee for their safety and appropriateness
to do the job properly.
Rear Spring removal tool
This tool consists of a coarse thread 1/2" rod with a sufficient
strength (8.8 or 11.9), a corresponding heavy washer and several
corresponding nuts.
Front spring removal tool
This is are pictures of the prototype of a spring removal tool I am
presently working on.
The lower part basically has the form of a horseshoe so it can be slid
under the lower spring pod.
The tool was laser cut out of 20 mm steel.
This
tool has worked perfectly on several occasions but I can not recommend
it in its present form since I am not a 100% sure that the open ring
could not slip from the lower spring pod while under tension.
Bushing installation tool
for the front bushings of the rear subframe
More or less by coincidence I found out that a (leftover) collar from a
front suspension dampener is the perfect basis to fabricate
a tool to press out and to draw in new bushings into the rear
subframe. The tool will push on the bushing's outer shell without
damaging the prodruding rubber.
On the picture above, the old
bushing has started to move out of the hole in the subframe and the
collar/ tool has partly moved into this hole.
The damper collar
only needs a very light grinding around its circumference so
that it passes smoothly thru the hole in the subframe.
The inner bore of the
collar even proved to be of the right size to fix the new bushing
tightly on the tool by lightly gripping the protruding rubber.
