V70 Rear Coil Springs

wgforster · Post by **wgforster** » 06 Jul 2013, 09:13

My 2002 V70 was making rattling noise when going over bumps. Discovered that about half a turn of rear drivers side spring had broken off on the bottom side of the spring and was rattling around in the spring seat. Much of the info on the web indicated that the spring could be removed without using a spring compressor. I'm here to tell you that it can not be done without compressing the spring. The upper control arm simply does not have enough range of motion to allow the suspension to be lowered enough so that the spring can be removed. I have an external spring compressor that just won't fit. I'm going to buy an internal compressor and hope that it will work after I remove the shock. I think I only need an inch or two of compression and should be able to get it out. Has anyone else had trouble removing the rear coils?

Post by **precopster** » 06 Jul 2013, 16:33

How about disconnecting the sway bar? Does that give the suspension more range?

wgforster · Post by **wgforster** » 06 Jul 2013, 20:47

Had the same idea that maybe the sway bar was restricting motion. Disconnected it and didn't help. It's the upper suspension member that seems to be the culprit and it's not easily removed.

wgforster · Post by **wgforster** » 20 Jul 2013, 15:41

Update: So I thought that I'd buy a spring compressor with the money that it would cost me to have a shop install my springs. Went with the Baum McPherson unit that looks similar to the Volvo tool. The Klann tool was too pricey for me. The Baum tool is very well made. Problem is that the Volvo spring requires the largest of the 3 claws which is too big to fit in the tight quarters of the rear suspension. Also I couldn't get the compressor even close without dropping the trailing link. BTW, disconnecting the trailing link is much easier with the suspension jacked to the neutral/normal height. So now I'm buying a set of claws that are smaller than the large ones that should fit. Actually buying the Klann claws and praying that they fit the Baum tool. I'm heavily invested in tools at this point but I'll have them for future use. Bottom line is that it would have been much cheaper/easier to have a shop install my springs. I also tried to disconnect the lower control arm supported by a jack and getting the spring out that way. The spring interferes with some other structure and won't come out. This has been a real beast. Not sure what model years allow you to just disconnect the shock and lower the control arm and pull the spring but it's not 2002.

Post by **precopster** » 20 Jul 2013, 19:53

The 850s and gen 1 V70/S70s are a cinch.

Thanks for relating the experience as that will be one to look out for.
I've attached the procedure from Vida in case anyone needs it. Also applies to FWD S60

wgforster · Post by **wgforster** » 21 Jul 2013, 06:08

Those instructions pretty much sum it up. When I first read about removing the brake caliber I thought it was because there was going to be so much droop that it might damage the brake line. HA, no way. The caliper is removed to allow the spring compressor to reach the spring. You will also notice in the diagram that the pictured compressor has extension blocks on both claws to provide an extra inch of reach to avoid interference with the trailing link. The Baum compressor came with only 1 extension block to be used with conical wound springs. That's why I had to drop the trailing link from the wheel.

wgforster · Post by **wgforster** » 24 Jul 2013, 18:02

I received the Klann #1 claw today and it fits my Baum cylinder so I should be set. The included pictures show the Klann claw (silver) vs the two different Baum claws (black). The smaller Baum claw is just slightly too small to fit the rear spring. The larger Baum claw is just a little too big to fit onto the spring while the spring is on the car. It's important that the spring fit down in the recess because the raised area at 9 and 3 o'clock holds the spring in the claw. So as much as I wanted to use the small Baum claw, the spring just did not sit down properly and it would be dangerous. The Klann #1 is perfect.

: claw2.JPG (36.02 KiB) Viewed 6920 times

kirstyp · Post by **kirstyp** » 17 Jun 2015, 09:21

Hi all, thinking of doing this myself, does anybody know where I can by the spring compressor to do the job? At a fair price? I live in the UK, I have been on amazon and ebay and there are tools that look similar to the picture but dont want to waste my money if its in correct! Please help!

Post by **vtl** » 17 Jun 2015, 10:05

I used this tool: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003A18KCQ

Lower shoe is a bit small to handle spring securely, but I took the risk. It was slipping off the spring all the time, spent many hours trying to align it properly. Also the tool is not very durable, the shoe got bent.

Generally, replacing rear springs in wife's FWD 2002 V70 was a PITA. Mark compressor's position on the old spring when you removed it, and align compressor *exactly* to the same position on a new spring, otherwise compressor would be either jammed by surroundings while uncompressing the springs, or the compressed spring could not be fitted at all. Read previous sentence three more times to memorize properly how important is to mark position

Post by **abscate** » 17 Jun 2015, 18:59

I did my 1999 V70 rear suspension with no compressor. Hmmm. Maybe the springs were so gone I could squeeze them out?