2004 XC70 Rear Spring it's the spring not the muffler

[abscate]

Liberally apply PB blaster for a day before.

Jack under the spring until it clears the bolt, car on ground

Impact socket and wrench and snarf that bolt off in 3 seconds

Release jack

Chock, jack, block car up.

Pry off strut

Remove spring

[MoVolvos]

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EDIT: abscate above is suggesting the same thing .

Looking at the picture it looks like the spring dropped 2 coil lengths. Add the broken coil it maybe 2.5 to 3 coils decompressed. Use a breaker bar or large pry bar and check how loose the spring really is? You maybe able to safely put a jack stand under the spring to compress it up above the bolt?

The above are all observations. Please try everything at your discretion always looking out for your safety. The vehicle needs to be stable all the way around while attempting any of the suggestions with wheels chalked.

[enotslim]

Looks like the stay (3 in the new image here) is lodged between two coils (1 and 2) of the broken spring. Rear end is elevated in this image with rear tires on wood ramps and front tires chocked, parking brake engaged. The broken (sharp) end (4) is below the control arm (5). The spring is "hugging" these pieces and I don't know if it will let go by simply jacking the car or the spring. Is there a safe approach to cutting the spring, say at the position of the dashed line in the image, with an angle grinder cutoff wheel? Pretty thick but I guess it eventually would work. Don't think the is much tension between this site and the broken end. This would expose the lower strut fitting to enable loosening the bolt (but not yet removing the fitting). Before removal would then need to deal with the tension in the spring that I think would be between coil 1, and/or the coil resting on the control arm, and the upper spring seat.

It seems to be kind of a mess. I can compress the spring a small amount in place using a large crow bar. But deflection is limited by the stay and control arm.

[abscate]

Plan 1. Get the car weight off the wheel so the spring isn’t compressed. Then pry down at point 4 above to get clearance for socket. It might be a two person job

[MoVolvos]

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Can you get a combination wrench in there the using a second for more torque?

[abscate]

Plan 1. Get the car weight off the wheel so the spring isn’t compressed. Then pry down at point 4 above to get clearance for socket. It might be a two person job


Plan B:

Drive it over a bolted down storm grate, then chain the broken spring to the grate. Jack car up to access the bolt. Crack it until it loose

Drive home carefully and slowly.



Plan iii

Try jacking up under spring at point 2 in your picture, that will force the spring up before it starts lifting car. It might go BOING when it comes off that stay, so keep fingers away. Then you can crack that PB Blasted Bolt with car on ground until it is loose, but not removed. From there, jack and remove spring as in Plan B.

[enotslim]

Double wrenches sound like they might work - thanks.

Jacking shifted the spring so a socket and driver can fit - see images. Seems like it should have dropped more but likely enough to loosen the bolt if two wrenches don't work. I'm also now an expert at compressing coil springs (I practiced twice and survived). Pretty sure I can disassemble/reassemble struts and springs on a workbench/in a vice. I'm trying to get to that point.

The spring can't go up or down. It's limited by the control arm below and the stay above. The strut connecting from upper strut mount to control arm is entirely free of the spring itself.

A pry bar moves the lower end of the spring "leftward" in the image hopefully far enough to clear the stay and to rest only on the control arm. This seems like very abnormal forces. At this point would jacking to neutralize spring tension, removing the strut from the control arm and then lowering the jack allow the spring to fall out in a controlled manner?

Would it be better to remove the strut entirely (dissconnect from both upper strut mount and control arm) with the spring in place and then lower the jack/control arm/spring?

Problems with these plans? Would they damage something? Other suggestions?

Thanks.

[abscate]

Are you missing the entire bottom part of the spring seat??

The spring just rests in the top under pressure - once the car is jacked up and the shock released, it will fall down.

Or, Im completely off on your rear suspension design

[enotslim]

I believe these are MacPherson struts. The spring sits between the upper mount, that is bolted to the top of the strut, and a spring perch that is part way down and integral to the strut. Normally, the entire spring/strut/upper mount assembly is removed/replaced as a unit. That can't happen now because the id of the upper portion of the broken spring is so wide that it bypassed the perch and came to rest on and be constrained by the stay and control arm. The lower portion of the broken spring still sits loosely in the perch and rings like a horseshoe when driving over bumps (which I no longer do with this car).

[abscate]

Ah, its a 2004 XC709 not your sig car.