Since I feel like I will be undertaking a potentially dangerous task, I thought I would first ask the experts on this group. For replacing the trailing arm on my car, I need to compress the coil spring. I have already removed the shock absorber from the middle of the spring so have room work inside the center of the spring.
I purchased a pair of external "hook type" compressors which are designed to be used on each side of the spring but now I am having second thoughts about using them. The hooks appear to made from cast metal and do not appear to be drop forged steel. The width of the hooks is also thinner than I would like and am concerned that one of these hooks could crack under tension with disastrous results. For this reason, I would feel alot safer making my own.
The idea I had would be to use a 10" piece of 5/8" allthread rod (the kind normally found at Home Depot or Lowe's) and two 1/4" mild steel plates with a center hole drilled slightly larger than 5/8". To use I would feed the threaded rod up inside the middle of the coil (where the shock used to go) through each one of the steel end plates secured with bolts and washers. The diameter of the spring is approx. 4.5" and the end plates would measure 2"x8" so there would be 1.75" of overhang on each side of the coil. Would 5/8" rod be strong enough for this application or would I be better off using 3/4" rod? Also is 1/4" mild steel ok or do I need to use something thicker?
Thanks for your help.