Strut Tamer: The SAFE Way to Remove Coil-Overs
By Sean O'Hara
Once (in my youth) a friend and I were assembling a strut with a coil-over spring with one of those crappy five-dollar compressor tools. I looked away for a second and there was a bang followed by silence. The spring had come loose and knocked my friend’s hat off while blowing by his face. Since then I lean towards stronger and more stable spring compressors — like the Strut Tamer from OTC. It’s large, heavy-duty, and not going to lose its grip at an inopportune moment.
The Tamer will work with almost any straight, conical, or offset spring, and it sports a four-point locking jaw system that securely holds the spring in place. The stand’s and open-ended design lets you can position the strut easily — both in and out of the ‘Tamer — and two wheels allow you to tilt the stand back and move the entire unit to the work area. During compression, the wheels lift off the floor, and four no-slip rubber pads keep the stand firmly in place.
The arms adjust in and out and up and down in order to accept many sizes of springs from ranging from 2-1/2″ to 10″ in diameter to from 2-1/2″ to 24″ in the vertical. To compress the spring, you turn the ‘Tamer’s long 3-bar handle located on the top of the unit.
To keep the strut assembly straight during compression, the tamer has a center screw that floats from side-to-side.
The bad news: it costs a lot more than $5. Street pricing starts around $470. Maybe we’ll just uninstall the struts and take ‘em down to Midas. We hear they’ll remove and install springs on the cheap for carry-ins.
Strut Tamer [OTC Tools]
Street Pricing [Froogle]
Via Amazon
March 25th, 2007 at 8:17 pm
I’m having a case of deja vu here. I could swear we discussed this item already.
In any case, the message bears repeating- Don’t cheap out on safe and proper spring compressors. Those springs can be dangerous… Especially you guys in pickup territory.
March 25th, 2007 at 8:18 pm
I’m having a case of deja vu here. I could swear we discussed this item already.
In any case, the message bears repeating- Don’t cheap out on safe and proper spring compressors. Those springs can be dangerous… Especially you guys in pickup territory.
Also, the Midas near me refused to go near my spring/struts.
March 25th, 2007 at 10:03 pm
Rick, you do seem to be experiencing deja vu deja vu.
March 26th, 2007 at 12:38 am
Rick: I think you’re thinking of this post, in which we totally agree with you.
March 26th, 2007 at 6:17 am
Sorry for the double post.. that’s what happens when your DSL is down and you need your toolmonger post anyway.. I was reading and responding from my cell phone.
Chuck - You’re right.. I knew I had heard the one about the $400 spring compressor - Now that I can actually see the whole post on one screen - I see that this one is a floor model, which might be a better deal for people if they don’t want the strut tamer from that other post taking up wall space. I like the fact that you can wheel this around the car as you work too.. no need to walk across the shop, etc.