Yes, I agree Paul. They are perfectly fine for hobbyist in my opinion.
I have a really varied assortment of brand names
1 Like
Wait till you purchase a 10mm socket. You wont have that in a few years timeš
Those, and 1/2": NEVER too many in the tool box!
1 Like
Gah ! I canāt hold on to a 10mm socket for love nor money. The little stinkers always disappear. I buy several at a time.
And 1/2" too, yes !
I have multiples of everything as I always have several project cars going at once and tools scattered among them. Once a week or so I gather everything up and reorganizeā¦and then commence scattering again !
Cheers
DD
1 Like
I have ācar kitsā made up forā¦more cars than I have!
-1 for the Rover
-2 largish tackle boxes for Harvey
-1 (ex) of the Jag.
That one will go in the hot rod. Iām sure it has a few 1/2" sockets and wrenchesā¦!
You say that like itās a bad thing.
1 Like
Craftsman are usually what i buy for long term quality.
I like Craftsman. For a while the Post Exchange (PX) started carrying sets of Craftsman. I picked up, in SAE and Metric, combination ratcheting wrench sets and sets of 3/8! sockets-- standard and deep.
Craftsman are good tools: Snap-On 1/4" stuff is still the better of the two.
Note that you buy Craftsman tools at Loweās these days. And I agree, Snap-On is better, but costs more and is more difficult to find.
And at Ace Hardware.
First time Iāve ever removed springs and seems like a āno such thing as a stupid questionā type of job.
I have the subframe off and the spring compressor from JCNA tool loan. The ROM says to, ācompress spring sufficiently to relieve load on seat pan fastening.ā
Iāve read other (non-Jaguar tool) compressor instructions call for 3-4ā of compression before removal. And one that says do not exceed 4ā off compression.
How much do you compress the spring before removing the pan bolts?
I did not use the tool to remove pan, so canāt help here.
The installation was a bit tricky (I used Jag tool), in that the guide pins were crucial, and you have to compress all the way, easily four inches or more. Also the final inch I could barely turn the thing by hand, I had to use a hammer.
I think you compress until the upper A arms are off the bump stop pointy-rubber-things.
Rob
Thank you, Greg and Robert.
I was just out loosening the bolts and was just coming to report. Was going to ask if pressure off of the upper bump stops was a good indicator.
Did not take much compression at all, which is what I had imagined. A couple full rotations, by hand, no bracing of the subframe to gain leverage or anything like that.
With spring compressed with tool:
As it normally sits:
And very apparent how the first threaded Rod that Greg revived from JNCA was damaged. Someone mustāve had the rod not fully fitted and the threads running against the back of the upper A-arm. JNCA did not send the locking nut/washer-thing for the top of the tool, but I had some nuts and washers on hand that seemed sufficient to do the job in its place.
1 Like
I was told by JNCA that the end of the rod that had damaged threads is never used, and is damaged because of the constant rubbing. So wouldnāt have been an issue.
With the nuts at the end of the threaded section, there was just enough available thread to fully decompress the spring. First spring is off now without any issues.
I had to use all of the threads in order to get the bolts on to hold the top stopper in place. Iām only using the threaded portion.
OK , dumb question, I got my car up in the air the other
day. Just wondering, how do I know if my front springs
are done. They all checked out and looked fine to me.
I even saw blue lines on them no rust no jounce, I donāt want
To replace them just cause I want to spend a bunch of cash.
How long are they supposed to last anyway.
As long as the car sits level from side to side you measure the ground clearance from the center of the front cross-member. Depending on tires and condition of shocks it should be around six inches, I think.
Probably did not work or was damaged because it was not used properly. At least if the picture of the suspension is any indication. This tool is made to use in the car. The threaded shaft goes out the bottom. There is no room for it to go up higher than the upper a-arm. There is a flat on the part that goes up through the hole and through the wedge piece and then the collar to hold it in place. The drawing / picture a few posts back shows it properly. Tools not used properly can get damaged or damage the person trying to use them.
2 Likes
The tool JCNA sent me wasnāt damaged, but it was missing the collar.
The illustration in the ROM isnāt quite accurate; thereās no more travel on the threaded rod for the bottom pieces to compress the spring.
If someone were to receive the tool without the collar and decided, as I did, to use nuts instead. But instead of threading the nuts completely on and left more exposed threads on the top, those threads would rub against the upper A-arm. I was saying that the picture Greg posted in his āSubframe is outā topic of a rod with galled threads that he received from JNCA looked like it could easily happen in a situation like that.
But, yes, the way the tool is setup in my specific situation could not work on the car. The rubbing on the way I have it setup is restricted to the unthreaded portion of the rod. The tool would work, as designed, on or off the car.