dustbuster4

Long story short:

I was helping dajuice27 put in his Eibach Pro-Kit and KYB AGX struts. While compressing one of the front springs, BOTH spring compressors broke free and the fucking spring went straight into my head!

I was pretty stunned and bled a good bit. After regaining my senses, it was back to getting the install complete.


Sooooo, after 3+ hours (dedicated auto enthusiast that I am--needed to complete the install), I finally went to the ER, and they put 8 stiches in my head!






Since I don't drink or use drugs, I'm relying on ibuprophen for the pain. AND PAIN IS WHAT I HAVE!!!!!!!!! :'(


It ws only afterwards that I began to realize the significance of what happened. I could have been severly hurt!!!

I am so grateful that I only needed stitches. It could have been much worse!!!!! I really don't know what else to say

MontrealCL

I've been wanting to drop my car for a while now, and one of the main reasons why I haven't done it is because of the difficulty and dangers of compressing the springs. Guess I'll get it done by a professional! Don't feel like having 8 stitches on my forehead.

Hope the pain goes away soon!

Do you know exactly why they spring broke free? Is it because the spring was improperly installed or was it a faulty tool?

suXor

Best thing to do is pull your assemblies out, and take them to a shop with a spring press and let them put them on for a few bucks. The majority of the cost of a shop doing it is pulling the assemblies out and reinstalling them.

PerFecto

way to take one for the team!

suXor

RIck, you say you don't do drugs, but why does that rule out perscription pain killers?

dustbuster4

This was the 4th time I've compressed springs for a CL (twice on mine, once on BigBrothers', and now dajuice27's).

This is the first time I've been hurt.

The design of the compressors we used SUCKED! I had a bad feeling throughout, but felt that we took pretty good precautions.

The fact that this happened still stuns me. It was completely unexpected!

To be honest, I'd drop another CL with no hesitation; but I would use better designed spring compressors.

BTW: The point of the thread was really about my injury. NOT to debate compressing springs. I should have chosen another title.

dustbuster4

Unfortunately, yes!

My 17-year drug habit can just as easily get jump started with a few "harmless" prescription narcotics.

After a few percocette or vicodin, my body wants the good stuff!

Honestly, I could take them if the pain was unbearable, I'd rather skip them if possible.

VXCL

u r lucky i have seen pics of a spring sticking into a concrete wall when it got loose

tw1112

Glad you are relatively okay! I've heard of people getting hurt a lot more that what happened to you.

haiduc

dayum......

your scalp is filled with lots and lots of cappilaries and bood vessels, so it will bleed more than any other part of the skin you manage to do that to.

wounds heal tho, so you'll be fine.... shaken up albeit.

you dont look so thrilled in that pic.

Junior34

battle wound!!!! NIce

JLai

Damn dude...That sucks. I feel stories coming on...

"Some dude tried to jack my CL...Well I wasn't gonna have none of that...SO..."

Heal soon man...Way to take one for the team...

MaCe

glad there you made out with relatively minor injuries ... u do look pissed in the pic tho hahah

AgentDSS

Shit man..you always gettin hurt? j/k Last time I saw you a huge bandaid was on your thumb after you cut yourself cleaning rims. Hope ya feel better!

klepto

Holy shit, hope you're ok...haah you kinda look like my math teacher

ricardo

damn dude. Thats dedication! lol, glad theres no serious damage.. to your head :x

dajuice27

Fellas,

Rick is a trooper, 'cause when the spring broke free, we both were stunned, then I got scared shitless as I saw him ( in what is classified as super slo-motion ) fall backwards, then grab his head! I got my arm wretched by the spring because I was holding it as he was putting the tension on the springs with the compressors. I feel the pain now, but nothing like it could have been.

Needless to say, we completed the install, but a 6 hour job took like a total of 20 hours over 2 days due to some problems we ran into. I have pictures of some of the stuff we had to do like saw off a sheared bolt, then saw through a strut twice.

I'll say it again, leave some of the stuff to the mechanics, other stuff it's cool to do with your bud, but fuck springs man, I'll send them to a professional.

Rick is the greatest - I just hope his daughter will let him come play with me again, she may hate me for hurting her daddy!

jaysCl

damn as long as it wasent nothing serious. When I tried to raise my car back up again I was at a friends house compressing the springs, when he told me to step on the springs while it was compressed my whole body moved like 20 inches.

Casper98CL

I have run into the same encounter... back in the day my father, brother and I were changing springs... The compressors slipped off the springs and launch square into my fathers chest.. Knocked his ass 3 ft back at he had to catch his breath!!!! SPRINGS are no shit when they are compressed and release!!!

DigiBox

Rick, it's good to see you are okay!!

Did you rent these compressors?? It sounds like you got a set of compressors that were worn out. I experienced something like this when I used a set of compressors I bought. Luckily the spring and strut assembly were all together.

My tips for anyone who is going to attempt this themselves..
1. Have a air compressor
2. Have an impact gun
3. Lie the strut assembly flat on the ground. (So that you can place your foot on it.)
4. Position the spring compressors on each side so that the strut won't roll around.
5. WEAR STEEL TOE SHOES!! LOL.

Also make sure you are clear from anything you would be afraid to break. What's worse is that these springs have to be compressed soo much in the front. The rear is a piece of cake and you don't even need to compress it.

Either way, glad it was just some stitches and not major head injuries..

Get well soon man.

joeshmoe

Glad to see it didn't take your head off!

The same fawking thing happended to me when I was putting on my springs a little while ago, only the compressor missed my head by inches. The POS compressor I rented had a retarded design which used 1 hook at one end and 2 on the other, (both ends should have 2 hooks for more stability). The damn compressor lost its grip and flung off of the spring and smacked up aginst the wall behind me, a few inches from my head. Needless to say I was a little freaked out. I actually put on my motorcycle helmet for the rest of the springs.

At least you'll have a good story to tell whenever anyone asks you about the scar.

clstyle

dam dust!!!!!!!!!!!!!

thats what i was afraid off when i thought about
swithiching out my eibach springs,

good to see your ok.

ib_jimmy

good thing you weren't injure that bad, those thing can do some serious damage. this happen to me before but i didnt get hurt...(knock on wood). i found an easier way to do this....i've done it to 8 cars aready and came out perfect. dont even need a spring compressor. What you need is a floor jack.

you unbolt everything even the upper control arm, except for the shock and the nut on the top of the shock

place the floor jack under the rotor and jack it up

unbolt the nut from the top of the shock then lower the jack slowly

unbolt the shocks and have somebody push the whole suspension down and pull the spring out.

cut the bump stopper and place the new spring in.

tighten the shocks

jack it up and put the nut back in.

nandowong

[QUOTE]Originally posted by dustbuster4
[B]

I was pretty stunned and bled a good bit. After regaining my senses, it was back to getting the install complete.


Sooooo, after 3+ hours (dedicated auto enthusiast that I am--needed to complete the install), I finally went to the ER, and they put 8 stiches in my head!





You are our hero you get hit in the head with a spring, cut your head, bleed like crazy and still think about the cl before of yourself. Now thats a true cl patriot

Sacramento CL

I'm installing H&R Springs & Koni struts next weekend. Thanks for the warnings!!

clstyle

hey joe u funny dog,
u put your motorcycle helmet to complete the install

lol,lol.

dajuice27

Yeah, well don't rent your spring compressors from Auto Zone - They Suck!!!

The design looked like a giant bolt in the center, with a nut on top used for adjusting the 2 sets of hooks on both sides of the bolt. The hooks had an 'L' shape and and were faced towards each other in the center.

IF you see this desgin instead iof the 'U' bolt kionsd of design, stay away!

dustbuster4

Get the kind that allow you to bolt the spring compressors to the coil spring with a "U" bolt!

That way you eliminate skull piercing flying projectiles!


BTW: Dennis; how's your arm????

KC CL 1785

close call, glad you guys are ok.

BTW, Dustbuster, damn dude, that is a nice hair doo, where did you get that done at?

rothmansking

I'm glad that you didn't get hurt any worse dust!!!
Just tell everyone that you got that scar while you were in jail.... hahahahh

CLTECH

HOLY SHIT RICK!! Hope that heals fast!!

BTW - tell your uncle that i said many thanks for the nitrous install. I've been spraying like crazy this week, trying to perfect when to spray etc, and also just beat the living shit out of integras and civics. We gotta meet up sometime before i ship off to FT Lewis!!

Vegeta1

Hope you heal up Dust. I heard those springs a can be a pain in the to put in.

Jamz

Ouch Rick, that makes my head hurt

The $200 I spent on my install doesn't seem as bad now.

Glad to hear you and Dennis are both OK and still got the job done

green972.2

Wow that looked like it hurt. once again i have to be the newbie of the board. If i am correct, the springs are part of the sturt assembly? So if you were to be replacing the entire struts with new springs.... would it be easier and safer?

dustbuster4

Unfortunately, unless you buy new strut caps (referred of as the "base"--It's the part that bolts to the shock tower), you need to use the one that's on the stock strut and springs. This means you'll still need to compress the springs to remove the cap.

ApocalypseCL

damn sorry to see that rick but glad to see you still finished the job! How much does it cost for a shop to do it? Hey when i get my springs( hopefully soon from cilver2.3...ill get you the money soon dawg i promise) do you think you can help me install them cuz if its gonna cost too much then i dont want to get a shop to do it. Anyways hope you heal up soon.

Ricka220

When I squeezed my Accord springs, due to spring failure, I used a nasty dangerous spring compressor. It was an El'Cheapo and I had to keep squirting lube on the threads just to keep it cool and from locking up. I was quite concerned, but lucky, I suppose. The things we do for cars

Wishing you a speedy recovery,
Rick

dustbuster4

PIC from about 6 hours after the accident.






Pic from Friday night--Stitches removed and healing well.

CLTECH

glad the stiches are out!