[Stu Camino]

So after months of back order waiting I finally have brand new springs, hinges and a hood. I have some experience with this, but have never had to remove or install hood hinge springs before. I've asked around if there is a special tool for this job but have surprisingly not heard any ideas better than pulling with a set of vice grips... yeah I don't think so... I'd like to make sure I don't hurt myself or my Elky here.

I assume that it is much easier to put the springs on with the hinges mounted on the fenders... but that worries me about tweaking the fenders with the amount of force this is going to require.

I can picture a tool that would work, a long steel bar with a hook on one end and a pulling handle on the other. Does anybody make a tool like this?

How is this done?

Thanks

 

[Bobby78]

It's actually very easy. Mount the springs on the fenders. Put the spring in the full open position. Hook the rear of the spring in its groove on the hinge then take a prybar about 26" or a little bigger and slide it through the front "C" part of the spring that hooks into the front groove on the hinge. Then slide the prybar across the front of the hinge and pull the spring until it slips into the groove. Then just slide the prybar out. If you have a real good heavy duty long thick screwdriver it will work too. Just make sure whatever you use is straight and good heavy duty metal that won't bend or break.

 

[Bobby78]

It's actually very easy. Mount the hinges on the fenders. Put the hinge in the full open position. Hook the rear of the spring in its groove on the hinge then take a prybar about 26" or a little bigger and slide it through the front "C" part of the spring that hooks into the front groove on the hinge. Then slide the prybar across the front of the hinge and pull the spring until it slips into the groove. Then just slide the prybar out. If you have a real good heavy duty long thick screwdriver it will work too. Just make sure whatever you use is straight and good heavy duty metal that won't bend or break.
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Sorry re-read my post and used 'spring" where "hinge" should have benn.

 

[ssr71]

Sounds about right to me too. You're not going to tweak the fenders. The inner supports are strong enough to hold. Think about the tension put on them in normal use when you close that hood --- far more than you're putting on it just installing the spring.

 

[Cargasm]

When I installed mine the pry bar wouldn't work for me. Instead I used my floor jack to stretch the spring. Put one hook of the spring on the front "axle" of the jack and the other hook on the edge of the pad. Jacked it up and it stretched it. Then while it was stretched I put some shims between the springs to get the right length to fit on the hinge with the hood open. Then when you close the hood all the shims fall out. :nanawrench:

 

[Bobby78]

Do Not use a jack to stretch the springs! They can fly and hurt someone. Use the method I described above. This is how we've been doing in the shop for 40 years.

 

[Stu Camino]

Do Not use a jack to stretch the springs! They can fly and hurt someone. Use the method I described above. This is how we've been doing in the shop for 40 years.

I agree with Bobby, I already found the jack method on the internet... my question mentions that I'm looking for a SAFE way to do this.

My question about using a pry bar is that once I pull it back, won't the bar actually get in the way of setting the hook of the spring into the notch on the hinge? It seems like this would be difficult to do without ruining the finish on my springs as the pry bar would be pressed between them once I release the tension and I would have to pull it out scraping the spring and hinge?

 

[Bobby78]

Not at all. Leave about 8" at least of a 2 1/2 foot pry bar extend past one end of the hinge. The prybar will rest against the hinge. You're not pulling the spring. With the prybar through the hook of the spring and angled against the hinge you just "pry" the bar forward until the spring clicks into the groove on the hinge. If you're worried about marring any of the surfaces, wrap the bar with a few layers of masking tape. It's a bit like using a shoehorn to get a pair of shoes on.

 

[Stu Camino]

Not at all. Leave about 8" at least of a 2 1/2 foot pry bar extend past one end of the hinge. The prybar will rest against the hinge. You're not pulling the spring. With the prybar through the hook of the spring and angled against the hinge you just "pry" the bar forward until the spring clicks into the groove on the hinge. If you're worried about marring any of the surfaces, wrap the bar with a few layers of masking tape. It's a bit like using a shoehorn to get a pair of shoes on.

How about removal Bobby? Is it the same idea in reverse?

 

[Stu Camino]

I have my old hinges and springs to practice on I suppose. The original hinges are warped, but I want to keep my original springs as I have read that replacement springs sometimes don't work as well as tired original ones... so I need to get them off of the old ones too, I guess I will have to mount them back onto the fenders to get them off.