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Pulled RR coil spring out of bottom holder

Discussion in 'Gen 4 Prius Main Forum' started by DecorahDave, Feb 7, 2023.

  1. DecorahDave

    DecorahDave Member

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    I was going to a meeting at night, when I discovered I had forgotten my cell phone. I was 1/2 way down our 1/4 mile Lane when I backed off into a snow bank. Looked at the user's manual and it said remove cover & screw in eye bolt. Laid in the snow (all this is not necessary, just showing how PO'ed I was) and couldn't find cover to take off under the front of the car. Got the Skid Steer out with log chain, connected it to the right rear coil spring as low down as I could get it. Pulled a bit, but the only thing moved was the right rear fender. Next morning, when rollback tow truck got there, the guy took off the plastic cover off the front bumper and screwed in the eye bolt (which I had found by that time). Pulled car onto the lane and tow guy backed it to the shop. When he disconnected the chain he said I had pulled the spring out of the lower bracket (cup or whatever). Now, am out of country, but when I get home, I'm wondering how hard it will be to put the bottom of the spring back in the holder. I have 2 post hoist if necessary. I remember looking at the coil spring and thinking it had very small coil metal, so might be easy to pry back in. Am thinking of using several pair of vice grips as spring squeezers. I will be careful where to put the hoist arms so I don't screw up something else.
    Advice please.

     
  2. vvillovv

    vvillovv Senior Member

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    get (rent a day) a spring compressor
    when you've got a spring compressor, than be careful when using it.

    unless the quarter panel and rear bumper is already dinged up, too.

    $$it happens,
     
    #2 vvillovv, Feb 8, 2023
    Last edited: Feb 8, 2023
  3. DecorahDave

    DecorahDave Member

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    Many thanks for your good advice. One of my buddies suggested using a couple of motorcycle tiedown straps like a spring compressor. I will let you know how I make out. Thanks again for your great attention.
     
  4. ChapmanF

    ChapmanF Senior Member

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    I would be strongly disinclined to reuse that spring. A new one is under a hundred dollars, list price:


    REAR SPRING & SHOCK ABSORBER. 2018 Toyota Prius | Toyota Parts Center Online


    But see that there are three choices (-47310, -47330, -47170) so it's worth checking with your VIN to be sure of the right one.

    It's possible the lower spring insulator also got mangled. That's less than nine bucks.

    I would take a very close look to see if the control arm got mangled at all. That's $220 list if it did (some dealers will discount).

    Then just look in the repair manual for the way to replace it, and do that.

    Toyota Service Information and Where To Find It | PriusChat

    Even if you end up spending $20 on a TIS subscription for access, that's very cheap tuition in a situation like this. It's rare enough there aren't going to be a lot of other PriusChat members saying "oh, yeah, when that happened to me, I ...".

    I wouldn't recommend improvising on this one. Car springs can mangle you. And even if that doesn't happen, you don't want your rear suspension to end up compromised. This is one of those "look how well I can follow the procedure in the manual!" moments. Your flair for innovation can be displayed another time.
     
    Tande likes this.
  5. DecorahDave

    DecorahDave Member

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    Thanks for the advice. I'll let you know how it all turns out.
     
  6. KamiKKazi

    KamiKKazi Member

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    Please use a tool designed for spring compressing as the spring could kill you. Also jack up the car to remove the weight off of the suspension when placing the spring in place.
     
  7. ChapmanF

    ChapmanF Senior Member

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    and if there are any other steps in the repair manual besides those, please consider following those too.
     
  8. DecorahDave

    DecorahDave Member

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    Hey Guys, I can hardly wait till I get back home this Sunday to have a look to see what is going on. First of all, I will have to find out how to put the Prius on my two post car hoist. I’m sure there are designated spots to lift it by. If someone has a quick drawing showing those spots, I would be thrilled to not have to research that when I get home. The parts diagrams, one of you sent are fantastic and confirmed what I thought was going on. On some older cars, they put the shock in the middle of the coil, spring, and I was sure it wasn’t the case this time. I am told I will have Wi-Fi on my 15 hour flight back to the states, so , I can spend some time looking up the lift points also. In any case I really appreciate all your help and cautions. If you have a look at my website, you will see how we rebuilt the front end of my 1959 Ford galaxy Skyliner retractable hardtop. Needless to say we dealt with heavier springs there , thanks again guys
     
  9. DecorahDave

    DecorahDave Member

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    Happy to have this problem fixed. It's been fixed for about 10 days now. I put the car on my two post hoist. Pulled the bolt out of the bottom outboard A-arm. This allowed the A-arm to drop down to put the spring back in place. Lowered the car with a 2 by 4 holding up the A-arm. Had to reposition the 2 by 4 a couple of times but it was a great fix. Collapsing the spring the about 6 inches necessary to put back in was a real problem. Unbolting the top of the shock was useless because the anti-sway bar kept the assemble from dropping down.
    Thanks for the help folks.