My First DIY Youtube Video

[donglow2]

Please be gentle! It is my very first try at making a DIY Youtube Video. It is on replacing struts, reusing the springs, and adding a strut spacer (if wanted) by using zip ties to compress the spring on the vehicle.

 

[ammcinnis]

I'm glad it worked for you, but I think your use of generic zip ties is a very dangerous idea. Few people appreciate the amount of energy stored in a compressed spring.

[whitetiger]

yeah, using zip ties as spring compressors is a good way to win a darwin award. a reasonable set of spring compressors can be had off amazon for under $40.

 

my set is similar to these - https://www.amazon.com/BTSHUB-Spring-Compressor-Suspension-Removal/dp/B08B88V245/ref=sr_1_34?keywords=spring+compressor&qid=1656177407&s=automotive&sprefix=spring+comp%2Cautomotive%2C67&sr=1-34

 

do it right, do it safe.

Edited June 25, 2022 by whitetiger

[DougKelly20]

You can also rent them for free from advance auto.

 

Edit: ok so I actually watched about half the video and I'd say for the first video you've ever done the quality of the videography and sound and presentation of the content was actually fairly good. I don't make videos but I certainly watch a lot of them and I couldn't tell that it was your first.

 

I think the challenge for you is that there are various issues with your actual content. Specifically already discussed the relative danger and awkwardness of using zip ties like that, but also the jack points and use of a vice grip. On the 17mm lower strut bolts most people use a wrench or a second socket with a breaker bar. Vice grips are clumsy and could damage the bolt. Lastly while YOU didn't damage your side skirt, it's a much better idea to use the front and rear jack points (cross member and rear diff) to get the whole car up in the air. That's what those are for.

 

In summary I don't feel like your mechanical prowess is at the level where you should be teaching things to others on these topics. I hope that doesn't come across harshly, but just honestly.

Edited June 27, 2022 by DougKelly20

[donglow2]

I respectfully disagree with the view this is more dangerous than the "widow-maker" bolt compressors. There is nothing more dangerous in than the two bolts that many times cannot compress the spring far enough on a passenger car to get the top mount off without a major struggle. Here is some verbiage from the description of the video.

 

The zip ties used are 175 lbs and there are 22 so the working strength is 3,850 lbs which should be significantly over the force of the spring, but compressing and working with strut springs is dangerous and caution must be taken. They nickname the bolt compressors "Widow-Makers" for a reason. They can easily slip off the spring and injure or kill. This is especially prone to happen when a person is wrestling with the assembly trying to compress the spring enough to put the top mount on and start the threads of the rod bolt, and complicated by the compressor bolts getting in the way of strut top and bottom. This zip tie method does not eliminate the danger but should reduce it. Any method of compressing and changing the spring though can be deadly if done without being fully alert and constant evaluation.

Edited June 27, 2022 by donglow2

[donglow2]

On the 17mm lower strut bolts most people use a wrench or a second socket with a breaker bar. Vice grips are clumsy and could damage the bolt. Lastly while YOU didn't damage your side skirt, it's a much better idea to use the front and rear jack points (cross member and rear diff) to get the whole car up in the air. That's what those are for.

 

In summary, I don't feel like your mechanical prowess is at the level where you should be teaching things to others on these topics. I hope that doesn't come across harshly, but just honestly.

 

So you are going to make the old Vice-Grip not being non-professional argument? Vice-grips are fine for holding the bolt head so you can turn the nut on the other side. I did not turn the nut or bolt with the vice-grip. It only takes a small amount of pressure on the head to keep the bolt from spinning while it is in the knuckles of the wheel. I used the very end of the vice grips, not the teeth (10:27 on the video). Most all mechanics have a set of vice grips for situations like these where you need to hold a bolt head and you do not have a spare hand to do so. Wrenches and sockets on ratches need to be held! Battery impact wrenches have changed auto mechanics for the good, but they are a little heavy and sometimes it is nice to use two hands guiding them where they need to go. Plus the vice-grips give something to hold when pulling the bolt out of the hole after the nut is removed.

 

If you want to try and find the jacking point in the front of a low vehicle that is next to the oil pan, exhaust routing, and other easy crushable things, please do so. I learn the side jack from a long-time mechanic who had done it 1000's of times on smaller vehicles with zero problems. My wood board, which didn't get shown well on the video, has a grove in it for the pinch weld.

Edited June 27, 2022 by donglow2