ARE SPRING COMPRESSORS NECESSARY TO COMPRESS SPRINGS?

A DIRT WHEELS FAN WRITES: “I have a Yamaha 2024 Wolverine RMAX 2. It is primarily used for hunting trips with heavy loads of gear. What I am finding is the rear spring tenders are coil bound, meaning I was riding on the heavy springs. This, as you can imagine, created a very harsh ride on the BLM roads (if you can call some of them that). I was looking at the dual rate spring kit from Shock Therapy. I was wondering if this kit had to be installed by a Dealer’s Service Department because of the need for a spring compressor? Or could I do it myself? Or maybe with some help from some friends?” – Anthony Paventi, Cedar City, UT

OUR PRO ANSWER: You are in luck because this kit can be installed without the need of a spring compressor. You will need just standard tools to remove the shocks from the chassis. And it would really help to have a bench-top soft-jaw vice to hold the shock while you are removing the springs.  You will then turn the preload collar a number of turns to release the spring pressure. With the spring pressure released, the factory springs will be easy to remove. Installation is basically the reverse of what you just did. There is actually a Youtube video of this procedure that you may find helpful here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rx0NQ-SZK2U.

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ATV & UTV ANSWERED QUESTIONS FROM READERS