Police springs confusion?

Hi all,

I've searched this to death, but still confused.

Police spec RRC springs seem to be quite popular but I'm not entirely sure what effect they have on a disco?

From what I gather, they are like heavy duty springs, so more resistance to heavy load. The thing is, I have also read that the Police springs have a something rating of something like 170lbs whereas the standard disco springs are something like 220lbs.

For my purposes, I want to raise the height of the disco back to what it normally should be, since I have alot of bolt ons on the vehicle and permanently carry round a sleeping platform, tools, jerry cans etc. Not sure if I should get standard height HD springs, or RRC police springs??

Police spec springs are for RRC only as they have self levelling suspension and similar to the 'progressive' springs fitted as standard and so will be lighter, perhaps only fitted to stop the vehicle sitting on it bump stops in the car park.
The Borge strut took care of any weight I had in the rear of my RRC.

LR rear springs are listed as HD for disco and have a part number (although now obsolete), and have a high poundage as the disco doesn't have any SLS or as far as I know progressive springs.

If you have ever seen police D1s they were always down at the back with the kit they carried, no doubt they were fitted with HD springs from the factory.

from what i've read, they are a cheap way to get a lift on discos and 90s.. but yes they are rated lower.. so no carrying full loads in the back.

sounds like you want hd.. aren't the bm blues meant to be good?

So I went ahead and bought a set of HD springs, and terrafirma shocks, but now just a case of going about fitting them.

I have axle stands but don't have a trolly jack, or a spring compressor. Will I need these?

a bottle jack between axle and chassis will help

ReadySalted said:

So I went ahead and bought a set of HD springs, and terrafirma shocks, but now just a case of going about fitting them.

I have axle stands but don't have a trolly jack, or a spring compressor. Will I need these?

Click to expand...

I think you'll get away without a compressor if you're fitting std height springs. I supported the chassis with axle stands and unbolted the ARB before lowering the axle. Original springs just fell out but keep an eye on the flexi brake hoses and ABS wiring if you have it.

I'm still on the original springs but when I replaced the rear springs on the RRC I just used my spring compressor, no ARB to worry about so it was jackup, removing the wheel and just 10 mins to replace the spring, wheel back on and over to the to the other side

The nuts on my ARB look pretty rusted, so I'm thinking it might be worth getting a spring compressor from screwfix and doing it your way discool.

If I understand you correctly, I wouldn't need to place the disco on axle stands first? I could just jack her up, whip the wheel off, and compress the old spring, exchange it for the new spring and damper, and hey presto?

PS the springs are britpart yellow and there are two in each box. Two front, two back, However they aren't individually labelled so not sure whether there is a left and right, and if so, which is which?

(I will get back to you on the quality, and whether the disco ends up level, as I've heard mixed reviews).

they arent sided and tallest ones fit the rear

ReadySalted said:

If I understand you correctly, I wouldn't need to place the disco on axle stands first? I could just jack her up, whip the wheel off, and compress the old spring, exchange it for the new spring and damper, and hey presto?

Click to expand...

It really isn't safe to do any work on a car that's just resting on a jack, other than just changing the wheel. Only takes 2 seconds to push the stand under and lower the car onto it.

Putting safety first makes me feel really old now

ReadySalted said:

The nuts on my ARB look pretty rusted, so I'm thinking it might be worth getting a spring compressor from screwfix and doing it your way discool.

If I understand you correctly, I wouldn't need to place the disco on axle stands first? I could just jack her up, whip the wheel off, and compress the old spring, exchange it for the new spring and damper, and hey presto?

Click to expand...

Well yes and it's hey presto

At the time I only had a small 1.5 ton trolley jack so it struggled a bit to give the lift the RR needed, but u do a risk assessment don't you, your not going to get under the vehicle or shake it about, although u will have to unbolt the spring clamp on the lower coil which no doubt will be rusty, (if disco's have the clamp) and it will be on a flat surface, so it is just like removing a wheel at the roadside, again 'risk assessment'.
But if u have the stands you may wish to slot one underneath, why not.

RichardH said:

It really isn't safe to do any work on a car that's just resting on a jack, other than just changing the wheel. Only takes 2 seconds to push the stand under and lower the car onto it.

Putting safety first makes me feel really old now

Click to expand...

axle stand under chassis as axle on jack needs to be lowered with the help of bottle jack much better and safer than spring clamps

So I began tackling the job this afternoon, and used axle stands, and a stack of wood blocks to hold the disco up, and a bottle jack to lower the axle down. The back two springs & dampers went on with little bother so I set about the first of the front pair. I was doing the job on the road outside the house, and the camber of the street I live on is relatively steep, which meant I had to use wedges beneath the wood stack to get the disco somewhere level, when doing the job on the rear the car seemed very stable so I was happy working with my head under the wheel arch. I had undone the first spring, and damper from the offside front arch, but the axle hadn't lowered enough to remove the spring, so I knew that I would have to disconnect the anti roll bar. I jacked up the axle to take the weight so I could go underneath to do the anti roll bar. Before I did so, I had another check of the disco's stability and I wasn't 100% happy and thought it best to re-position the blocks.
Luckily I was at the front of the car when I pumped the jack up to take the weight of the disco, as it tilted and tipped off the jack, and landed on the floor, with the back wheels in the road, and skewed at an angle with its front now blocking the pavement. At this stage both front wheels were off, so it was the brake discs which took the brunt of it's landing, and they've left some big dents in the tarmac.
I managed to raise her back up again, and slip the wheels on, and reverse the disco back into the road where she will remain overnight.
Bloody lucky I was this evening, and won't be attempting to tackle this job again with axle stands and bottle jacks.

The good news is, the back two springs and dampers are done, and also, that the brake discs don't appear to have been damaged. However, I still have a disconnected damper, and an unbolted spring on the front axle, which need either replacing, or re-attaching before I do anything else.

So, having learnt my lesson, I'm looking at hiring an engine crane, or some kind of hoist tomorrow, with which I can lift the front of the disco up, in order to complete the job.

Anybody know if the kind of hoist I'm after is available, or if I will have to use an engine crane of the heaviest rating I can find??

Cheers.

Hired a 1 ton engine hoist in the end to lift the front of the disco up, and then rested the chassis onto some wheel ramps I had. About half the weight on the ramps, and half on the hoist.

Had both of the front two to do today, and started the job at about 1pm, and finished about 8pm. All in all, quite an awkward job, especially the front pair, but the finished article, with britpart HD springs, and terrafirma dampers, is that the vehicle sits much higher up now. Obviously the ride will be a fair bit firmer, and I will test that tomorrow when I see how she drives. A few more jobs to do on her, but I'm glad the suspension is now sorted. The old dampers were shot, on all four corners, and the good news is that the axles, and chassis look to be in better condition that I had anticipated, so with the exception of about one or two bushes, the underside looks pretty sorted. (Touch wood).