In this video I swap out the rear spring on a 2016 Charger. Service data tells us to pull the rear cradle/cross member down and install the spring. Well when cars get as rusty as they do here you need to fin another way.
-Enjoy!
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Due to factors beyond the control of South Main Auto Repair, it cannot guarantee against unauthorized modifications of this information, or improper use of this information. South Main Auto Repair assumes no liability for property damage or injury incurred as a result of any of the information contained in this video. South Main Auto Repair recommends safe practices when working with power tools, automotive lifts, lifting tools, jack stands, electrical equipment, blunt instruments, chemicals, lubricants, or any other tools or equipment seen or implied in this video. Due to factors beyond the control of South Main Auto Repair, no information contained in this video shall create any express or implied warranty or guarantee of any particular result. Any injury, damage or loss that may result from improper use of these tools, equipment, or the information contained.
-Enjoy!
If an SMA Video has helped you out please consider giving using "Patreon" to help support us. The videos take real time to create and pull us away from real work that pays our bills. CLICK HERE: https://www.patreon.com/southmainauto
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Thank you for all the continuing support!
--Eric & Vanessa O.
Feel like sending some swag to SMA because you love the videos but don't know where to send it?
Just ship it here:
South Main Auto Repair
47 S. Main St
PO Box 471
Avoca, NY 14809
Disclaimer:
Due to factors beyond the control of South Main Auto Repair, it cannot guarantee against unauthorized modifications of this information, or improper use of this information. South Main Auto Repair assumes no liability for property damage or injury incurred as a result of any of the information contained in this video. South Main Auto Repair recommends safe practices when working with power tools, automotive lifts, lifting tools, jack stands, electrical equipment, blunt instruments, chemicals, lubricants, or any other tools or equipment seen or implied in this video. Due to factors beyond the control of South Main Auto Repair, no information contained in this video shall create any express or implied warranty or guarantee of any particular result. Any injury, damage or loss that may result from improper use of these tools, equipment, or the information contained.
Hey there viewers! Welcome back to the South Main Auto Channel There's a 16 Dodge Charger It's got to make three six. It's got a broken rear spring. Typically not a big deal, but here in the sock capital of the world, everything's a big deal and it's all rusty and crappy. and typically on these: Dodges If you file service data, you're supposed to pull the whole rear subframe out, put the spring in, put the rear cradle back in. I Guess they call it uh I Think we're gonna have to come up with a different method, perhaps? So we're going to pick it up in the air, have a look and see what we can do as far as swapping out in the spring without causing, you know, major catastrophe. Oh, as you can see, we already got our first layer of salt this year. Um, like I say You're supposed to pull the whole rear uh, cross member out of this or the rear subframe. I Guess if you will let it down, you know real quick. Dodge says you gotta pull the rear differential, pull the rear subframe, put the spring in, put the frame back It's My Hope And my dream to possibly just unhook this rear control arm, unhook the shock. I'd Hook the back side of the rear control arm. possibly just you know, let it down. This bushing that goes in here and the knuckle is not just your standard you know rubber bushing. it's more like a ball joint. We'll say, you know it's got the rubber boots over it and it allows it to really swivel. So letting this side down if possible, we don't have to worry about tearing up this bushing which would be fantastic. It might be a little sketchy, but I've done sketchier stuff. It's got quite a perch and the spring sits on in here. so I think we would be okay as far as the spring coming out hitting Us in the face or anything. might have to. uh, weekend? I Doubt this Bolt's going to come out anyways, but this is what we're going to try. Like I said, we might have to let the exhaust down, most of it's falling down. Um, we might have to let that down to get some clearance on the bolt, but first thing we'll do is try to see if we can get this bolt loose and if that comes loose. Highlight: Louie Or if not, well, I don't really have a plan B yet. What would be ideal is if we break this bolt loose and the whole things spins just like it just did. Oh the lights are shining down on me today boys. Hallelujah There's gonna be something that goes horrifically wrong here. So the whole Bolt is fun which is great. My fear was it was stuck in the bushing which typically stuff like this is. we still need to get this one on the shock loose. Yeah, that whole Bolt's spinning too. Well Hallelujah It's gonna be a good day folks. it's gonna be a good day. So let's proceed. Uh, we'll get the transmission jack. I Think we'll stick it under here. Unless this thing's sprung way tighter than I think it is, we'll stick our training Jack under here. we should have plenty enough room. I Got an 18 here. Let me get uh 15 to hold this side. Same thing with the shock there. it won't be in good shape for shape we're in, so that's uh, not there. Off that strut. I'm going to take the one we'll knock that out if I got a little tension on right now. See if I can't get this one here. there's that one. fantastic. And then I just I have the transmission jack under here. almost I Just put a little tension on it, take the tension off of it here and see. I don't know if this has you know, outward tension on it? wouldn't think so. We've got a tie rod here. we've got another control arm. The knuckle really shouldn't go anywhere is it's got three other points of contact. Let me get a hammer and see if we can knock that strut bolt out of there. Okay, so that's got a little downward push on it. Not bad. I see the strut go down a little bit foreign T much there this one here that should have some tension on it. It is moving which is just amazing. I Can't Believe It's Not seized in this bushy. I'm gonna put a little bit of stress on here I'm trying to I'll get our trainee Jack kind of lined up with a control arm here so I can push on kind of evenly because it's tipped and tipped. Oh technical term, she's double tipped. see if that takes a little stress off it and it seems to I'm gonna get a punch. see if I can't drive that the rest way through. we're going to hit the exhaust right dead in the middle. My belly just tweak it up a little bit here so it wants to come in. That whole control arm just popped in a little bit. uh, anything going to be keeping that from coming in even further. We should be able to stick a bar behind it and push it back. All right, let me see if we can do that. I'm gonna move the Jack here though. come down more under the spring. I'll just put a little tension on it right there because before we get the bolt I want to stick a bar right in here and see if we can't see how much tension it has on it trying to get a feel for it. Anyways, let's give this an idea. Oh okay, it's not terrible. Okay, so that's easily movable. So yeah, it's not a ton of tension because I can move that bowl. Okay, so next thing is going to be the exhaust, which we need to be a little bit cautious of I'll see if I can't pop the rubbers out of it. Maybe let it down just enough to get our bolt up because we're gonna, we're gonna hit long before we can get it out right here. So the three under three exhaust hangers uh here and two on demarthritis sprayed them a little Debbie knee pop them babies loose I Just want to see now. let me get this thing just right. It's kind of nice to be able to feel it out before you cut it Loose Good idea what kind of tensions on it. It doesn't feel terrible considering I can still spin it. gives you hope for putting it back there and put a little more up tension on it. Oh, look at that. Okay and kind of keep my bar here for a second. Now the trainee Jack is a little sketchy letting down. It's on a small part of the cylinder so it's real jittery. can't let It Down Smooth So we'll just kind of take it easy. I'm gonna keep my bar in here because I don't want it to. It doesn't feel like it has crazy tension, but we just want to be sure. Oh, spring just came loose. so I know there's no fishing on it. We'll set it down. There's the broken spring so there's the bottom half of the spring that's busted. Okay, now there should be more of it stuck down in here. You see it, boys, That's it. I'm finally in New York state. So okey dokey. Uh, like I said, you can see that style bushing inside the knuckle allows you to rotate, move, and swivel because it's not solid rubber. So oh my gosh, that's down as far as it goes. All right. I'm gonna move the jack. We're gonna get the blow nozzle. We're gonna blow some of the dirt and junk out of this insulator. that's in there, All right? I Just have a peek up inside there. All right, it should be all good. It's all good. So now we'll take our new spring, take all the tags off of here, fish that baby back up in there just as it was. We'll get it lined up. The insulators didn't move so we'll line it right back up exactly where it was, which is right there. Now this lower rubber one's a little different. I'm gonna have to spray it with some lube here Lube up the spring rather so it pops down in it. It kind of encapsulates the bottom half of the spring to ensure it rusts out and then we'll break on us. I Don't know what purpose of it is, but probably to keep it quiet. Okay, so it's down inside the insulator in here that it sits inside of nicely and then we're going to line up the snipped off part of it up there which I have to put a little Lube on that also All right. and then I'm just going to keep my light here for just a moment just because I want to make sure we get that in the exact spot that it was in case he takes it to a car show. Okay, we're gonna get the Jack back under here. foreign turned just so make sure that looks like it's legit. Let me go get a pick. Okay, there we go. A little rubber flap on that insulator. Foreign. sweep this over just a little bit. If we could ever Jack out on towards the end a little bit more it would be a little safer or at least the amount of effort. We'll go a little bit further here. Let's see here. Oh, it's a sketch I just want to get it so it catches here. All right. We just got to get it to start coming up over that bushing and then I want to stick my bar in here for a couple reasons. Hey, to keep my Jack from flying out B hopefully line us up. Tell you what Scaring me, we can get our punch in there just to hold it or safety? Come on baby! Okay, we got some safety. Let's uh, later deck down I need a longer punch? You stand by. Longer punch slash screwdriver. We just need to reposition so we're gonna stick that in there. it's gonna make a little noise. Whoa. Okay, we did it. Maybe this is why it's not like pressing the service manual, but hey, look, when the book time's six hours or whatever it is, you can make it kill him. Um, of course. I'm not charging guys six hours. You guys need to calm down. All right. We just needed to re-assess the situation here. Let me move you I Gotta move my cart. Foreign. Tell you what? That actually loosens it up quite a bit. Let me. uh. actually. let me go get an alignment bar. That sucker's really, really close. Oh yeah, she'll slip right in. That'll be Maybe Okay, that had to go ahead a little bit. Get the lineup bar. Pick it up a little bit. Come on. Foreign. Dang it all the heck. I Don't know if I get the alignment bar in here and do us any good candy. Come on baby. That's right boys. Foreign. Foreign. Put the bolt on it. There's a nut on it. Rather. All right. Here comes some sketchy stuff. You guys stand by. Whoa there. Well, that was easy and it did not involve dropping the entire frame. Fantastic. That's a tip for all the flat rate guys too. Of course they probably already do it like this would be my guess. Let's see this way. This one went. don't went the other way, didn't it? We don't want to give them points off at the car show. foreign. sort of. tighten these down. We need to set it down. We'll Jack it up torque them to spec. but before we do that, I'm going to take and pop the exhaust hangers back in here. You guys can't see them, but they're just three of those. So yeah, they're pretty easy. It's foreign. There's that one here. This will trigger some people. Watch this. watch your comment section. There we go. Flip some right in. foreign nuts. So let the car down. I Just set it underground, reach under there with the torque wrench, of course, tightened up those two bolts where they had tension on them and that's it. She sits up in there just lovely. wasn't too, uh, super sketchy putting it in and it sure beats the heck out of dropping. You know the whole rear cradle per service data because in New York Well, if you can avoid touching subframe bolts and cradle bolts and well, pretty much anything under the car, you're better off. and you're better off not doing it the way I Do it if you want to stay alive. uh, perhaps doing this job on the ground. You know, doing it this way definitely is probably safer instead of having a few thousand pounds dangling above your head. Uh, lifts are pretty safe, but we do tend to become a little complacent so you know be safe, put stands under it. You know, do everything you got to do. Follow service, data, drop the Cradle Do it. the right way. This way it worked for us just with the amount of corrosion, rust on the car and having experience knowing that you know stuff typically doesn't come apart well here. especially when you get a car this old. because this is like seven-year-old Chrysler A couple more years she's made into pop cans so well you put down your pop can and go in. That comment section questions the comments the concerns the NC The Facebook You guys know what to do and just one of your viewers. If I can do it, you can do it. Thanks for watching Foreign.
It was getting the job done ,only thing would be the stands under the front of the vehicle so you didn't run the risk of tipping the car off the lift when you jacked up with the transmission jack . madness in your thinking ,but good madness,the customer should thank you for saving the big charge out .
your patience is notable
Love how you preemptively tell the people who think "He's going to charge for the full six hours?", to calm down. Had me LOL. Great job as always. Dr. House.
As Mike Rowe would say " safety third " . Just get the job done is #1. Well played Mr.O
The "book" of shop rates is written for dealerships to make money off customers.
All they do is quote the shop rates for repair jobs and if the job comes in under, then it's pure profit for the dealer.
Little guy shops get the bad rep of beating the shop rates through ingenuity and resourcefulness.
eric charges customer for how long it took do the job. the car wizard would charge full book price because your paying for his years of experience and greed lol. nice one eric.
Work smarter not harder 👍
Fantastic!
Dodgy?
Well done, Eric. You thought through your moves, worked carefully, and got the job done. Kudos, not criticism from me, a former Western NY denizen.
I love it.
Hey Ivan, you’ll have a real happy costomer when you only charge 20min for a job that’s 6hrs in the book. 😂😂😂 I don’t think you’ll be that kind you have to charge for experience and being a sketchy bastard 👍
A screw jack in that spring perch would have given you a more controlled ascent/decent during the "procedure"! a few more up from under the control arms would have added to stability, too. A great time and money saver for the customer!
Your my favorite mechanic in knowledge and humor !!!
Funny man . I would have put the inside bolt in through the front as to have it easier to pull it out the next time …
Do u think its worth replacing a car frame that is rotted out
Sketchy AF … but love watching an artist in his element … you take care Mr O … we all want videos from you for many more years to come.
do you have to check the aliment look like that moved the tire in and out
Torque wrench of course : )
Time to do some sketchy shit, doo daa doo daa….🤣🤣
If you think your going to do a reasonable amount of using that trans jack for that sort of work I'd get a few wooden blocks with a shaped top so things don't slide, handy for other stuff as well. Love the quick turn around and if you only charge a 1/3 of the recommended shop time you'll undercut anyone else (unless they're like yourself 😉
Fantastic
Did I hear a subtle Johnny Cash Ragged Old Flag reference?
Ok Im gonna say it… sometimes I hate you. I can't believe you pulled that off. I would have been rolling around with a torch, burns and bloody knuckles and STILL would end up having to drop it all to get that thing to all align back to get the bolts in. Jerk. 🙂
Hiya Eric
yes. Yes! YES!!! I can , (and have, multiple times), do this! 😁 PS How is that sketchy?
TY
I'm not triggered by some wd40 on a rubber hanger but i am waiting for moms stories to unfold!
6 year old Mercedes/Fiat rental car and the spring is already rusted out and broken. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised. Chrysler hasn’t made even an acceptable vehicle in at least 20 years, maybe more.
Personally, I’m gonna freak out in the comment section because you didn’t charge the customer full book time. Hopefully you charged them at least half and put in their paperwork that they only got a discount because the shortcut worked. Otherwise, when the other side breaks, they’ll expect you to give them the same huge discount, even if you can’t do the same shortcut on the other side. As every mechanic knows, no good deed goes unpunished.
Why didn't you use the transmission jacks chain to go around the control arm and around the spring?
It’s been my experience that no matter how bad they look on the outside, they usually come loose easily. I had 2008 patriot that whole crossmember rotted out but bolts all came out easy and I got reimbursed for parts as it became a recall.
I got a 30 year old truck that's not that rusty, and I call it … "Ole Rusty"
Most times there's an easy way to do things my brother work for a garage and a job of replacing the blinker switch cuz it breaks off a lot it's two and a half hours I did in 25 minutes.
Watching your content, I just keep thinking, "you're a good dude. "
….that was amazing , thinking outside the box and being careful with that spring ,
When I first started watching your channel a couple years ago I thought you said "Self made" and not "South Main" haha
The way the book is saying how to do it is remove radiator cap back old car out of the shop . Drive new car into shop under radiator cap and install cap.
Remember that most of the time there is more than one way to do the task. The book is written for one of the ways a task can be done. Of course they are going to write it the way in which the dealer can make the most money on a job.
I like the act that you analyze how you are going to do a task first. That's how I was trained to do work on vehicles 53 plus years ago and my training has stood the test of time. I just keep up to date on the new stuff all the time.
Eric O for the WiN!! All right!! What were the odds on Fan Duel??
Sheesh, a broken spring already on a 6 year old car? That's bad.
What a pop can? No a galvanized garbage can is more like it.
That is dangerous work messing with that much tension without the exact right tools.
😎🤙🦅
F150 = pop can
lol double tipped. nice
Of course you charge book time. The fact you can do it faster is the price for professional workmanship. You invested in the tools and years of experience. Customer ALWAYS gets charged book time!
Another score.
Considering this is still technically a Mercedes rear suspension, the rear springs on those are replaced in the way you did it, not dropping frames or anything like that, not a bad job when you're not getting salt in the eyes!
That is sad how cars die so young there, in California we could drive the same car indefinitely. I've never seen a broken spring except for an accident.
No safety glasses?? 😃😃😃
It amazes me that this isn't the official service procedure but then, a dealer couldn't make a 400% markup. I did a 2008 Saturn Vue radiator where the manual said to pull the fascia and the front bumper support. It can be changed without pulling the front end off the Saturn but I wonder how many dealers figured out the way I did it and still charge the time in the manual.
As a DIYer, i enjoy what i learn on this channel
Eric are you close to Buffalo? Just curious where you little town/city is located. You get any of that heavy snow? Thanks
Holy moly about 2 months ago I did an 17’ charger in good ole northern illinois. I’m did the exact same thing. I did though replace both sides. Both rusted out. I didn’t have to drop the cross member and all that crap. Anyway it turned out just fine. Moog set me up with some cargo coils. Not a sponsor by the way. 😂😂😂 Then new shocks and sent it.
Eric is a great example of honest mechanics…..he appraised the job and figured it can be done in a better and quicker way.. and he didn't charge main dealer book time and prices. If this was ford main dealer thats 6 hour labour at dealer price, go home early. In my opinion this guy is a legend 😎 great work.
Hope you’re charging 3 hours plus alignment. I’ve dropped them down a few inches to jimmy the spring out, minding the driveshaft angle and loosening the exhaust. Worth doing both springs with my method, but in Chicago 10 year old cars aren’t to bad… but some of them are lol great job, Might end up using this method one day.
Do you ever put antiseize on bolts like those?
Wow! Pop cans in less than 10 years.
Mr O always uses his brain of knowledge first , and then his muscles next …👍
You guys should collaborate
Did anyone else hear the yells in the background towards the end? HAHA
Eric I want to thank you for backing Rainman Ray, I love watching him!!!!!!
Perfect use of the trans jack. I found using mine for stuff like this very handy. Oh and I also use lube on exhaust hangers. Makes the world go round much better.
It's got the real dual exhaust.
You are the MAN Eric. Beats the hell out of the dealers. All my best. Oh and sorry your sate government , is insane.
Yes WD40!
Sweet
Should the other side be done to be sure the car will be balanced?
Nice blizzaks!
I like how you avoided all the extra piles of rust on the floor by not dropping the sub frame. That being said, what car show, because I want to avoid that one!
The weather man is calling for a salt storm coming with at least 3" of salt 🧂
nice shortcut
That's usin' your noggin!
Brahhhh wd-40 is a water displacer not a lubricant
nice short cut
Never replaced a spring like that on an L body. Always lower the frame a smidge to pop em out, but am I am a slave to the flat rate system.
great job might be useful one day
Hey, Mr. O. I admit that I had my doubts that you could pull this repair off. Hallelujah!! I should have trusted the great detective! I am very happy that you didn't have a disastrous fail on this. Forgive my lack of faith. I do know that I will never have to attempt such a repair. Anyway, thanks for sharing! Stay healthy!
I'm betting Chrysler's method is deemed safer. Of course, a compressed spring has the potential of ruining your day! As usual, Eric O., a great job and vid.
Nice work as always. That’s only YouTube sketchy 😂
The day we lose respect for the equipment is the beginning of the end. That said, I’ve heard every single good mechanic I know say “I’ve done sketchier.” As I always say, If you’re going to do something stupid, at least be smart about it!
Great way to do it Eric.. 💪💪💪
I bought a mint set of gray tools alignment punch set for $10 bucks a few years back not knowing what they were for until later when I put together a Chinese bbq for a friend and the old hole drilled close to where it should have been issue . It was bought from the clearance section, had 2 #3 legs and no #2, unbelievably the importer had a spare and sent it to me free. Dozens of washers and sheet metal screws, what a pile.
Hi Eric. As a mechanic would have done the same thing, like you said coupler years tin can. Cheers from Australia Mick
Will definitely have to share this video with a couple mechanic friends of mine who were complaining about charger / 300 rear ends recently. Winter in the salt zone also tire change / alignment / MVI season. Always something rusty crusty to be dealt with 😖
Why do they make these convoluted suspension setups, you can do single control arm setups that are basically superior and more simple.
You the man.
I did front coil springs on a 76 Camaro the same way. Super fast but man it was sketchy. We had to use one of those jiggle screw jacks on the opposite rear corner to minimize it lifting off the lift.
Y'all northerners need to learn to wash the underside of your vehicles, especially in the winter months. Yes I know in cold spells that might lead to ice under there, but I'd rather have clean water ice sitting against the metal than salt. I mean surely you have some underside wash carwashs that run during the winter.
I was concerned about your safety, dude! Phew!
Mr. O did the exact same way but i used a pole jack instead of tranny jack works fantastic.
I would have done it exactly the same way. Assess the situation and be safe at the same time. Like you enjoy keeping my head attached to my shoulders and all my fingers. good job 👍
that jack that you used why not make an attachment to fit on it similar to a tie rod just without the arm on it that way you can fit it into the dead center of the spring seat that way the jack can't slide out of position enjoy the free idea
Holy crap! They have winter tires. Not too many believers in the states for those. Great job Eric O.
If they wanted us to follow service data they'd make it available to all of us.
Awesome