What Happens When A Spring Compressor Fails
"How hard is it to replace struts?" is a question we get asked a lot. The answer is: replacing a strut is not very hard, but it can be dangerous. Even very good tools (like a spring compressor) can malfunction and you really don't want to be standing in the wrong place when one does, as the guys from Car & Driver show in this video:
A lot of people underestimate the strength of car springs, keep in mind your car's springs are holding up anywhere between 500 to over a thousand pounds depending on the size of your vehicle, and if a spring compressor fails when you remove them,, you have all that energy suddenly released and the spring will shoot out very fast and very hard. For a little bit of context: this guy (former World's Strongest Man and current MMA fighter Mariusz Pudzianowski) bench presses 600 lbs, and you would definitely not want to take a punch from him. Imagine how hard something designed to hold up 1,200 lbs could hit.
A lot of people underestimate the strength of car springs, keep in mind your car's springs are holding up anywhere between 500 to over a thousand pounds depending on the size of your vehicle, and if a spring compressor fails when you remove them,, you have all that energy suddenly released and the spring will shoot out very fast and very hard. For a little bit of context: this guy (former World's Strongest Man and current MMA fighter Mariusz Pudzianowski) bench presses 600 lbs, and you would definitely not want to take a punch from him. Imagine how hard something designed to hold up 1,200 lbs could hit.