So I have the service manual, and it says to take the bolt out from the lower arm from the ball joint. The arm is then supposed to drop and you can take out the spring. BUT!!!!! I have to compress the spring before I lower the arm so it doesn't just fly out all crazy. I've rented both types of coil spring compressors for autozone, and I cant seem to get either one to have enough grab on the coil to compress the spring. I'm afraid of the spring shooting out and me getting hurt.

So I wanted to know how you guys with the older toyotas took out the spring to cut/replace them.

I thought I could put a jack under the arm and slowly lower the arm down with the jack, but still I'm worried about the spring shooting out. Thanks for you help

The spring should not shoot out. You didn't mention what kind of toyota, so I am guessing here... Most likely you have a strut/captive spring set up. The spring is compressed between the spring seat and the strut top mount. You can remove the strut from the car without releasing the spring. I would suggest that you loosen the top nut on the strut while the car is on the ground. Unless you have an impact wrench, then you can do it outside the car. At any rate, remove the strut from the car. Compress the spring and then remove. You can do it without compressing the spring, but I would not recomend it... not that I have ever done it that way...

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1976 RA29 project car, now a driver!!!!!
1985 MX72 soon to be...
1985 Celica GT, driving the wheels off
1991 MX83 soon to be 7MGTE

sorry car is a 71 toyota corona. spring sits between top "A" arm and lower "A" arm. the shock slides from underneath and bolts to bottom "A" arm and Top "A" arm. so they are completely separate from eachother, other then fact that the shock sits in the middle of the coil spring, but the shock can be taken out without removing the coil spring.

I say "A" arm because I dont know exactly what its called but it is in the shape of the letter A. Also It looks like the front suspension from an old like 60's mustang.

That is how you do it. You just have to be careful. There is not that much tension left on the spring when the suspension is in full droop. If you are that nervous you could put a chain around the spring and thru the frame somewhere to keep the spring from going very far. I have done the springs on my '67 Camaro this way a few times--and I used a chain the first time--but found that when the arm went down barely an inch the spring just fell out. I never took the springs out of the '69 Corona I used to own, but I am pretty sure it is the same.

Mark