Issue Installing OEM Struts...Help, Springs arent sitting the way they are suppose to be. Options

[rapid3642]

I have a 1994 ST model Celica. I replaced my 2 front struts for matience, and thank god i did, both of the front struts were bad. they did not come back up when being pressed down. Anyways, my problem is, is that when i replaced my struts and went out for a test drive and came back, i noticed the coil springs were not sitting right. on one side the top isnt in the groove and the bottom is bearly hanging over the edge, for some reason the springs are not sitting right i tried everything to get them in the groove but they are not wanting to go in, so i was wondering if the springs have to be turned or facing a certain way? i know i got the springs right side up, they are variable rate springs so i made sure to have them the right way. but does anyone know if the springs have to be turned or facing a certain way??? the springs deffinatly dont look right, and i would hate to drive over a bump then have my car ride weird.

This post has been edited by rapid3642: Oct 16, 2011 - 3:25 PM

[rapid3642]

Hey thanks, and yea i compress them before i undid the bolt for the strut, and i had the spring compressed when installing it back in, i guess we didn't pay much attention to the groove lining on the top, this was my first time installing springs, so it was a learning experience, thanks for the reply! and as far as what i was having problems with, yes the spring does need to be turned a certain way, when looking at the strut, there is a dimpal or a small indentation to where the end of the spring should be placed at, the reason for this, is so that the spring wont turn when pressure is released from the spring, very unlike but its just a feature they threw in there, by the way all of this information is just what i know from research, if im wrong then please inform me, its always good to know the right details lol. But hey thanks again for the reply!!!!

And by the way, what spring compressor are you using?? i used a pretty big one and was hard trying to get the spring to compress with the limited room i had.

This post has been edited by rapid3642: Oct 17, 2011 - 10:27 AM