...is a effin pain to get out of there. LOL I hammered a couple screwdrivers in there good. I disconnected the rod to the z bar and let the pedal to the floor.

Almost had it a few times. haha I had to walk away for now. I was sweating my butt off and getting frustrated. Just felt like venting. I'll get it eventually.

Yep, it's a PIA. It's pretty wedged in there, but it will come out.

Wedge a bunch of thick washers/spacers between each turn of the coils by just stretching the spring using the pedal, just tape each washer in place as you do it, eventually the spring will fall off on it's own

pretty much the only way to do it without getting the "springinthface" sensation, or too much aggravation.

If you have wood shims you can use the pedal to stretch the spring and put shims in open area. Then release pedal and spring will fall off. You can leave the spring like that in case you ever want to reinstall it. I think the shims due to their size are easier to use because you can get them tight and don't slip out as you're adding more.

Thank you for the suggestions. I appreciate it.

Let me ask this, as silly as it sounds. At what point in the pedal travel are the coils spread MOST?

I assumed the spring would be stretched most with the pedal in the full up position.

I’ve had them not spread the coils enough, at any point, to get shims in between.