Kurt G.

Went to put in my new Eaton rear spring, complete with gray paint and black H leaf liners. This is the same Eaton spring recommended on the forum. So far so good. Snugged (not torqued) the diff bolts. Jacked up one side of the spring and managed to get the bolt through and the cushion on with nut! So far so good. Jacked up the other side and the whole car started to lift with only 1/4 inch of bolt through the spring hole. Hour and a half later, while trying not to bugger up my new trailing arms or my pretty leaf spring, I managed to get enough bolt through for a cushion and a couple turns of the nut. Problem- the bolt and spring were not lined up over each other, so the bolt went through the hole at an angle and the lower cushion is ****-eyed. Crap! Can't get the bolt to go through the spring straight with enough pressure off of it to straighten the lower cushion. Crap! An hour and a half later....I think you get the picture. Put the rear wheels on and sat the car down. Well what do ya know-----the car only sits about 2" too high!! Now mind you, the gas tank is empty, but I can't imagine 20 gallons of gas is gonna have much affect on this new, super-duper, beautiful Eaton spring. I thought Eaton was the place that the NCRS guys recommend for the correct spring?!?!?
Can ANYONE tell me if I did anything wrong in the install or if there is something I need / can do to get the spring settled in right? Also is there a method to getting the pressure off the cushion so it can be properly seated? Thanks. Please excuse the sarcasm, but I'm feeling a bit beat up right now.....

Kensmith

What size spring? Maybe you can remove the top leaf or get longer bolts? Sounds like a heavy duty spring to me.

66since71

I assume you used new rubber cushions on the spring bolts? That may be the problem, not the spring. I recall that they will settle in after a little driving. Compare their compressed appearance to the old cushions.. I bet you'll find your 2" there.

HArry

GTR1999

I think I have tried all the aftermarket springs, made in Canada, Mexico, and Eaton and all required the 8" bolts to bring the cars back down.
The last one was on my 72 and I was told this spring would be fine with the 6.25" bolts, cost more but if it worked I didn't care. It didn't I had to use the 8" bolts.
2 years later they're still in there no settling ever happened.
PS. I don't use the C clamp and jack method- too dangerous IMO. I use a 5' pinch bar under the link end and over the strut rod. Add a 10' pipe and it lifts no problem while a helper screws on the nut.

covett

just curious, did you jack the car down and drive it forward and reverse to let the weight of of the car settle the spring in its natural position?

Kurt G.

Thanks for the quick replies. Yes I used new cushions on the install, so perhaps some of the extra lift is in the cushions. I wasn't able to roll the car back and forth yet since engine and tranny are out being rebuilt and I'm doing all the suspension work while drivetrain is out. SO hopefully when I can sit the WHOLE car down with ALL the weight, GAS,TRANNY, SPARE etc, then the spring may settle in correctly. Thanks guys.

SPLITRAY

I gotta tell yah, that weight of the engine and trany are gonna make a big difference. I put my 7-Leaf HD spring in with out even having the body on! Just the completed chassis.

JohnZ

Once you get the rest of the weight on the car and a full tank of gas (and then fully torque the four spring retainer plate bolts), you should be in pretty good shape. It will still sit a little high, but it'll settle down after about 50-100 miles. Remove the clips from the spring - they're only to keep the leaves aligned in shipping.

DansYellow66

You may not like this but I would give it about 6 months and it will probably settle down. Those cushions will collectively compress nearly an inch alone - although it may take a year or two. The spring will settle in some to. You can take some measurements at the rear to a chassis point to periodically check over time. I think you will see a gradual settling down.