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Looks like some serious refurbishment is in order. At the very least bushings and grommets and I don't see liners between some of those spring leaves. Otherwise, it looks like a stock 7-leaf maybe.
Hi s,
No the rear spring isn't right.
The leaves should be in a straight 'stack', not splayed.
The four bolts that mount the spring in it's center hold the leaves to create this stack.
Regards,
Alan
I think OP referring to spring not aligned (twisted). Mine was like that but I had some serious frame /alignment issues(accident). It had a bit of misalignment IIRC before also.
Why? Looks stock to me. What "this" are you referring to?
Originally Posted by Rodnok1
I think OP referring to spring not aligned (twisted). Mine was like that but I had some serious frame /alignment issues(accident). It had a bit of misalignment IIRC before also.
Yes, I was referring to the springs not being stacked.
Originally Posted by Alan 71
Hi s,
No the rear spring isn't right.
The leaves should be in a straight 'stack', not splayed.
The four bolts that mount the spring in it's center hold the leaves to create this stack.
Regards,
Alan
9 leaf straight stack.
Wow, Alan, great looking underside. That looks like a lot of new parts.
Can I fix these springs? I imagine that since they moved out place and their appears to be no welding points, I could push them back together? I am thinking the metal rod with the bad bushings (?) that are cracked may be the culprit that allowed the shift in the springs. I am not sure what that part is called. Would replacing that part help?
Any other thoughts?
Last edited by ~Stingray; Sep 20, 2016 at 10:11 AM.
You can certainly refurbish the springs. This eBay ad shows the bolt in the center of the spring. I wonder if yours might have rusted out? Otherwise, just twisted and can be realigned.
Hi s,
Yes, you can very likely push the spring leaves back into position.
The spring tension may need to be released to do this. This requires some work and care to accomplish
Just banging on the leaves individually may move them but may also damage the leaves and liners.
The center bolt only holds the leaves together, it's the 4 bolts that mount the spring along with the 2 plates, that hold the leaves straight.
Should your car have the 2 plates and are they missing… that would contribute to what you're seeing.
Regards,
Alan
Hi s,
Yes, you can very likely push the spring leaves back into position.
The spring tension may need to be released to do this. This requires some work and care to accomplish
Just banging on the leaves individually may move them but may also damage the leaves and liners.
The center bolt only holds the leaves together, it's the 4 bolts that mount the spring along with the 2 plates, that hold the leaves straight.
Should your car have the 2 plates and are they missing… that would contribute to what you're seeing.
Regards,
Alan
Hey Alan,
If what I am looking at is what you are describing, I think my picture shows 3 of the 4 bolts. I will take a look when I get home today, hopefully the answer will reveal itself once I climb under and take a look again after reading some of this thread.
By the way, what is the part called that is poking up through the end of the last leaf spring and connecting to the back of where my wheel is? And what is it connecting too behind my wheel since I don't know that either.
Last edited by ~Stingray; Sep 20, 2016 at 11:23 AM.
Yeah, I don't know what's going on there but that small triangular shaped bit that seems to be sticking out from under the diff doesn't look right. That area should look something like this:
Hi S,
The part you asked about is the spring to trailing arm bolt.
There's one at each end of the longest leaf of the spring.
They are under tremendous load when mounted in the chassis and can't be removed without first taking the load off each end of the spring.
Regards,
Alan
I dont think that piece is anything. Its just the way the camera captured it and how the light is highlighting it. See the attached pics. I didnt have the car jacked up any more so its the best i could do to squeeze under the car and get a shot with my phone.
Hi s,
From your photo I can't tell what has allowed the upper leaves to move out of alignment.
Your rear suspension is just different enough from 68-77 that I'm familiar with that I'm not sure what's supposed to be there.
It appears somethings amiss but I don't know what? Is what's on your car a narrower early spring that not's being held in place properly?
Sorry!
Regards,
Alan
I see more aging problems, than just the spring issue....I'd recommend spending a few dollars/time and get the undercarriage cleaned up, change out all those old bushings, possibly rebuild the trailing arms. There's quite a bit of rust going on under that car as well, which could be directly related to your spring problem.
Keep us posted!
Looking closer at the last picture above I can see what looks like a dent or missing metal from the shield. It also looks like it was that impact that skewed the spring.
Last edited by Don Rickles; Sep 21, 2016 at 08:48 AM.
Reason: last sentence
I'm going to guess that's a 2.25" spring in a diff sized for a 2.50" spring and it's missing at least one of the spacers. I didn't think any '80s came through that way, but who knows. Or a previous owner replaced the spring with the wrong one.
Does this look right?
