Steel leaf spring
Thread Starter
Instructor
Joined: Jun 2008
Posts: 233
Likes: 9
From: Marietta Ga
Steel leaf spring
Trying to keep my 73 original and planning on replacing the 9 leaf steel spring. I've done a good bit of reading on the forum and the general concern is ride height.
Can anyone recommend a brand/type of steel spring that won't cause my car to sit 3" too high when I'm done? Would rather not have to install longer bolts to fix that problem if I don't have to.
Can anyone recommend a brand/type of steel spring that won't cause my car to sit 3" too high when I'm done? Would rather not have to install longer bolts to fix that problem if I don't have to.
Race Director
Joined: Apr 2009
Posts: 19,294
Likes: 2,754
From: Charlotte NC
It has been a while...but I have found that some of the new springs use leafs that are thicker than factory. This can cause a problem when you go and install it and go to torque it when it is on the ground so you can effectively tighten the bolts fully.
If you buy a new steel spring...measure the thickness of the springs at the center pin bolt. You may need new bolts to make sure that you have enough threads going into the rear end cover effectively. JUST MAKE SURE that you REALLY check the front 2 bolts...because if you use bolts that are too long...you can poke a hole into your rear end cover and cause oil to leak out of it...and have a small chunk of cast iron in your ring and pinion area moving around. I have encountered this in the past several times.
You can also end your rear spring out for re-arching and installing the insulators. Just make sure you take a measurement first. And this may cost the same..if not more than a new spring.
DUB
If you buy a new steel spring...measure the thickness of the springs at the center pin bolt. You may need new bolts to make sure that you have enough threads going into the rear end cover effectively. JUST MAKE SURE that you REALLY check the front 2 bolts...because if you use bolts that are too long...you can poke a hole into your rear end cover and cause oil to leak out of it...and have a small chunk of cast iron in your ring and pinion area moving around. I have encountered this in the past several times.
You can also end your rear spring out for re-arching and installing the insulators. Just make sure you take a measurement first. And this may cost the same..if not more than a new spring.
DUB
