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75 coupe.... so, I've been posting a bunch of questions about the rear end stuff..... so here's just one more to add to the pile, my cuss jar overflows....
I'm trying to put the leaf spring back on... I have both trailing arms installed, half shafts bolted up and I can only get one side (left side) of the leaf spring attached to the trailing arm.. Seems the right side doesn't want to line up. It's as if the TA is too far forward and the end of the spring too far to the rear.
I quit for the day, but I'm wondering if I need to back off the spring mounting plate a bit - maybe it needs a little wiggle room. I didn't torque the center mounting plate yet - just made it snug.
Well I'm going to donate the cuss jar to the wife - maybe she'll be nice to me. Tomorrow - empty jar in hand, I'll try to back off the center mount plate bolts a bit and give that leaf spring some play.
You need to put your vise grips or a c clamp on the side of the spring
you are trying to attach. Then get your floor jack on the bottom of the
spring and jack it up. You torque the 4 center bolts at the end. Just make
sure they are not bottoming out in the housing. Others will chime in with
a better description,I am terrible at it.
You need to put your vise grips or a c clamp on the side of the spring
you are trying to attach. Then get your floor jack on the bottom of the
spring and jack it up. You torque the 4 center bolts at the end. Just make
sure they are not bottoming out in the housing. Others will chime in with
a better description,I am terrible at it.
Understood. That worked fine on the left side, which is attached. Th right side is giving me fits as it doesn't seem to want to line up with the TA.
From: Some days your the dog and some days your the hydrant.
Royal Canadian Navy
I had to guide the spring bolt through the hole while I jacked up the end of the spring. When enough threads showed through, I put the cushion, cup and nut on several turns and lowered the jack.
Last edited by resdoggie; Oct 15, 2019 at 06:33 PM.
I had to raise up the trailing arm so that the bolt was lined up straight. I used a jack stand to hold up the trailing arm at just about level then the bolt was positioned correctly to go through the spring perch.
From: Some days your the dog and some days your the hydrant.
Royal Canadian Navy
Originally Posted by teamo
I had to raise up the trailing arm so that the bolt was lined up straight. I used a jack stand to hold up the trailing arm at just about level then the bolt was positioned correctly to go through the spring perch.
Did mine last week and thought I had the same problem as you. I loosened off the centre bolts but it didn't actually allow me to move the spring appreciably. I did the bolts back up and tried again and discovered that I needed to push down on the trailing arm as well as jacking up the spring and both sides then went in.
Made this from some scrap 2 X 4 and I've used it many times. You may have to get a couple of buddies to "weight" the back of the car and compress the spring far enough to engage the link bolt. The alignment can be off by an inch or two and you should still be able to get the bolt through the hole in the spring enough to start the nut.
Last edited by CrossedUp; Oct 16, 2019 at 03:25 PM.
Also, since no one mentioned it, a tip from forum member DUB: Do not completely torque down the four bolts on the center spring plate to the differential housing. You risk cracking the cover plate. Put some weight on the tires (couple wood blocks under the tires) by lowering the car from jacked up to partly down. This helps flex the spring so the bolts do not have to do all of the work. Then do the final tightening.
Also, since no one mentioned it, a tip from forum member DUB: Do not completely torque down the four bolts on the center spring plate to the differential housing. You risk cracking the cover plate. Put some weight on the tires (couple wood blocks under the tires) by lowering the car from jacked up to partly down. This helps flex the spring so the bolts do not have to do all of the work. Then do the final tightening.
Will do..... and finally I have the links in on both sides. It helps a great deal to start fresh with a totally empty cuss jar on day two.
I'm not much on geometry, but the angle those bolts go IN look nothing like what they do after they are finally in place.
From: Media, Delaware County, Penna (Next door to Philly)
Jack the trailing arms up and the spring a little as well. Eventually the head of the bolt will drop through the square bracket into the pocket where it should sit.
Rear Leaf Springs
