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Old 08-25-2019, 12:03 AM   #35
thequietwon
Senior Member
 
Join Date: May 2010
Location: Kingsport, TN
Posts: 156
Default Re: Help: Reverse eye leaf spring problem 34 Ford

I think your spring is fine. I have reversed several 32-34 front and rear springs for my cars. I do all mine cold as mentioned above. Lay the spring on the floor, mark the arc of the spring, then mark the spring in 2" increments and run it through my press, pressing on the marks. Keep running it through until the arc is the same, but the eyes are reversed. Sometimes I'll take a little arc out of it if I want it a bit lower. Usually takes about an hour, but I creep up on it.
In theory, the spring gets longer when you reverse it. The eves obviously originally point down & in, when you reverse the eyes they point up & out. In actually use, it's not an issue. What makes it seem shorter though, is the second leaf. You HAVE to shorten it about 1/2" to 3/4" because it will hit the now reversed eyes. Think about it, with the eyes in the original position, the second leaf ends right above the eye, and moves out a little as the spring compresses. Now that the eye is reversed, it's in the path of the second leaf. If it clears the leaf at all, it will bind against the eye when compressed. The solution, trim each end of the spring.
Also, I install all my reversed eye springs unassembled, and I think that's the way most do it. Install the main leaf & shackles. You can easily bow the single main leaf by hand to install it. Then start stacking your leafs using a longer center bolt to line them up, and c-clamp each leaf in place as you go. When you get them all on, carefully tighten the long center bolt and then cut off the excess bolt. That's it.
So...The spring looks fine to me. The eyes of the spring should be square to the leaf, and yours are. Disassemble the spring. Shorten second leaf to clear reversed eyes. Install main leaf in car and assemble spring pack using longer bolt & c clamps. It may sound daunting, and apparently it sounds daunting to your builder, but this is quite simple really. And also standard stuff that has to be done to get the low stance that you want.
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