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09-21-2020, 04:19 PM | #1 |
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Rear Spring Installation
I recently did some work on my drive train and did so by removing the rear end, spring and all. I removed the spring to make some repairs, and have mated the spring to the rear end. I am now in the process of re-installing, but am having some difficulty. The spring fits into the channel and I am ably to tighten the nuts to the original u-bolts, but I am unable to do so enough to insert the cotter pins. I have checked to ensure that the spring bolt is in the frame hole, but still no joy. Any suggestions? As a side note, others have recommended that I should have left the spring in and just removed the rear end at the shackles, but I am beyond that. One option is to remove the spring from the rear end, install just the spring, and then install the rear end with the spring already installed.
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09-21-2020, 04:20 PM | #2 | |
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Re: Rear Spring Installation
Quote:
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09-21-2020, 04:55 PM | #3 |
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Re: Rear Spring Installation
MMMM Perhaps lower the car with wheels installed. The weight with the car on the ground may the difference.
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09-21-2020, 05:28 PM | #4 |
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Re: Rear Spring Installation
Did you change or remove the top spring leaf?
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09-21-2020, 05:51 PM | #5 |
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Re: Rear Spring Installation
Are you using the spring clamps for the 7 leaf spring?
Different leaf counts require different clamps.
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09-21-2020, 05:59 PM | #6 |
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Re: Rear Spring Installation
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09-21-2020, 07:26 PM | #7 |
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Re: Rear Spring Installation
Have you added an extra leaf ?
Is the center bolt tight ? Is the square of the center bolt head protruding thru the crossmember hole ? |
09-21-2020, 08:18 PM | #8 | |
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Re: Rear Spring Installation
Quote:
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09-21-2020, 08:21 PM | #9 |
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Re: Rear Spring Installation
No I did not. The only work that I did was in the torque tube. The springs, u-bolts and nuts were as original.
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09-21-2020, 08:22 PM | #10 |
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Re: Rear Spring Installation
I changes nothing on the spring.
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09-21-2020, 08:23 PM | #11 | |
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Re: Rear Spring Installation
Quote:
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09-21-2020, 08:24 PM | #12 |
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Re: Rear Spring Installation
I am out by 1/4" all 4 bolts....
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09-21-2020, 08:26 PM | #13 |
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Re: Rear Spring Installation
I changed nothing on the spring and, yes, the center bolt is tight...
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09-21-2020, 08:30 PM | #14 |
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Re: Rear Spring Installation
Maybe you have the spring clips upside down?
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09-21-2020, 08:47 PM | #15 |
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Re: Rear Spring Installation
Just about the thickness of the square head of the bolt not aligned with the square hole in the cross member. It's happened to me.
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09-21-2020, 10:08 PM | #16 |
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Re: Rear Spring Installation
I don't think so...do you have a pic how they are to be installed?
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09-22-2020, 11:16 AM | #17 |
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Re: Rear Spring Installation
Are the tabs on the u-bolts in the holes on the cross member?
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09-23-2020, 09:35 PM | #18 |
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Re: Rear Spring Installation
Yup. I am using the spring clips that were originally on the car. All I did was remove the drive train, including the spring. I then removed the spring from the axles to make it easy to repair the drive shaft. I reinstalled the spring, inserted in the vehicle and used the original spring clips. Unfortunately, I was unable to tighten the nuts enough to insert the cotter pins.
Note that Andrews recommends removing the the rear end with the spring attached while some of the guys at the shop suggest leaving the spring on the vehicle and removing the shackles.
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09-24-2020, 08:24 AM | #19 |
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Re: Rear Spring Installation
Just a thought as the spring flexes it wears a groove into the leaf below it,if you have no weight on the spring while trying to tighten the spring clips possibly the leaves are resting on the unworn or high spots,lower the back of the car to the ground and or have a couple of people sit in the back and then see if you can tighten those nuts the xtra 1/4 inch.
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09-24-2020, 11:50 AM | #20 |
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Re: Rear Spring Installation
It usually is easier to remove the rear axle with the spring installed but it also depends on what else is disassembled during the whole repair process. Removing the spring from the rear axle is not normally a big deal but it would be easy to reinstall it 180 degrees from where it was originally and that might have changed the fit just enough so that things aren't seating like they were before. A person needs to confirm that the spring is seated all the way and that those U-bolts are also seated as they should be.
If the spring was not disassembled then it should not affect fit other than the way it seats into the cross member. |
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