Rear Crossmember/Spring ??

[1955cj5]

My ccpu has a pretty good lean to the drivers side, as many do, and it also had this patch job on the rear crossmember.. I could see it had more than 10 leaves but didn't know how many..it has 13! So it rode a little rough?

Anyway, here are a couple pictures of the crossmember some from underneath....so I need to remove it and replace it..I got a nice one on ebay and it arrived just today...along with the rivets and the setting tool from Big Flats Rivet Co.

So, about the spring. I want to take it down to probably 8 leaves... How do I decide which leaves to remove? Every other one? I know you don't want to large a gap between the ends of the leaves...if anyone has a picture of an 8 leaf rear spring that would be great..

Thanks, Randy

[Joe K]

Regarding the spring, check out previous thread which starts by discussion of 10 leaves to 7, but considers 8 leaves.

https://www.fordbarn.com/forum/showthread.php?t=174402

Also has the all important "Spring Chart" originally developed by Marco of this board.

Ford was ingenious in the way he made minimal spring size options cover a multitude of applications.

As to the "lean", you may have issues with the frame beyond simply the rear crossmember. A quick test you might do would be to put the rear crossmember on a "point pivot" located at the mid-span of the rear crossmember, and check the frame for low point, twist along its length, or other issues.

Sometimes frames are best scoped out after removal of the body. Also, a frame may appear straight, level, and square, but may be "sensitive" to loading, particularly on the drivers side. This would indicate broken rivets at the crossmembers. Its possible to use an attached lever arm to load "alternately" the frame and test for sensitivity: if the frame drops more on one side than the other, you may have hidden issues.

Good luck with this.

Joe K

[1955cj5]

Thanks Joe that helps..I have seen that chart somewhere before, and I think it had a"key" that indicated which colored line applied to which body style..

So If I had a 10 leaf I'd take out 7 and 9.....but how do I get from 13 to ten? I'm sure the answer will come along....

[Tom Wesenberg]

I have an 8 leaf spring laying loose that I can take a picture of tomorrow.

[1955cj5]

That would be great Tom....I looked on the internet but got all sorts of pictures...

And if you would, could you measure the shortest leaf so I would sorta know where to start counting?

Thanks,

Randy

[daveymc29]

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Your first picture seems to hold one answer for the lean toward the drivers side. The bolt that enters the square hole in your cross member has either not entered that hole or the cross member is split in a way to allow that hole to be too far toward the drivers side. One picture of the old repair seems to indicates that the latter may be true. Looks like you have most of the problem solved with the new cross member. At a minimum I'd remove the bed and check the whole frame as was mentioned above, there may be other problems lurking, but the cross member is obviously not doing its job.

[1955cj5]

The crossmember is a mess, that is for sure....The spring pack bolt had no head, it was just round and tapered....maybe didn't even fit the hole I didn't try it. The top tapered leaf on the spring pack also had a section missing.....

I think several problems added up to the lean, the rough ride, and the "nose down' look when the truck was on level ground...

[Mitch//pa]

you have a few things to straighten out in the rear, but also make sure your front spring is not weak

[1955cj5]

Thanks Mitch, I replaced the front spring a few weeks ago...it had a 12 leaf in front and I replaced it with a new 10....

[updraught]

My Australian ute chassis has a 13 leaf rear spring. I was under the impression this was standard. I pulled several leaves out but it is still hard.

[John Kuhnast]

I removed two of the smaller ones..Forget exact ones. Eight remain on my wide bed. Made a big difference in how it rides. I installed a shim at the U bolt on left side. 1/4 inch shim raised left fender 1 1/2 inches. Bed is now level.

[Fred K-OR]

Randy, would it make sense to just look for another good spring like you want? There seems to be a number of them for sale on EBay and maybe Bert's will have a good one for you.

[1955cj5]

Hi Fred, I've been thinking about that.....tomorrow I think I'll call the local club members that have helped in the past and see if I can find one....

According to the JS there was 13 leaf used on the 130 A & B...maybe someone would like to trade....8 leaf packs should be fairly common...

Randy

[Rowdy]

I have a 130-A and will be putting an 8 leaf in it. I sure can not think anyone would want to use the optional 13 leaf in a restoration. Just my opinion Rod

[1955cj5]

Another interesting thing is the spring bottom plates that I took off are neither 5/8" or 1 1/8" which are the two choices offered by Bratton's

Mine are 7/8" high, and look like they were altered...Did the Model T use similar parts?

Or maybe I'm measuring the over-all height and not just the support/center part?

[Tom Wesenberg]

Here's 3 pictures of my spare 8 leaf spring and rear end. Notice the bottom 4 leaves are thicker than the top 4. Notice the top leaf has beveled sides so it fits flush to the crossmember. Also notice the square head on the bolt needs to be turned 45* so it fits the square hole in the crossmember.

I measured the length be running my thin pocket tape across the top of the stack, but on the side of the center bolt.

1. 13 1/4"
2. 18 3/4"
3. 26 1/4"
4. 31"
5. 37"
6. 43 3/4"
7. 50 5/8"
8. Mainleaf

The stack is 2" thick.

[1955cj5]

Originally Posted by Tom Wesenberg

Here's 3 pictures of my spare 8 leaf spring and rear end. Notice the bottom 4 leaves are thicker than the top 4. Notice the top leaf has beveled sides so it fits flush to the crossmember. Also notice the square head on the bolt needs to be turned 45* so it fits the square hole in the crossmember.

I measured the length be running my thin pocket tape across the top of the stack, but on the side of the center bolt.

1. 13 1/4"
2. 18 3/4"
3. 26 1/4"
4. 31"
5. 37"
6. 43 3/4"
7. 50 5/8"
8. Mainleaf

The stack is 2" thick.

So, I completely disassembled my spring pack to more accurately measure the leaves...

1. 13"..but a portion is missing..
2. 15 13/16"
3. 18 1/2"
4. 22"
5. 25 7/8"
6. 30 1/4"
7. 33 3/8"
8. 36"
9. 39 3/8"
10. 42 7/8"
11. 46 1/2"
12. 49 3/4"
13. 52 1/4" end to end

SO:

1
3
5
6
8
10
12
13

Gives me 8 leaves, very close to Tom's..

[1955cj5]

Thanks Tom, that is excellent....I'll print it off and start measuring.

The square hole in my cross-member is squared with the sides of the crossmember, so no 45° ...i wonder if that was a change along the line somewhere?

I'll let you know what i learn..

I did measure the width of the spring pack and the leaves are each 2 1/4" wide...and that agrees with Marco's chart..

[Tom Wesenberg]

Originally Posted by 1955cj5

The square hole in my cross-member is squared with the sides of the crossmember, so no 45° ...i wonder if that was a change along the line somewhere?

NO, I said MY bolt head is wrong and needs to be turned 45*, so it will be square to the spring sides and fit the square hole in the crossmember.

[Mitch//pa]

what about buying a new spring