How much tension is on the REARsprings?
What is the best way to remove added incorrect springs and replace the spring clips?
My thoughts are to loosen up the current clips a bit, slide the incorrect springs out, then change one clip at a time or is this to difficult and dangerous?
Or should I bring the truck to an old time spring shop near my house? Thanks,
Don Jr.
The stored energy in the springs is all in the center mass of the springs. You can take the springs off the truck without troubles to work on them and that will certainly be the easiest way to do the work on them. I din't find there was the high energy stored in them as the single cross mounted spring on the A cars and pickups. Never have worked on one of those.
I used a couple of bar clamps on mine to help with releasing the pressure as I worked the clamps off. There is a bolt that runs vertically down a set of holes through the center of the springs so the individual leaves can not be removed unless the springs are taken apart. Most often this bolt is broken, bent and or sheared off.
Having this bolt for reasembly is most helpful. The top of the bolt has a square head and fits into a recess on the underside of the spring pivot at the top of the spring pack to keep the bolt from turning. Finding an original bolt in good shape I think will be a bit of a challenge.
I replaced mine with a piece of all thread that I welded a square nut to one end for the bolt head. I left the all thread too long and doing so allowed me to use it to help pull the spring tight on reassembly. The all thread isn't strong enough by itself to pull the spring pack back together but the combination of tightening up the nut on the all thread with a couple of bar clamps will pull it all back together enough to get the u-clamps back on. When your done just cut the excess all thread off. Don't be too hasty in cutting off the excess until you are very sure you will not be pulling the pack back apart. Ask me how I know....
Dave
yea both of mine had broken center bolts so when i removed the U bolts they "sprung back" maybe a 1/2". even with them all cleaned up and resting on each other there might be a 1/4" gap between some of the lower leafs...
i found there wasnt much tension at all. now the funky regular model A rear spring there is apparently a bunch of it.
Yea from what I can tell the rear aa spring is pretty safe to work on not much pressure at all because of the design , The front spring is under pressure in both cars and trucks I normally wrap a chain around it so it can't bounce up at me when taking it off , there is a spreading tool to remove and install it which can be made with a heavy threaded rod a coupler and some grinding. same goes for the rear spring in in the cars
Thanks,
