Front spring tie bolt predicament

[Stakebed]

Well im about ready to reassemble my front spring. I have grade 8 standard 5/16 bolts with a hex head. these bolts only have the last inch or so threaded to the rest is a solid shaft.

I see the catalogs sell a model A front tie bolt that is essentially a piece of all thread with a square head on one end My concern with this setup is the springs shifting about would easily hammer the threads flat and cause the spring pack to get all outa whack. Also have no idea what grade it is. Ive heard grade 5...

My guess of what breaks the center bolt is over the years the springs flexing about wore the tie bolt till it got weak and snapped.

Now doing so some of the leaf center holes have alot of what i believe to be slop in them from getting wallowed out. Id like to drill them round and use a 3/8 bolt as a tie bolt but Ive heard its darn near impossible to drill leaf springs.

Also how critical is it that the tie bolt has to be square up top? A 3/8 bolt head is the same diameter as the original square bolt chunk i removed and fits snugly in the square hole on the crossmember - just needs 2 sides ground down a touch to fit.

The 5/16 head will fit in any orientation...

SO what would you guys do or have you done? Keep in mind my front spring is the 18 leafer...

[Chris Haynes]

True spring bolts are hard as hell and the threads don't bend.

[tiredtruckrestorer]

The reason the spring center bolt gets worn or breaks is because the U-bolts ( Ford calls them "spring clips") were not kept tight. The center bolt basically just holds the spring together for installation and centers it in the front crossmember. Once the spring is installed, the U-bolts clamp the whole assembly tight and there should be no movement at the center bolt.

Keith

[Hayslip]

Hex head is fine as long as it fits.

[1crosscut]

I agree with Keith. I used a piece of all thread. I put on a square nut threaded just halfway and filled the remainder with weld and then ground it smooth. I left the all thread run long out the bottom of the spring pack and used the nut to help pull the spring pack together. Once it was all buttoned up tight I cut the all thread to length. I did this on all three sets of springs on my truck.
Dave

[RustydoubleA]

Coat the length of the bolt with never-seize, it will help prevent the leaves from sawing through the bolt and it will protect the threads when assembling the spring pack. Steve.

[Stakebed]

I agree with Keith. I used a piece of all thread. I put on a square nut threaded just halfway and filled the remainder with weld and then ground it smooth. I left the all thread run long out the bottom of the spring pack and used the nut to help pull the spring pack together. Once it was all buttoned up tight I cut the all thread to length. I did this on all three sets of springs on my truck.
Dave

hmm i may have to do this method. I'm guessing a true hardware store would have square nuts?

Also Ive heard lubriplate or slip plate is the preferred leaf lube of choice. I'm guessing a farm store would have something like this? Is this the same stuff as whats called corn head grease for combines?


i do like the idea of coating the threads with antisieze

[captain marty]

I recently finished rebuilding my the front spring on my A and used John Deere slip plate on the backs.
I can't wait to see how the assembly works.
Marty

[Chris Reed]

HI Stakebed - I picked up a used spring and now need to do some rebuilding. What did you end up using for a spring bolt and spring clamps?

I have the 14 leaf spring, i'm wondering if the standard A stuff will work on this?

Does anyone know why the 14 leaf spring is often referred to as a 13 leaf spring?

Thanks!
Chris

[Bob C]

According to the parts book the 13 leaf is for the short wheelbase and the
14 leaf is for the long wheelbase.

Bob

[Stakebed]

Spring bolt I used the one out of the catalog for reg model a's. Needed new shackle bushings anyways. Fit snug as a bug. Cut off the excess with a few threads sticking past the nut then peened over the last threads so theres no chance of anything loosenting. I ended up having to make my own clamps using flat stock from tractor supply. I'll show why later.

I did disassemble and had every leaf sandblasted, ground out the grooves worn in the leafs, tapered the leaf above it so it wont dig in the future, then painted with 2 coats of por 15, then coated with my magic mix of open gear grease and graphite and assembled. Massive pita but I wont have to mess with it ever again. I'll upload some pics of some of the steps tomorrow.

[Stakebed]

^^^ hopefully you have the extra long special U bolts for the 18 leafer


i have more pics of these homeade clamps i gotta find em...

[Stakebed]

then fit on spring then drill the cross hole tight against the bottom spring so it stays put. The dimple i have to keep it from sliding off up top is a allen head cap screw drilled tapped into the clamp then cut off flush so it looks like an upset like the factory would have done.

I may have the other set shown in one of those pics - unfinished but bent correctly...


easy way to paint all the leafs at once.

[Chris Reed]

You should patent your 18 leafy spring painter! Nice work, looks like it turned out nice.

Fortunately i have a 14 leaf spring and the clamps i have are not that bad so I might try to just clean them up and reuse them. Actually, Model A rear springs are 2.25 inches wide so I might try to get a set of rear spring clamps to use on my front spring if they make a length that is close enough. I ordered spring shackles today (also A Rear) which should work on the front of the AA.

Are the bushings easy to get in and out of the spring? Do you need a reamer for the new bushings or do the shackles slide right in to the bushing?

Thanks for all of your help!
Chris

[Stakebed]

usually need a reamer, a stout vice or a small hand press (name for em - long lever on a C shaped thing you pull down on)

i got the idea off someone over on the A forum but came in very handy. I did the rears the ol fashoned way - way too much weight haha.

yea reuse your clamps if you have em - when i got this 18 leafer it didnt have any clamps - just bailing wire so i had to make some. FYI the 18 leaf spring and the 14 leaf spring keep the front crossmember the same distance off the ground haha