Leaf Spring???

[WNS532-66]

I am doing a body off restro.

What i need to know is how can i compress the leaf spring to hook it up to the trailing arm without scratching the powder coat...???

what kind of tools can i use to do this

??

remember the frame is off of the ground>>

thanks in advance

jack

 

[stepinwolf]

You have to do a little shuffling around,but it's an easy thing to do. For starters, you will need to gather up the following items.

Floor jack , 1 large pair of Vise-Grips, a section of leather belt ( it won't be re-usable ) and a 30" length of chain.

Hold a section of the belt around the spring, and clamp the vise-grips, to the spring at about 6 to 8 inches from the tip. Then roll the jack under the spring ( it helps to place it at a slight angle ) and place the lifting dish squarely under the vise grips.

Then take the chain, pass it around the front section of the jack ( I use the small axle between the wheels ) and find a place on the frame where the chain can be wrapped around, making sure to wrap the section of frame with an old blanket before doing the wrapping.

A better place to tie your chain to would be the strut rod. If they are in place, they are the best thing to use. I take a 4 inch section of 3/4" used radiator hose, slit it length-ways and wrap it around the strut rod , close to the shock mount. Then I wrap the chain around the hose/strut rod, and pull it tight.

Now all you have to do is slowly raise the jack, and when the chain become taunt, it keeps the frame from rising, and the spring will lift high enough for you to insert your spring bolt through the hole and fasten the nuts to securely attach your spring.

In closing I must add that this operation is a h*ll of a lot easier to do, then try to explain on a Forum.

Regards
Stepinwolf

 

[61 Silver]

Hi! Jack

Here is a simple method that I used with the 63. I used the jack and chain method on the 65 and found this process to be quick easy and safe.

I used 1/2" threaded rod with commercial hanger type beam clamps. I work with both sides of the spring at the same time and doubled nutted for safety.

To save me a little embarrassment, the areas that look like rust in the pictures is actually dust and dirt, not rust.

Note: do not tighten (torque) the spring to the differential until you have all the weight on the chassis.

I also installed two 1/16" trailing arm shims with the double holes in them. One on each side of the trailing arm. This will help when you have the rear wheel alignment. The person doing the alignment can use the later slotted type as filler and you can tie wrap them together so that if they loosen up they will not fall out.

Hope this helps!

Ray