Rear Leaf Spring Torque and Bolt Size

[tigernut]

Due to an earlier "mishap" this past December
(http://www.corvetteactioncenter.com/forums/showthread.php?t=77645)
I went out to the garage today to rough adjust the camber on my left rear side. That side had almost all positive camber apparently due to the jarring effect of my off road experience.

While I was down there checking general bolt snugness, I noticed my rear leaf spring pad bolts were almost completely out with the pad under the spring very loose.

I started to hand tighten them up and I found that the two bolts that are near the front of the car would only go so high before they appeared to be bottoming out. I measured these bolts and they are 3-3/4" long. Is that too long for a fiberglass spring?

It wouldn't surprise me if this had always been loose since I purchased the car, since alot of stuff was previously "bubba'd" and the back end has never felt right.

Also, does anyone have torque specs for fiberglass spring bolts?

Here is a picture of what I have. Does the setup look "normal"? I'm not used to a fiberglass spring and was wondering about the plastic looking block between the spring and the rear pumpkin.

(Yeah, the rear end is a filthy mess, the only part of the car I still have to remove and restore)

 

[JOE BYRNE]

wow thats thin standard bolts almost look to long....can't help since I put the stock steel spring in and had to fight to start the bolts because of how thick it was

 

[ChuckG]

Be careful. The bolts in the front are tapped into blind holes, whereas the bolts in the back (in your picture) are tapped through.

IF you have bolts too long, and you try to force them in the front, you'll break through the casting of the rear end case, and create an oil leak.

You've even got to be careful switching from a stock 9 leaf to a stock 7 leaf. There are different length bolts for different springs.

SO....DON'T tighten them, as if they're too long, they probably are bottoming out in the case. Chuck

 

[tigernut]

Yes, I'm sure the bolts were bottoming out.

The whole setup bothers me. It seems like the bottom of the spring is missing some type of "pad" similar to what is on the top of the spring.

I'm just not familiar enough with these fiberglass springs to say what should be there.

Doug

 

[IH2LOSE]

Doug

I will have to reconect an old computer,I have some photos on it of my 66 when I first got it and it had a trw spring on it.And I think it had a special plate on the bottom,A real thick steel plate.

Check on 67heavens we site to see what his looks like.


You have to have the spring loaded in order to torque it