New Springs - Did I Need Them?

I bought new springs, front and rear, from http://www.springsnthings.com. They arrived quickly and were priced reasonably.

So far I've only replaced the rears because that is what I'm working on currently. The springs are definitely different as the tops are progressively wound tighter than the lower part of the spring. The old spring was a constant winding top to bottom.

Looking at them side by side, they were the same height and both old and new will fall out of the pockets if you jack the car up with the shocks attached. Is that normal for these cars? It really didn't change the ride height either which was what I was hoping for. The shocks are Monroe Gasmatics for a 70 GS.

 

Something wrong there! What if you hit a really big bump and get airborne- the springs would fallout? That just ain't right. Make sure you have the correct parts, that is an unsafe condition.

 

I have seen plenty in which the same is true, but with the shocks hooked up they will stay in place. I would say that is normal.

 

It's really hard for me to believe that by design Buick would allow freely loose springs at full suspension rebound.

Devon

 

Another consideration is your replacement shock design may allow a little more extention than the factory original.

 

I agree. Som ting wong.:laugh:

 

I've got Hotchkis Ground Zero lowering springs on my 67 skylark. They fall out if you jack the car up and let the rear end dangle. I"ve had them for several years, and I"ve hit quite a few hard bumps, like crossing rough intersections, and have never lost a spring.

-Josh

 

You forgot a key word...

"yet"

Devon

 

I agree, I've had the old springs for 30 years and they've always been like that as best I can remember. I just thought the old ones were worn out and collapsed. I guess they weren't that bad after all.

When I said the old springs and the new will fall out of the pocket, I meant they will come off the areas that are designed to keep them centered in the proper top and bottom areas. They cannot be removed without removing the lower shock mount and dropping the rear another few inches to clear the housing/exhaust/frame.

I also have a set of what I jokingly called 3/4 ton El Camino springs that would not go in without nearly dropping the rear completely out of the car.

Also, the new front springs I just unboxed have a mashed/flattened coil on one end and just a cut off at the other end. So I get it right, which end goes in the A arm pocket and which end goes into the frame pocket?

Looking at the lower control arm I'm going to guess the flat end goes up and the dangling coil goes down in the A arm. 50/50 shot, what have I got to lose?

 

Your springs sound perfectly normal to me. Just look at your front spring before you separate the ball joints and let the old ones out. There is a depression for the spring that you need to align the top of the spring with, it will make sense when you look up inside the frame where the spring goes.

I had some spring is the back of a 65 Skylark that were not original and they would come out of the socket when the car was lifted, they never fell out when I was driving. If you are getting the rear suspension completely extended when you are driving, I suggest changing your driving habits. You would have to be a Dukes of Hazard driver to get the rear completely extended. Also, I suppose a big hole in the road would completely extend your suspension, but that would be one bad road.

 

Forgot to mention my opinion about changing the springs. If you like the ride and the ride height, don't bother to change the springs. If your car "floats" down the road change your shocks. If your car leans too much in turns, install a thicker sway bar in front. You can also add one to the rear, but it is recommended that the front must be thicker than the rear. If you want it to be really responsive, add a quick ration steering box, very cool. Just my two cents worth.

 

Kurt, you have to think of a bigger picture. Granted the chances are small, but full rebound does happen easily on one side especially during a hazard avoidance turn. If you have a spring fall out during an emergency turn (deer, pedestrian, what have you), don't expect your car to correct worth a damn on the way out of it.

Devon

 

Oh, I've had this car for 30 years and it has had a 1.25" front bar with urethane bushings for 29.999 of them. The rear bar went on about a week later. I was running radial 60s all the way around when the new Trans Am and Camaro guys were putting bias ply N50s and 10" wheels out back and VW tires on 5" wheels up front. I've had a quick ratio steering box for several years now. I just finished rear disks, truetrac posi, turbo 200-4R gear box. I've got tubular front control arms in the boxes, just waiting for enough time to go rent the spring compressor and ball joint press to get that done. She's tight for a 41 year old car.

The springs cannot come out, even at full extension. The worst they can do is get off he nub that centers them and sit on it sideways. The over-axle tail pipe, control arms, shock and axle keep it from coming out.

 

Greg, your springs stay placed maybe, but you can't say that about the others.

Devon

 

Just completely rebuilt the front end on my 65, did not use a spring compressor. No need for a compressor and I would think it would be a pain to try to get it on the springs. Actually I bought a spring compressor and then didn't use it. LowBuckJim loaned me a vhs tape that explained the whole process, very cool.

BTW, I think it is very cool that you have had a car for that many years. That shows a lot of dedication.

 

Below is a picture of the spring compressor I bought a year ago on Ebay, not the best, but I was only expecting to use it once. If you want it, just PM your address. Like I said, it's not pro-grade, but it should do the job if you want to use a compressor.

 

I didn't quite follow that.

I've for sure done it with the the through-the-shock-hole spring compressor. I thought it was possible without it and I've heard, maybe even did it once, where you use the weight of the car and a floor jack? I'm putting tubular arms back on it so I'd like to not skin them up real bad before I get it on the road again.

Care to elaborate on the method a little more? It may be my next weekend project now that all the parts are in. I also need to save the upper ball joints because they are the Howe tall ones and I just put them in about 2006 and they have less than a few thousand miles on them.

 

Below is a picture of the spring compressor I bought a year ago on Ebay, not the best, but I was only expecting to use it once. If you want it, just PM your address. Like I said, it's not pro-grade, but it should do the job if you want to use a compressor.

 

Sorry about the double post, tried to delete, but couldn't.

Doing this from memory, you back off the nut on the bottom ball joint, leaving it on far enough to stop the whole assembly from unloading all at once. Then you smack the side of the casting that the tapered end is in. The spring pressure will push the ball joint out of the casting, but the castle nut will stop it. Put floor jack under A-arm and jack it up relieving pressure on castle nut. Remove the nut and then let the jack down slowing and the spring will probably fall out on the floor. Installation is just the reverse. All this assumes you have your engine in the car so you have enough weight to compress the springs.

I have heard of some who will say the spring might come flying out and that you need a bolt through the middle of it. I say, just use your head and don't stand where it would go, which would have to be straight out. I think the only danger is if your floor jack were to slide towards the center of the car and I still don't think the spring would come out. Take your time and you shouldn't have any problems. You could also leave the tire on while smacking the casting so the lower A arm doesn't drop too far. Actually I think the hardest part is aligning the spring where it seats in the frame when reassembling, and that isn't a bid deal.

Do you know how to get the top A-arm off the frame? I think I have pictures of that process which requires a big C-clamp.

Good luck,

 

I thought that was how I had done it before but I have the adjustable aluminum shaft uppers that don't rest on the stops so I was going to use the spring compressor method to keep it from messing them up. That's also why I'm swapping them, no stops on the top, just metal to metal on an unload.

I didn't see the pic of the spring compressor in the previous post. Maybe it got deleted as well. I have a big C-clamp but not sure what you mean. Are you talking off the frame or off the upper ball joint? I've had them off 5-6 years ago when I swapped them out. It wasn't a problem.

Thanks for the info!