[teven123]

Well, when I removed my springs for a front end rebuild i did not pay attention to the position that they were installed, now that i have it all back together i found out the flat or ground end was to go up into the frame and the pigtail was to go in the control arm. I looked closly at them when i put them in and the spring gap looked the same on the top and the bottom, so i went with as descibed above. What i need to know from you guys, is this going to work? i have a 396 in it and they are big block springs. I sure don,t want to tear it all apart if it is not going to make a big difference. Thanks Steve

 

[Fred Aldrich]

IMHO, it might cause some strange creaking noises from front end and could eventually cause lower control arm to crack due to stress concentration.

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Fred Aldrich
Web Site: www.GeoCities.com/~69_chevelle

 

[ddoler]

Sorry buddy I really think you should bite the bullet and do it right. When I did my springs the tops had a dab of white paint on them. Also, if the bottom of the springs are not lower A-arm pocket, the car won't sit level.

Don't mess around in this area.

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members.tripod.com/dfdolerjr

 

[Harddog]

Here's a subject I know about. Boy howdy did you ever make a mistake. You've got to turn them the right way and yes it's going to be a bitch. Hopefully you sprang for a spring compressor or you have access to one and if you have one of those Eastwood Company screw type balljoint separators you won't screw up your boots. If you do screw up the boots, order yourself a set of the polyurethane boots. They are cheap, they are easier to work with and they do a better job than the ones that came with the joints. You won't have to break the upper balljoint again and you don't have to remove the lower control arm. Just take the caliper off (if you have disks that is) and then break the lower balljoint and tie the spindle up out of the way. It makes it a lot easier if you get the spring compressor in position inside the spring, then use a floor jack to compress the spring as far as you can before you tighten up the compressor. One, you don't have to tighten it as much under the load of the spring and two, it makes it easier to get the spring compressor screw excess to guide into the shock hole in the frame. Unfortunately, you'll have to loosen and remove the compressor when you get them out of the car so you can turn them around the right way. Measure the spring length before you remove the compressor and note the approximate angle of the screw so when you put spring back in the car compressed, the screw will go back up into the shock hole without binding up in relation to the position of the pig tail that will go in the lower control arm. Under no circumstances should you use an air impact wrench to tighten the spring compressor or you'll turn that 70 dollar compressor into a pile of junk in no time. Make sure you have good rubber insolators on the spring when you put it back together. You can glue them to the spring before you put them in with RTV. I've got a little winded here but I hope this helps. If you have any questions about what I've said here, email me at [email protected]

[This message has been edited by Harddog (edited 05-10-99).]

 

[Ray Flores]

I just did the same thing over the weekend. My new springs are flat on one end. The old springs are not but I couldn't tell until I pulled one out. I took a chance and put one new spring in and found out later it was upside down.I had to pull it out and put the flat side up. It's a pain but you'll sleep better knowing it's right.

 

[teven123]

Well, Thanks for everyones imput, I am off on vacation this week so i will take them out and put them in the right way, sure wish i would have posted here before i started, i am doing a frame off on this car so the springs are only one of the hard thanks i have came across, Thanks again, Steve

 

[Luke]

Why do you have to break loose the upper ball joint to replace the front springs, also are there rubber pads that go on the front springs
I was told there only used on the rear.

 

[Harddog]

As I mentioned in my post, you don't have to break the upper joint. Most folks will want to replace the upper and lower ball joints anyway if you're going that far into the car unless you know they're in good shape. Every car I've ever done has had a rubber insulator on top of the spring, if it dosen't, someone took them out. Just for the record, on a Chevelle, you will never find rubber below at the control arm. If you got springs that aren't ground flat at the top, it won't be a problem. Most replacement springs aren't. However, the very end of the top of the spring will be bent down and touch, or nearly touch the coil below it. This will always be the top of the spring. The lower end will always be a pigtail.

 

[Buck Mustard]

There are no spring insulators (rubber pads) on the front springs - only on the rear. At least that is the way my '70 was. In fact, I don't recall ever seeing pads for the front springs in the resto catalogs - again, only for the rear. The rear coil spring insulators could not be used in front because 1) they are a different size and 2) there is a piece of metal hanging down in front that the spring sits around and it would get in the way of a rubber pad.

Perhaps other cars are different - but there were definitely no pads in my '70 when I removed the original springs.

 

[Harddog]

Buck my man, I beg to differ with you on the rubber insulator issue. Someone must have taken them out of your car at some point, they sometimes stick up there and remain in the car when you remove the spring, or they (I've never seen them do this) may have rotted away and fell out. The first car I ever did was a 70 Malibu, and it had the rubber insulators on top of the springs. I've put springs in 15 A bodies and everyone of them had them. The tangs you mention up inside the spring well will usually leave an impression in these donut shaped, flat rubber insulators where the springs squish them. The rubber is approximately one and a quarter inchs wide and between a quarter and an eighth of an inch thick. I've never paid them much mind, I just put them back with the new springs as I described above. They were also in a 67 Firebird, a 75 Delta 88 and 3 G Bodies (Malibu Classics and a 79 Monte Carlo) I did. My intention here is for everyone to get correct information, not to start a scrap with anyone. I'm going to shut up now.