1965 Leaf Spring Removal

65-Fstbk · Nov 12, 2012

Hey Guys,

Ok I read all the comments on how frustrating it can be to remove the leaf springs. Let me just say OMG I think this is the most frustrating thing I have done yet. I'm using a recip saw with heavy duty Bosch metal cutting blades. The outboard side took a good 20 min. Been working on the inside for over an hour, on my 3rd blade and it just won't break loose. Any suggestions (besides narcotics)??

Pic below....

horse sence · Nov 13, 2012

i finaly gave up on my nephews 64 1/2 and took a torch to the spring
and burned the rubber off of the sleeve on the bushing. then i cut the bolt out.
dont set the car on firethe rubber will burn and smoke badly, dont breath it.
did the same with the saw ,all it did was beat the crap out of me and hardly scratched the bolt.

65-Fstbk · Nov 13, 2012

horse sence said:
i finaly gave up on my nephews 64 1/2 and took a torch to the spring
and burned the rubber off of the sleeve on the bushing. then i cut the bolt out.
dont set the car on firethe rubber will burn and smoke badly, dont breath it.
did the same with the saw ,all it did was beat the crap out of me and hardly scratched the bolt.

Yeah me too. My right hand has taken a beating. I'll get impatient and move the saw around a little only to pull back a little too far so that the blade kicks back and nails my fingers against the concrete. I think the metal they used for the inner sleeve is the same as Velcro...came from aliens.

I saw a clip on YouTube (Mustang Medic) where it took the guys almost 2 days to get 1 side out. Ended up cutting the spring at the end, then using a air saw to cut through what was left and peeled it away like an onion. That finally exposed the sleeve which they cut and air chiseled. Holy cow this is a knuckle buster. Good thing my kids aren't too close to the garage b/c they would be learning a whole new vocabulary!!

palerider94 · Nov 13, 2012

Done a few now and tried every trick. Take my word for it a angle grinder with a 6 or 7 inch cut off wheel. 10 minutes top.

65-Fstbk · Nov 13, 2012

palerider94 said:
Done a few now and tried every trick. Take my word for it a angle grinder with a 6 or 7 inch cut off wheel. 10 minutes top.

So just to get order of operations correct:
#1 - cut through the existing spring, remove and discard with extreme force against the nearest rock solid surface.
#2 - introduce the remaining section with the bolt running through it to the angle grinder and cut (perpendicular to the bolt) until the sorry bast@rd drops out
#3 - crack beer

(not necessarily in this exact order)

horse sence · Nov 13, 2012

65-Fstbk said:
Yeah me too. My right hand has taken a beating. I'll get impatient and move the saw around a little only to pull back a little too far so that the blade kicks back and nails my fingers against the concrete. I think the metal they used for the inner sleeve is the same as Velcro...came from aliens.

I saw a clip on YouTube (Mustang Medic) where it took the guys almost 2 days to get 1 side out. Ended up cutting the spring at the end, then using a air saw to cut through what was left and peeled it away like an onion. That finally exposed the sleeve which they cut and air chiseled. Holy cow this is a knuckle buster. Good thing my kids aren't too close to the garage b/c they would be learning a whole new vocabulary!!

i think i invented a few new words the first time the saw hooked up.

horse sence · Nov 13, 2012

65-Fstbk said:
So just to get order of operations correct:
#1 - cut through the existing spring, remove and discard with extreme force against the nearest rock solid surface.
#2 - introduce the remaining section with the bolt running through it to the angle grinder and cut (perpendicular to the bolt) until the sorry bast@rd drops out
#3 - crack beer

(not necessarily in this exact order)

trick a buddy into doing it for you.then just sit back and laugh

65fastbackresto · Nov 13, 2012

palerider94 said:
Done a few now and tried every trick. Take my word for it a angle grinder with a 6 or 7 inch cut off wheel. 10 minutes top.

This method worked well for me too, and once you get one side of the bolt cut off, you can use the spring as leverage to bend the bolt back and forth to get it to break on off from the partial cut on the other side of it.

1995cobraR · Nov 13, 2012

You should rent a heavy-duty cutter.

rbohm · Nov 13, 2012

65-Fstbk said:
So just to get order of operations correct:
#1 - cut through the existing spring, remove and discard with extreme force against the nearest rock solid surface.
#2 - introduce the remaining section with the bolt running through it to the angle grinder and cut (perpendicular to the bolt) until the sorry bast@rd drops out
#3 - crack beer

(not necessarily in this exact order)

you might want to light up a rock instead.

65-Fstbk · Nov 13, 2012

rbohm said:
you might want to light up a rock instead.

Yeah, pretty close to it.
I think an anger management program may be in my future too. Ok, I have to travel for work until Friday but when I get home it's Game On! Gonna break out the 'BFG angle grinder 2000' and kick some leaf spring a$$!! I'll keep you posted.

horseballz · Nov 14, 2012

I say "crack beer" should be much higher on the list! It's not like you're doing a precision, critical or dangerous task and a little bit of attitude adjustment shouldn't hurt. Now, just to pi$$ you of a little, I live in Las Vegas where rust doesn't exist. When I took the nut off my first spring bolt on the 68, expecting a battle, one medium tap from the hammer and the bolt went zinging out into the bushes alongside the driveway. If it makes you feel any better, it took me 1/2 an hour to find it! I've certainly had less luck on other cars. A "heat wrench" (oxy/acetylene torch) gives a good level of satisfaction! Just be ready to do all the cutting quickly and have all other stuff cleared away so that you can knock the old stuff out quickly and get it done in one fell swoop! Once you're set up, its a 2 minute job per bolt.
Good Luck,
Gene

palerider94 · Nov 14, 2012

65-Fstbk said:
So just to get order of operations correct:
#1 - cut through the existing spring, remove and discard with extreme force against the nearest rock solid surface.
#2 - introduce the remaining section with the bolt running through it to the angle grinder and cut (perpendicular to the bolt) until the sorry bast@rd drops out
#3 - crack beer

(not necessarily in this exact order)

normally I'd start #3 first but you may want to hold off - big cut off blade on angle grinder is not the most stable feeling tool.

jackson0215 · Nov 17, 2012

Ditto on the angle grinder. After fighting it for 2 days I bought cheap discs from Harbor Freight and was done with both sides in less than a half hour.

65-Fstbk · Nov 17, 2012

Ok, I'm back.

Started where I left off on Wednesday and wiggled the spring I had been working on back and forth (x50) figuring I must have been close to having that thing off. Cursing while wiggling really helps and sure enough the remaining finger of metal on the bolt broke free and the spring fell to the floor.

On to the passengers side. I finished removing the rear end leaving only the pass side spring in place. Had a few recip blades left and there was alot more room with the rear end out so I thought I'd give it another go with the recip saw. Had both sides cut in 30min so not as bad as before.

Now on to cleaning the underside in prep for paint. Going to order the new leafs and am thinking of 4.5 leaf mid-eye. Anyone ever use products from 'Street and Track'? (streetandtrack.com I think) They have 4.5 mid eyes for $106 each. Also looking at MustangsPlus complete kit springs, shackles (rubber bushings though ), new u-bolts for $234.00.

Thoughts?

jackson0215 · Nov 17, 2012

I sand blasted the both the interior and exterior floors, primed it and covered it in bed liner. The nice part about sand blasting is that it will uncover any weak areas and it is able to get into all of the small areas that you cannot get a sander into.

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