Replacing rear springs

mudbilly · Jun 5, 2006

I don't have a lift. Any words of wisdom before I wind up killing myself, or worse yet damaging the car?

thanks

:SNSign:

68keyblr · Jun 5, 2006

It's easier than you think. Just put the rear of the car up on jack stands under the frame rails then use your jack to support the diff. The hardest part is getting the bolt out of the front of the leaf spring.

Good luck

spirockp · Jun 5, 2006

After WD-40ing it for a few days before my backyard removal, I had the rear and leafs out in under 10 minutes.

mudbilly · Jun 5, 2006

That is exactly what i wanted to hear

tylerrocks · Jun 5, 2006

I had to cut the front eye bolts out with a sawzaw and an air chisel.

Tyler

mudbilly · Jun 5, 2006

yea, I figgered that I might have to get out the sawzall or something if they were rusted too bad.

Now, I have another question.

The reason I am doing this is because my drivers side rear end sags and at the tire it is about 1-1/4 " lower than the passanger side. I have already lowered the front end with 1" lowering springs.

I like the stance better looking toward the drivers side.

I just checked the CJ Pony website (haven't called them yet) and they have standard rear leafs and a set by Global West. But I didn't see any that were lowering. So I am afraid that the rear is going to sit way too high with standard new springs.

Can anyone recommend a place to get lowered springs, and is it worth extra money to get springs with a brand name???

SoCalCruising · Jun 5, 2006

Yeah, the front bolt is the tough one. If it is stuck, go the WD40 route and be patient. Patience is the hard part.

The rear end has some alignment adjustment. That is, the rear can be swiveled a bit, the differential being the center of rotation. This is because of some play in the way the leaf spring locator and the spring perch/plate mate up. If it gets rotated, the car will track a bit sideways (rear end swung out a bit one way or the other).

To check, let the car down and point the front wheels dead straight ahead. Tie a string around the car at the center of the tires - just wrap it around tightly and tie it off. Look at the rear wheels. The string should touch the front and back surface of the tire's sidewall. If the string is off the front or rear of the tire surface, jack up the car, loosen up the spring u-bolts and adjust the rear until the string touches front and rear of tire.

Cupid · Jun 5, 2006

mudbilly said:
Now, I have another question.

The reason I am doing this is because my drivers side rear end sags and at the tire it is about 1-1/4 " lower than the passanger side. I have already lowered the front end with 1" lowering springs.

I like the stance better looking toward the drivers side.

Wow! This is pretty ironic. I'm in the middle of doing an "around $500" suspension build and was taking a look at my rear springs. Wouldn't you know that I have the same exact problem! My passenger side sits about 1-1/2" higher than my drivers side.

Let me know if you find a place with nice springs.

So far i've found a set of 'mid eye' springs from http://www.americanpony.com thats $150 and supposed to lower your rear 1-1/2". Which, over the years is probably where your/my car sits right now. I know there are posts floating around that talks about the differences between standard and mid eye leafs. If I find it, i'll let you know.

One more thing. I don't think (at least I didn't see) these particular springs are on their website. I actually found them in their catalog.

68keyblr · Jun 5, 2006

Get a good set of Mid-eye or Reverse-eye leaf springs from any of the major parts suppliers (MustangsPlus, MustangsUnlimited, NPD, etc)

Mid eye's will drop 1" from stock, and reverse eyes about 1.5"

I have Mid eyes, and now that I've lowered the front 2", I wish I would have done the reverse-eye leafs.

mudbilly · Jun 5, 2006

68keyblr said:
Get a good set of Mid-eye or Reverse-eye leaf springs from any of the major parts suppliers (MustangsPlus, MustangsUnlimited, NPD, etc)

Mid eye's will drop 1" from stock, and reverse eyes about 1.5"

I have Mid eyes, and now that I've lowered the front 2", I wish I would have done the reverse-eye leafs.

cool, thanks,

Ok, so I just went to Mustang Plus website. What is the advantage or difference between a 4, 4-1/2, 5, 5-1/2 springs???

Besides the obvious of more springs

update:

I just finished reading the performance differences between the different spring numbers. Looks like I'd use 4 or 4-1/2.

mudbilly · Jun 5, 2006

Cupid said:
Wow! This is pretty ironic. I'm in the middle of doing an "around $500" suspension build and was taking a look at my rear springs. Wouldn't you know that I have the same exact problem! My passenger side sits about 1-1/2" higher than my drivers side.

I guess that both of our cars had lard azz PO's

BornInAFord · Jun 5, 2006

If you are only replacing the leafs/shackles/front eye bolts, replace only one side at a time. It is easier to support the differential this way and helps in the re-install process.

Daniel

BornInAFord · Jun 5, 2006

mudbilly said:
cool, thanks,

Ok, so I just went to Mustang Plus website. What is the advantage or difference between a 4, 4-1/2, 5, 5-1/2 springs???

Besides the obvious of more springs

Generally speaking, the more leafs, the stiffer the spring. Stock originals were usually only 3 leaf. A 4 or 4 1/2 leaf should be enough for most street cars, although some prefer even stiffer suspenstion. More leafs also help fight axle wind-up and subsequent wheel hop, which can be a killer for differentials. The rear suspension should really be built with the front end and overall use of the car in mind. This keeps you from having as much buyers remorse and bruised kidneys/ego.
Daniel

mudbilly · Jun 5, 2006

i just ordered a set of 4 leaf reverse eye springs from Mustang Plus. Also bought all the extra stuff so it'll all be new back there. $349.90 with shipping

thanks all for the input

:SNSign:

1965-Mustang · Jun 5, 2006

Strange my rear passenger side is lower than my drivers side. I also just ordered all new stuff including Maier 4.5 leafs (160 'low' for 1.25 drop), KYB shocks, and heavy shackles from Mustang Depot for $490.

Cupid · Jun 5, 2006

Seems like you guys will have nice rear ends by the time this is over..

1320stang · Jun 5, 2006

By far, the hardest part is the front bolt.

If you do have to go the sawzall route, get good blades and make sure you're cutting the bolt and not the hardened sleeve in the center of the bushing. Sometimes the bolt is rusted to the sleeve and you end up making 4 cuts to get them out.

Pbum5 · Jun 5, 2006

I like my Maier Racing 165 Leafs.
I think it is the perfect drop for the rear.
I also went with the Heavy Duty Shackles and Poly Bushings

Hack · Jun 5, 2006

http://forums.stangnet.com/showthread.php?t=544275&highlight=opentracker+leaf

Another option to get your stance just right.

mudbilly · Jun 20, 2006

it has begun

I would have liked to have posted that it is complete..............but.......one spring off is as far as I got over the weekend. Took 4 hours: getting out tools to cleaning up mess. I can't see the install of the new spring taking more than an hour start to finish. I learned enough that the other side should go faster.

Made only one mistakes.

1. I placed the support jack under the pumpkin. This technique didn't work well with taking all the stress off the spring. I wound up using the sawzall on the rear shackle before coming to that conclusion. For the other side I'll have a jack support near each spring so that I can have better control.

Other than that, I got lucky with being able to remove every nut without without having to resort to the saw.

my saggy rear

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Replacing rear springs

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