Lots of good advice. I will do some checking based on suggestions. My car is kind of a Frankenstein, so there could be a lot of things I haven’t looked at or considered. Thanks for the help! I will post my findings
Rear end alignment issue 1969 cuda
- Thread starter Mike69cuda
- Start date
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rednesss
Well-Known Member
How many leafs are in that pack? I think mine have about 6. I count 7 on yours.
yep, 7 on both sides. I couldn't find a part number on them anywhere, but i really didn't scrub off any grunge. Anybody know what they are?
rustycowll69
Well-Known Member
should be a number stamped in the leaf, top or bottom I can't remember. I think it will be 7 digit PN.
Not by sight. But there were not that many 7 leaf a-body applications. It could be a right side SS type spring or some shop's leaf pack. It's odd there are no spring clamps on either side. Leaf packs always come with clamps on both the front and rear segments. Drag racers will sometimes remove some or all of the rear clamps.
Springs today are made by Triangle Manufacturing, Stanley Spring (Harrisburg Pa), Eaton (Detroit) and maybe a couple of others. The first two do not retail direct. Most spring shops will be getting their springs and parts from a manufacturer with a furnaces and heat treating equipment like the three just mentioned. Point is that each manufacturer has their own stamping and number locations or none!
340doc
Well-Known Member
I'll share my experience. when I put 4 spd S.S. springs on my Duster the passenger side was instantly closer and it dog tracked. Drove fine. Had to correct it.
I don’t know the history of the car, but some other things like floor pan patches were done on the cheap. They could have been salvaged from who knows what. The springs seem to ride ok and I like the stance of the car, so I may try shimming the front spring bracket if I can’t find the cause from ideas on this thread. Just changed 8 3/4 pumpkin fron 2:76 to 3:23 sg and really like that. Hate to spend money & do a lot of work if I am not gaining much. Spousal unit already unhappy with poor financial performance on this project......
340doc
Well-Known Member
If your drivers side is closer I would be wondering if the springs were on the wrong side also.
Is it worth installing spring clamps back on? Can I buy them somewhere?
340doc
Well-Known Member
I got some factory style off E-bay. Id put them on the front at least.
The layup on the springs looks different from side to side. Is there a way of telling which is which? I guess I should get my wire wheel out & start looking for part numbers. Don’t have a lift, get get cranky in my old age when I have to crawl around underneath too much.....
340doc
Well-Known Member
I'm confused on the 7 leaf also. I'm inclined to believe you have a custom set or a modified set of stock springs. Your probably right in starting with a number.
Front at minimum. Any spring shop will have 'em, maybe dealers or parts stores too, or you can make your own. Rear depends on what your using the car for.
The clamps are very important for reducing lateral movement within the pack (side to side) and on the front half help make it act more like a link.
The concept behind the SS springs for drag racing is when the axle housing rotates, the front segment of the spring pushes up on the chassis (along with the pinion snubber). This maximizes weight on the slick. Even more so as the front end rises with the back. The more downforce on the slick, the higher traction. Anyway they get more freedom of the spring for lifting by removing the rear clamps.
The initial pinion angle and shackle angle are important when doing this. They're always important, but more so.
Original SS springs are not equal left and right. Different arches, different spring ratio (the amount of spring rate in the front segment vs the rear) and different number of leaves. You may have someone's home made project. ???
I would get some measurements off of the frame before concluding its the springs. Fender sheetmetal and driver's perception who is following you are subject to too many variables. measure from the subframes and on the axle, measure to the backing plate or something like that.
1973 Service Bulletin with diagram illustrating a misperception of dog tracking.
http://www.hamtramck-historical.com/images/TSBs/1973/02-04-73C page1.jpg
http://www.hamtramck-historical.com/images/TSBs/1973/02-04-73C page2.jpg
I just noticed this in you photo. (nothing to do with your dimensional issue)
Good call on the possible cracks, I’ll go take a look.
Found these on amazon, $35 for 4 shipped. Bent pieces of metal sure are expensive....
Found these on amazon, $35 for 4 shipped. Bent pieces of metal sure are expensive....
And the Super Sleuth award goes to ——Bodyperson!!!
Spring was unrolled some on the front of the side that was the farthest back. Got under there with my flashlight and noticed the passenger side (longer measurement) was unrolled about 30-45 degrees. Never would have known to look for that. Pictures aren’t very good
Can it be rolled back with some heat, or do I just live with it, shim the other side, or replace it?
Thanks to everyone, I never would have figured this out on my own!
Spring was unrolled some on the front of the side that was the farthest back. Got under there with my flashlight and noticed the passenger side (longer measurement) was unrolled about 30-45 degrees. Never would have known to look for that. Pictures aren’t very good
Can it be rolled back with some heat, or do I just live with it, shim the other side, or replace it?
Thanks to everyone, I never would have figured this out on my own!
Oops, wrong last pic anyway.
Also, the apparent crack in the picture was the end of some rubber shims.
rednesss
Well-Known Member
Pretty sure heating them up hot enough to bend the steel easily enough, would alter the metallurgy of the spring steel and would do "bad things". Get a new set from Buy Quality Automotive Leaf Springs, Coil Springs and Suspension Parts for your Classic or Antique Auto and be done with it. They are good and relatively cheap to get the right set of springs under your car.
You could prabably have a spring shop fix the top leaf or make you a new top leaf
383Scampman
Well-Known Member
Me thinks you may have a spring in backwards .
Do you mean on the wrong side? They are 20 inch on the front & 35 on the back from the locating pin, so they couldn’t be swapped front to back could they?
As others have suggested, these may be hacked together springs, so who knows what I got.
As others have suggested, these may be hacked together springs, so who knows what I got.
Can't. Not with Mopars. The front segment is 2 or 3 times shorter than the rear segment.
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