Front Bushing ID for A-body rear spring???

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krazykuda

krazykuda

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What is the bushing ID on the new springs supposed to be??? :dontknow:

I have a new set of leaf springs for an a-body and the bushing ID is 5/8 and my bolt diameter is 1/2"... :banghead:

I have a set of the same springs on our other Valiant and the bolt is the same size... :violent1:

Were my springs made with the wrong bushing??? (Ie, e-body bushing vs a-body bushing...) :scratch:

View attachment Ralphie A.jpg
 
The stock A-body diameter is a 1/2". But pretty much all aftermarket springs come set up for a 5/8" bolt, a lot of the aftermarket spring hangers are 5/8" because of that. Even the A-body super stock springs from mopar come set up to use a 5/8" bolt.
 
72bluNblu said:
The stock A-body diameter is a 1/2". But pretty much all aftermarket springs come set up for a 5/8" bolt, a lot of the aftermarket spring hangers are 5/8" because of that. Even the A-body super stock springs from mopar come set up to use a 5/8" bolt.
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That's what I have. MP SS springs. And they have the 5/8" sleeve for the bolt.

Thanks for answering my question.

If I order another set, they will have the same diameter bushing ID. So I will have to drill out the holes in the spring hanger and get some 5/8" bolts and nuts from a local hardware store...
 
krazykuda said:
That's what I have. MP SS springs. And they have the 5/8" sleeve for the bolt.

Thanks for answering my question.

If I order another set, they will have the same diameter bushing ID. So I will have to drill out the holes in the spring hanger and get some 5/8" bolts and nuts from a local hardware store...
Click to expand...

Yup, you got it!
 
The 60's cars had the larger bolt and the 70 ? and up had the smaller bolt.
 
I was able to find a 5/8" by 4 1/2" grade 5 bolt and nut at a hardware store. Then drilled out the front hanger bracket to fit.

then when I was looking in the back of the 68 service manual for the torque specs, there is a different call out for Valiant 6 cylinder. :violent1:


Valiant 6 Cyl................85 ft*lb

Pivot bolt or nut (except Valiant 6 cyl)..............125 ft*lb


Apparently a 6 cylinder car got the 1/2" bolt for the center pivot, and the v-8 got the larger one.

I've replaced many springs on the v-8's, but not any on a 6 cylinder. That's why I never had a problem doing this in the past... :banghead:

But I'm feeling much better now..... (Buddy from Night Court....) :D
 
That makes sense,glad you figured it out. The car will settle down some in time but it will handle better without the air shocks. Were you able to reuse the U bolts?
 
Sedanman said:
That makes sense,glad you figured it out. The car will settle down some in time but it will handle better without the air shocks. Were you able to reuse the U bolts?
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No, they didn't look bad, and came off ok. But when we tried to run a die down them to clean up the threads, it could slide down the length of the threads because the peaks for the threads were pitted too bad. I'm not sure if they would hold the torque without stripping, so we used the new set that we ordered JIC...
 
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