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My leaf springs won't

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[ QUOTE ]
easy inexpensive method,once around the block with my ex mother inlaw,the problem would be getting her out!

[/ QUOTE ] I guess my question to you would be: do you mean the passenger seat, or the trunk? /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/devilgrin.gif
 
HI Greg and others, if you want to follow up on the quirks found in the BJ8 cars relative to spring changes and various other off sets mentioned in this thread,Bob Scalla has writtenn an article, "Mis-Aligned Healey", in the current AH Marque magazine. I have personally seen and measured these vagarities on many of these cars. Mine has some of them---FWIW---Keoke
 
HI Greg,No E-mail addy so I came on the forum. My rebound travel measured from the axel housing to the "FRAME" is 23/4".The measurement from the top of the splined wheel hub to the fender arch is 14".If I were going to travel loaded I would add a leaf to the springs which would reduce the rebound travel by 1/2".The rebound pad is ~1/2" thick.--Fwiw---Keoke /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/driving.gif
 
Hi Keoke,
Thanks for the 2 3/4" measurement. That was going to be my next question. I've flared my fenders a little, so I'm not sure the 14" measure will be accurate. Thanks for trying, how would you know? The next task will be trying to get the leaf off. The one you suggested removing seems to be bound in the middle and the front. The retaining pieces look like they are bent on when the spring assembly is made. Not bolted on like the earlier Healeys are. Should I shim the retaining piece since it will just rattle, or cut it off. I looked at Moss' website and they show the bolt-on piece I need but have no number for it.
Thanks,
Greg
 
No Shim, Do you still have your old springs? If so take off the short {Last} bottom leaf cut it down so that it is about 1/2" longer on each side than the spring retaining plate add this short leaf to the bottom of the spring to comphensate for the leaf removed and you will be back to the correct number of leaves without the preload. Alternatively, use some larger {Thicker} nuts ahead of those that go on the "U" bolts to take up the slack.This also works when the "U" bolts have stretched from age-a characteristic most of them display.There is one more trick and the one I am using now. Keep only the two top springs from the new set and build a complete spring back up using only leaves from the old set. Real pain you know where, but its trial and error with these new springs especially when they are buggered.--Hope you get it sorted out.FWIW---Keoke---PS last time I looked new U bolts are buggered too. The center fastening of the spring is accomplished by the "Spring Bolt" when it is removed the springs can be slid off one another.
 
she was in the trunk,had to take the lid off,finally coaxed her out with a piece of raw meat,after the ride she would no longer go after the crispy cream or the chocolates!thats how i got her in there. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/devilgrin.gif
 
Option 1 sounds like a plan. I think I still have the old springs in another garage. I'll give it a shot sometime this week. I ran into the u-bolt problem also. The inner diameter of the U was too small for the axle. When I forced them on, the threaded section spread out so the u-bolts wouldn’t fit through the spring plates. Definitely buggered. Had some made custom and returned the bad ones alerting the vendor of the problem. Hopefully they’ve gotten better ones now. Thanks again, I'll let you know how it turns out.
 
Well, there's good news and bad. I took the second from bottom leaf out yesterday. Didn't have to remove the whole spring from the car, less than 1 hour job. . Once the car was back on the ground, the axle was still pressing onto the frame. By sitting in the car I got about a half inch travel, so I’m headed in the right direction. There was minor rust between the leaves - no big deal. There also appeared to be scale, maybe left over from heat treating. That made the surface very rough so maybe there is a binding problem. I think I'll have to disassemble the whole spring, scrape the scale off and put some kind of dry lube on. The journey continues…
 
Greg, I work with leaf springs everyday and over time they will sag a bit but not enough to make a huge difference. One common problem is when they are installed the front and rear bolts MUST be tightened on the ground with curb load. If you tighten the bolts in the air the bushing rubber will always have a pre-load which will alter your curb height. If this doesn't work take the last two leafs to a truck spring shop, they can be cold worked slightly to reduct the height, this will lower your spring, do not cold work the # 1 or eye plate for safety reasons.
 
The scale, rust and dirt between plates of the spring will have little or no effect on height or anything else. You can add grease if they make noise. The clips on the spring are for splay and rebound only, if they are tight it will create noise. A truck spring repair shop could also Bulldoze the entire spring to reduce height which is the best way to reduce height, better then cold working.
 
Thanks Jim,
I'll try retightening the bolts with the wheels on the ground. I did notice the shackle rotate something like 70 degrees when I removed the u-bolts.
 
Hi Greg, Tim is right on the cleaning up bit and post settle.Since you have mastered the leaf change out bit, why not try removing the leaf above the second one and putting the second one back in??---Keoke
 
WOOOOOOOOOOOO HOOOOOOOOOOOOO
Today was a good day. Thanks to everyone's suggestions. I removed the third leaf, put the second one back, loosened the shackles, jacked up the axle and now I've got a suspension! And to top it off, a neighbor of mine stopped by with his beautiful BN7. We've lived in the same neighborhood for 12 years and we just met last week. Who knew? /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cheers.gif

Thanks again,
Greg
 
GreatGreg! I am glad for U.Drive her around a bit and she may settle that mysterious 1/2" additional I talk about.Cheers--- Keoke /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbsup.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/patriot.gif
 
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