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TR4/4A Rear leaf spring - do I have a TR4 spring on my 4A??

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Popeye

Popeye

Obi Wan
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Hi all,

What is the easiest way to differentiate a TR4 "deep-dish" rear leaf spring from a 4A leaf spring?

On my car, which I bought in essentially non-working order, the aluminum spacers between spring and axle are different on the left and right sides. I believe the passenger side to be correct. (See https://www.britishcarforum.com/bcf/showthread.php?106608-TR4A-rear-leaf-spring-distance-piece). Also, the driver's side spring was mounted incorrectly. (https://www.britishcarforum.com/bcf/showthread.php?105071-TR4A-solid-axle-rear-leaf-spring-question)

A little research suggests the driver side spacer is from a TR4: https://www.britishcarforum.com/bcf/showthread.php?49262-TR4A-solid-axle-assembly/page2, post by PeterK: the left side of the photo shows what I have on the passenger side, the right side what I have on the driver side. To add to the mystery, the driver side shock link (the one connected to the "suspicious" spacer block) was broken - perhaps due to the incorrect spring / spacer block.

The two springs look similar; same number of leaves, same shape when unsprung, both fit on the TR4A solid axle frame.

Bottom line, I may end up ordering new springs and blocks from the UK (SC Parts has springs and spacer; Rimmer and Revington the springs only). I suspect the shipping costs would be quite high - thus it would be nice if I could use what I have, perhaps ordering only the spacers from SC.

Thanks!
 
P.S. For what it's worth, the following are the part numbers as best I understand:

TR4
Spring: 209964 ("Deep dish); 208636 Driver's side, 208637 Passenger side ("Standard", before CT23383)
Distance pieces: 209962 (RH), 209963 (LH) - per technical manual, or 137634 (LH), 137635 (RH) per the Rimmer website. (Note, I'm not sure if RH is driver or passenger side, given it is a British book and website.)

TR4A
Spring: 212113
Distance piece: 142277, per Rimmer and TRF. Per PeterK above, and what I have on my passenger side, the parts are marked 212225.
 
FWIW, the TR4 SPC has the 137634/35 numbers. I'm fairly certain the distance pieces don't change sides when the driver does (meaning RH is always RH even if the car is LHS).

And the ones I have laying around, which I'm fairly certain came from a TR4, definitely look like PeterK's TR4 photo. The shock attachment point is not centered on the piece, which I think is the LH/RH difference.

The illustration in the TR4A SPC looks exactly like PeterK's TR4A photo, even though it gives the 142277 number.
 
I might have a usable TR4A piece around if you need one. Can't promise condition but I will look if you're stuck and need one.
 
Thanks Randall, Peter. Let me check locally on the distance piece, if not I may take you up on the offer!

However, a fundamental question: would a TR4 spring physically fit on the TR4A frame? The mis-matched distance piece makes me a little nervous - could this indicate mis-matched springs? Both springs "look" the same (i.e. hold them side-by-side, they have the same dimensions and curvature), and both sides mounted easily.

Unfortunately I did not pay enough attention to the car before disassembly, whether it sat straight or not.
 
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