... if a swing spring could swing ?
Hello everybody,
In my continuing quest to get my spit to sit close to
level, I'm trying to get a better understanding of how
a properly functioning swing spring is supposed to work.
I recently dissected two old springs and in both cases
the rubber bushing in the top of the center clamp
was totally mutilated, with about half of it missing. In the
sping from my car, the remains of the bushing had squirted
almost all the way out one side of the clamp.
None of the big three seem to sell this part (though
it is shown in the illustrations), so I've decided to make
a substitute. Not having a new spring to look at makes
it hard to figure out how a properly bushed spring
is supposed to behave.
Question 1: With the spring out of the car, how much force
should it take to rock the clamp back and forth with respect
to the spring ?
Question 2: How long should the bushing be ?
If you look at the top of your spring, you will
see two circular indents, centered on where the clamp
starts to curve up in the middle. If you flip the clamp
over, you should see two corresponding protrusions.
I assume that these protrusions are are in some way
supposed to keep the bushing in place. Does
the bushing fit between the two protrusions,
or is it pinched down by them ? If the bushing
extends past the protrusions, how far ?
If you look at the inside of your clamp and don't see
the protrusions I'm talking about, they were probably
worn away after the bushing died. In one of my springs,
both are worn out, and in the other, one is.
Tonight I will put a little lump of weld on the
worn out one.
Below, (best viewed in a fixed font) is
a top view of the clamp. The small 'o's
are the holes for the studs, and the
'(x)'s mark the indents. The vertical
lines that pass through the 'x's are
where the hump in the middle of the clamp starts
____________________
|o | | o|
| | _ | |
| (x) (_) (x) |
| | | |
|o____|_______|___o|
If you've gotten this far, and have answers or even wild
guesses, I'd appreciate a reply.
Thanks
--
-=Wishing I had a topless car on this gorgeous day in Santa Cruz=-
Reed Mideke rmideke@interbase.com
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