>On Fri, 16 May 97 06:28:13 UT "David Stecher"
<DavidAndMichelleS@msn.com> wrote:
>
>>I will be replacing the leaf springs soon. Does anyone have any words
of wisdom or helpful hints?
Yep. Just finished installing my new leaf springs, a wonderfully dirty
job. Before you start you might want to have all new fasteners in hand,
and for sure you want to have all the new rubber bits handy. If you've
never done this before, it's an all day job, maybe even more. If you
have done it before, it's still an all day job. It doesn't get a whole
lot easier with experience.
Start by loosening the rear wheels, jack up the rear of the car, place
jack stands squarely under the frame (or body) forward of the rear
suspension, and remove the jack, you will need it for other things.
Remove the rear wheels, drench all fasteners in penetrating oil, and go
take a break.
Complete all of the work on one side of the car before starting on the
other side. This will help keep the rear axle aligned and make it easier
to wrench the bolts without things moving around too much.
Disconnect the shock absorber link first, as this can be very difficult
to do after loosening the bottom plate. Good time to check the action of
the shock absorber, also to check the condition of the vertical link with
the rubber bits in both ends.
Before you remove the nuts from the u-bolts, place the floor jack under
the leaf spring just behind the u-bolt bracket, and lift just until the
rebound strap relaxes. This is to prevent great bodily harm caused by
the flying spring taking out your shin when the bolts come off. Remove
all of the nuts from the u-bolts, should be eight nuts here for one
spring unless the DPO has lost some or broken off the bolts.
If a u-bolt is broken off and too short to accept two nuts on each end
you need a new u-bolt. As these nuts are often rusted quite firmly to
the bolts, you might expect to destroy a u-bolt or two. If you need the
car back on the road right away, it would be prudent to have new u-bolts
in hand before starting the job. If you plan on reusing the old u-bolts,
you should have a 3/8-24-UNF threading die handy to chase the threads
before reassembly.
When the nuts are off, lower the jack gradually and pry loose the bottom
bracket and plate. Then lower the jack all the way to relieve the force
on the spring, and remove the u-bolts, top and bottom plates and old
rubber pads. Just a few bolts to go.
At the rear, remove two nuts and the shackle plate. As these nuts may
also be rusted in place, be sure to use a tight fitting wrench so you
don't round off the corners of the nuts. If wrenches fail you, you may
resort to a nut cracker, hack saw, dremel tool or blue wrench to remove
the bolts. Beware of the fuel tank close at hand, especially on the
right side, also the fuel lines, fuel pump and wring harness on the right
side.
Pry the shackle pin & plate sideways out of the rubber bushings. Lower
the rear end of the spring to the floor. Check the condition of the
shackle pins. If these have never been serviced before they may be
rusted very badly and in need of replacement. Remove the old rubber
bushings from the frame and discard them. Always install new rubber bits
when you've gone to all this work. One bolt to go.
Remove the nut and bolt from the front end of the spring. This also may
be rusted, same notes apply, and be careful around the fuel tank. Lower
the front end of the spring to the floor, and take another break. You're
half way through half of the job.
With new, reconditioned or good condition parts in hand, reassembly is
the reverse of disassembly. A new leaf spring should have the silentbloc
bushing already in place, otherwise you're up for pressing in a new one.
For easier installation, lubricate the rubber bits before pushing them
into place. The soap stuff the tire monkeys use on the wheel rims when
mounting tires works good. Otherwise a strong solution of liquid dish
washing detergent in water makes decent slippery stuff that won't harm
the rubber.
When it's all back together, tighten all the fasteners firmly, then go
back and tighten them all again. Any one have a torque spec for the
u-bolt nuts? At least tighten them until you have noticeably started to
scrunch the rubber pads. This means pretty snug. Install a second nut
on each end of the u-bolts and jam it up against the first to prevent
loosening. You're half done. Could be time for another break here
before starting on the other side.
Replacing the second spring is a mirror image copy of the first. You
should have it all down pat by this time. Don't forget to reattach the
shock absorber links. Put the wheels back on a kick it off the stands.
Well, OK let it down gently.
When you're all finished a test drive is in order. This is the best
part. The car should track in a straight line with no wandering. Stop
and change from forward to reverse a few times. Use fairly heavy
throttle and brake action to give the new parts a good workout. Also
take a few left and right turns with a bit of vigor. Listen carefully
while you are doing all this. There should be no strange noises, thumps
of clunks, and if you had some there to begin with they should now be
gone. You're not done yet.
Drive it on some moderately bumpy roads to get things all settled in.
After 50 to 100 miles check and retighten all the fasteners again. Now
you're finished. You may throw a party in celebration, as you have
accomplished what can be one of the toughest repair jobs you may ever do
on your MG. Look ma. No clean spots!
Good luck. And for those of you doing it for the first time, let us know
how you make out, we can all use a good laugh. Er... uh .... I mean we
can all help you celebrate.
Barney Gaylord
1958 MGA
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