1967 Cougar leaf spring problem

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ReddDawg - 22 Mar 2007 04:16 GMT

This may be a bit off topic here and if it is I appologize.

The car was sagging so we replaced the rear springs. New springs and
perch pads to be exact. Got it back together and took it for a drive
-
first turn to the right and I had tire rub on the driver's side.
Checked it and the driver's tire was moved way back towards the rear
of the wheel well from when I left the driveway.

Came home and pulled that side apart - the top pad was not
completely
aligned with the hole in the perch. Realigned it. Measured it and
both
sides were equal distance tire to body. Backed the car up and came
forward twice. Remeasured and the driver's tire had cut the distance
to the fender in half. All four nuts on the u-bolts are tight. The
bottom perch is against the block that goes over the leaf yet
something somewhere is moving.

Any insight is appreciated.

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vince garcia - 22 Mar 2007 13:03 GMT

> This may be a bit off topic here and if it is I appologize.
>
[quoted text clipped - 16 lines]
>
> Any insight is appreciated.

This may be elementary, but are you sure you used cougar, and not
mustang springs?

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ReddDawg - 22 Mar 2007 18:31 GMT

> > This may be a bit off topic here and if it is I appologize.
>
[quoted text clipped - 19 lines]
> This may be elementary, but are you sure you used cougar, and not
> mustang springs?

Yes. Searched for awhile to find springs that said such.

The bizarre part is they line up great - then we move the car and the
driver's side moves back right at an inch.

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Brent P - 22 Mar 2007 19:01 GMT

> The bizarre part is they line up great - then we move the car and the
> driver's side moves back right at an inch.

The rear shackle and front mount and bushings ok?
The U-bolt and mounts to the axle you wrote were tight...

How about the connection to the shock? The shock will act to control some
of the movement of the axle, if it was left disconnected that could be
it.

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one80out@hotmail.com - 23 Mar 2007 01:00 GMT

On Mar 22, 11:01 am, tetraethylleadREMOVET...@yahoo.com (Brent P)
wrote:

> In article <1174584719.712008.142...@l77g2000hsb.googlegroups.com>, ReddDawg wrote:
> > The bizarre part is they line up great - then we move the car and the
[quoted text clipped - 6 lines]
> of the movement of the axle, if it was left disconnected that could be
> it.

Since the front spring eye CAN'T move, and everything lines up on
assembly, what's happening is the axle is walking on the spring when
you get underway. The spring's through-bolt is what registers the top
of the spring to the bracket on the axle. (The U-bolts keep the shock-
mount plate where it needs to be.) It sounds like your through-bolt
is not sticking out high enough to register on the bracket on the
axle. It's easy enough to remove the through-bolt and replace it
with a longer one, using washers or a steel spacer to make it stick
out higher on top. YOu might want to use a C-clamp to keep the pack
together while you do this. Or you could omit the rubber pads, and
that might do the trick. Those pads might take a little harshness
out, but if you're going with 4-leafs or bigger and/or you're running
the KYB Gas-A-Justs you're not going to notice the difference.

180 Out

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