1940 Ford Deluxe Coupe rear spring shackle bolt installation

[dbldee007]

Re-submitting forum post as I had this in the wrong discussion!


Greetings, new to forum & Ford ownership.

We are working through issues with a newly acquired 1940 Ford Deluxe Coupe, older amateur restoration to stock configuration.

We are replacing “safety” items to make car road worthy/safe. We are replacing rear spring shackle bolts/bushings with new, able to remove the old versions with help from forum. The car is on a lift, the assembly is in the car. There are jack stands under the axle, floor jack under the banjo, bottle jacks under the spring eyes.

As we are installing new bolts/bushings, got right side installed without any undue drama, but the left side appears to be about 1” off to the RIGHT of correct position. It appears to me that the rear axle is shifted to the left and needs to be shifted back to the right (to center). We have the spring ubolts loosened and attempted using ratchet strap, etc but couldn’t quite get it lined up.

We did not change or move anything else during this process and am confused as to why axle assemble appears to have moved, we did not loosen or change anything on the radius rods.

Should I presume that the axle was not in alignment to begin with and we need to re-center it via the radius rods?

Any input/suggestions are welcome!

[19Fordy]

If you remove the bolt on the torque tube that secures the rear radius rods in place , could you then move the rear axle housing and spring for better alignment?
Then reattach the radius rod "thru bolt".

[Terry,OH]

The center bolt of the rear spring has a square head, it fits into a square hole in the rear crossmember this centers the rear spring. If you loosen the rear spring U-bolts the square head can come out of the hole and move left or right. You should be able to feel the square hole from above the crossmember. If the center bolt is turned the bolt and the crossmember will missalign and the two will not fit together.

[19Fordy]

Terry makes an excellent point. Check that out first.

[40larry]

Originally Posted by dbldee007

Re-submitting forum post as I had this in the wrong discussion!


Greetings, new to forum & Ford ownership.

We are working through issues with a newly acquired 1940 Ford Deluxe Coupe, older amateur restoration to stock configuration.

We are replacing “safety” items to make car road worthy/safe. We are replacing rear spring shackle bolts/bushings with new, able to remove the old versions with help from forum. The car is on a lift, the assembly is in the car. There are jack stands under the axle, floor jack under the banjo, bottle jacks under the spring eyes.

As we are installing new bolts/bushings, got right side installed without any undue drama, but the left side appears to be about 1” off to the RIGHT of correct position. It appears to me that the rear axle is shifted to the left and needs to be shifted back to the right (to center). We have the spring ubolts loosened and attempted using ratchet strap, etc but couldn’t quite get it lined up.

We did not change or move anything else during this process and am confused as to why axle assemble appears to have moved, we did not loosen or change anything on the radius rods.

Should I presume that the axle was not in alignment to begin with and we need to re-center it via the radius rods?

Any input/suggestions are welcome!

You need to get a spring spreader or a porta power with flat wedge ends to stretch out the spring to the correct length to attach the remaining shackles. Quite easy to do with the right tools.... Good luck
40larry

[Kube]

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40Larry, in my opinion, nailed this one on the proverbial head.
I, like Larry it seems, can picture exactly what the original poster has run in to.

Nothing needs to be loosened nor does the spring need to be lowered from the cross member.
A good spring spreader needs to be utilized.

[drolston]

No spring spreader? Try this.
Do you still have a bottle jacks under the spring eyes? If so, remove both. The right shackles will seek their own angle. Should be near vertical. If the right shackles are splayed out to the right at the bottom, crow bar or ratchet strap the right shackle to move the rear axle to the left to get that right shackle near vertical. Then play with the floor jack under the differential and the bottle jack under the left spring eye to get the shackle pins to a distance where the shackles can go on.

Safety first. Lots of stored energy in a spring deflected by a jack that might slip out of place while pushing things around. Do not let any part of your body go under the spring or axel at any time. Do not trust a tilted bottle jack.

[bbrocksr]

Originally Posted by dbldee007

Re-submitting forum post as I had this in the wrong discussion!


Greetings, new to forum & Ford ownership.

We are working through issues with a newly acquired 1940 Ford Deluxe Coupe, older amateur restoration to stock configuration.

We are replacing “safety” items to make car road worthy/safe. We are replacing rear spring shackle bolts/bushings with new, able to remove the old versions with help from forum. The car is on a lift, the assembly is in the car. There are jack stands under the axle, floor jack under the banjo, bottle jacks under the spring eyes.

As we are installing new bolts/bushings, got right side installed without any undue drama, but the left side appears to be about 1” off to the RIGHT of correct position. It appears to me that the rear axle is shifted to the left and needs to be shifted back to the right (to center). We have the spring ubolts loosened and attempted using ratchet strap, etc but couldn’t quite get it lined up.

We did not change or move anything else during this process and am confused as to why axle assemble appears to have moved, we did not loosen or change anything on the radius rods.

Should I presume that the axle was not in alignment to begin with and we need to re-center it via the radius rods?

Any input/suggestions are welcome!

40Larry and Kube got it. Only safe way is with a spreader.
Bill

[19Fordy]

If you were in south FL you could borrow my spring spreader.

[1931 flamingo]

It's also possible that the center bolt is broken.....................
Paul in CT

[fortyonerag]

Ditto on the spring spreader. I made a simple spreader using 1" heavy wall tube and uni thread. If you google about you will find it. Makes the job a lot easier.

[deuce_roadster]

This sounds like a previous post where it was mentioned that someone had tried to change a transmissions with the car on 4 bumper jacks. The setup here sounds very unsafe to me. Please support the car on the frame before you get under it and use a WELL MADE spring spreader to accomplish your goal. As already mentioned, you need to verify that the square headed bolt that goes down through the center of the spring is seated in the square hole in the rear crossmember (you can reach up and feel it).

[TJ]

Originally Posted by deuce_roadster

This sounds like a previous post where it was mentioned that someone had tried to change a transmissions with the car on 4 bumper jacks. The setup here sounds very unsafe to me. Please support the car on the frame before you get under it and use a WELL MADE spring spreader to accomplish your goal. As already mentioned, you need to verify that the square headed bolt that goes down through the center of the spring is seated in the square hole in the rear crossmember (you can reach up and feel it).

X2 on Mike's comment. Use some pieces of large header blocks under the frame to support the frame. Safety, safety, safety.

[cadillac512]

Quote: "shackle bolts/bushings with new, able to remove the old versions with help from forum. The car is on a lift, the assembly is in the car. There are jack stands under the axle, floor jack under the banjo, bottle jacks under the spring eyes."


He's safe!

[drolston]

Originally Posted by TJ

X2 on Mike's comment. Use some pieces of large header blocks under the frame to support the frame. Safety, safety, safety.

The car is on a lift. That should be at least as safe as jack stands, and safer than concrete header blocks, which can crack.

As for relative safety of a spreader bar versus a simple screw jacks to raise the spring eyes, I note that the compression force within the spreader bar to lift the eyes by pushing sideways is probably five times the amount of force needed by a screw jack pushing almost straight up on those eyes. Metal bars are great in tension, but can buckle suddenly under compression.

For either approach, proceed cautiously.

[Will D]

Doesn't take much to make a spreader if you've got some stuff laying around. I bought a length of 1 inch grade 8 threaded rod, a few nuts and a couple washers. Cut that in 2 pieces and tapered one end on each with a zip blade on a grinder. Fitted inside a piece of thick walled water pipe(fit well, not sloppy). I had to cut part of the washer off to fit against the spring. Worked great.

[dbldee007]

Update - thanks to all the input! We did not get back on the project until recently and all the suggestions/ideas helped. Yes, using a porta power as a spring spreader was the ticket!