Sorting suspension out

[yoshi]

I went to fit the parts I'd brought back home from NY tonight, I took a measurement before I started

[yoshi]

(Can only put up 1 picture at a time & even that ends up the wrong way) this is what I want to change

[yoshi]

But I found this rubber perished, what's the proper name for it? Also the new M2 discs I got only have the smaller outer bearing but not the larger one at the back. Is this a rotor or wheel bearing? Has anyone got any parts numbers or sizes? Thanks

[Rickysnickers]

Originally Posted by yoshi

But I found this rubber perished, what's the proper name for it? Also the new M2 discs I got only have the smaller outer bearing but not the larger one at the back. Is this a rotor or wheel bearing? Has anyone got any parts numbers or sizes? Thanks

I can answer the first one. You should just be able to get a new ball joint boot fairly easily.

[yoshi]

Athens reason why I want to change things happened today. Wheel bearings are in the post so I'll be changing things as soon as they arrive. I went to the nationals today about 50 miles away & this happened

[Advanced Design]

Oh no. Hopefully no injuries or damage.

[yoshi]

Fortunately not, a lone of a jack & sorting out some nuts & bolts to hold the adapters on got me there & home again

[mr48chev]

Here: I made you your own album.









The lug bolts appear to have had too much stress put on them. Reason could be: over tightened beyond torque specs, Wide rim with deep offset putting extra stress on the lugs holding the adapter. Abuse in the past. Wrong lug nuts holding adapter to hub. No doubt there are a couple more that I missed.

[yoshi]

Ah that's better thanks. Good job I stopped quickly would've made a right mess if wheel had come off

[oldman3]

Nice Mr48chev, on both the pics and the problem shooting. yoshi, I know your in the uk, and parts are hard to get, and costly. It looks like your rotors are the 10-1/2" dia, with what I call the short hat with long nose. Not sure if the 11" GM would work with your calipers, etc., but the 11" has a tall hat with short nose, and moves the wheel out 3/4" per side. Engineered Compontents Inc. (ECI) sell both of these for MII front ends. You might be able to check in the UK with other owners to see if you can adapt this. Hope I didn't make this hard to understand, and it's helpful...Jim

[oldman3]

Yoshi, here's the site I reference above. http://www.ecihotrodbrakes.com/musta...nversions.html The second group of brake kits tells what year on the rotor, etc., hope this helps...Jim

[yoshi]

Today I pulled the old spring out, it's 3 1/2" shorter than the 375lb new one.

[yoshi]

What's the best way to lift the bottom bar up to fit the lower ball joint back in?

[yoshi]

Looks like you were right Jim 10 1/2" to my 11". Now how to sort that out!

[Advanced Design]

Originally Posted by yoshi

What's the best way to lift the bottom bar up to fit the lower ball joint back in?

I use a spring compressor. Use caution, a compressed coil spring stores a lot of energy and can be dangerous.

[mr48chev]

I always used a floor jack and two truck tire irons or big pry bars or crow bars.

What I have always done is put the jack as far out under the control arm as I can and set the spring as close to in place as I can get it and put one bar in so it catches the lip of the spring pocket and then put the other bar through the coils about the second full coil up. You hold the bottom bar so the spring can slide on it and push down on the end of the top bar so it lifts the back side of the spring Then you slide the spring into place as a helper slowly jacks the jack up. You need as much of the weight of the car pushing down on that spring as you can get.

Since the shock is still in place just raise the car enough to put a jack under the outer part of the A frame just inside the ball joint and let the weigh of the car down on the jack (best with the other three wheels on the grouind) and then raise the jack to put the control arm up where it needs to be. You might need a helper or two to put their weight on the bumper to help push the truck down to get the arm in place to put the spindle back on. The spring isn't going anywhere on that one no matter what others say unless the shock is removed.

I did front end work for a living for years and had a lot of springs out and a lot of lower A arms off and never once used a spring compressor and would probably have got hurt if I did Every home mechanic who has done maybe one in his life always screams spring compressor even though the majority of the time you won't be able to get the spring compressor to work. The exception is 64-1/2 to something Mustangs and other cars with the spring above the upper A Arm. Then you have to use a spring compressor

I used to have the front springs out of about 3 Pontiacs a week on the average when I worked in a dealership in
Waco Tx in the 70's All done by the method I described above.

[1project2many]

I ran into the same thing years ago when I, as a young kid, tried to install aftermarket springs in the front of a Monte. The springs were about 2 1/2" taller than the stockers. Anyone else remember when we liked to raise the cars? All the guys giving advice said the car would go together without the spring compressor. These were guys that had been working on cars for many, many years. After 8 hours of fighting, including chaining the frame to an I beam to keep the car from lifting, I finally got the springs in. Retelling the story to one of the guys giving advice, he said "Wait, you had the engine out and the nose off?" Yeah...

You should be OK with the jack and bars method but if the front of the truck isn't heavy enough to hold the frame down while you lift the control arm, you may want that spring compressor. ime.

The broken studs are not so uncommon these days. Cheap wheel bearings, rotors, and wheel adapters are made with studs that have no grade markings on them. That's considered a "Grade 0" fastener. Don't trust them. I've seen too many wheels fall off because of that junk. I will either get a good part with proper grade markings on the studs or press the studs out and get "real" ones. There's too much risk imo to leave it to good luck.

[yoshi]

SBC350 is in there

[1project2many]

It's going to depend on the free height of the spring and the spring rate along with the geometry of the front end. Some of our 1 ton buses require a spring compressor to remove and install springs even after 200k miles.

By the pictures it looks like yours might go together using a jack to lift the lower arm. Getting the spring to seat in the pocket might be a trick.

[yoshi]

Ok I'll just take my time & not rush things, I need some new boots first though. Any idea approximately that it'll raise the truck?

[yoshi]

Apart from ECI (11 5/8" discs & no email address) anyone else know where I might be able to buy some calliper brackets? I've emailed speedway 3 times & still no reply! Thanks

[mr48chev]

Originally Posted by 1project2many

I ran into the same thing years ago when I, as a young kid, tried to install aftermarket springs in the front of a Monte. The springs were about 2 1/2" taller than the stockers. Anyone else remember when we liked to raise the cars? All the guys giving advice said the car would go together without the spring compressor. These were guys that had been working on cars for many, many years. After 8 hours of fighting, including chaining the frame to an I beam to keep the car from lifting, I finally got the springs in. Retelling the story to one of the guys giving advice, he said "Wait, you had the engine out and the nose off?" Yeah...

.

A few years ago I went over to a guy's place to help him put the springs back in a 57 Chevy car with no engine in it and could not get the springs compressed enough the way I do it to hook the spindle up because there was no weight to compress the spring. At that time I didn't own a spring compressor that would work and didn't have access to one. That was pre local Autozone.

[yoshi]

What about reducing the diameter of the disc by turning it down in a lathe?

[skip99]

Ive installed springs a couple ways,
1- wth motor and all weight on frame, just put a floor jack under the lower arm and jack into place, if the spring is really strong and jack wants to lift the frame. Wrap a chain or strap, around the bottom of jack and over the top a arm, then jack the lower arm into place.

Use all thread...remove shock, insert all thread from top to under lower a arm, use nuts bar, washers, whatever to pull on lower arm...double nut above upper a arm and use impact...pulls the lower right up!

[skip99]

Originally Posted by yoshi

Apart from ECI (11 5/8" discs & no email address) anyone else know where I might be able to buy some calliper brackets? I've emailed speedway 3 times & still no reply! Thanks

Is this what ypu want? Im wanting to switch to big brake mII and saved this


http://www.ebay.com/itm/130819740409...%3AMEBIDX%3AIT