Road springs

Replacing road springs is straight forward enough however obtaining the correct height with limited adjustment is not. the height variation is suggested at 25mm. all my springs and shock absorbers have just been replaced from Britpart but the vehicle appears higher on the nearside by 25mm. all the springs are fitted by their part numbers at the correct sides. the shackles are correct and I have loosened them to allow the springs to settle hopefully the height will sort itself out. oil and grease is key to allow the springs to bed in during use

helpfull comments appreciated

Geoff

look in the book - you need to set the spring heights as you pre tension the bushes.

^^^^ What Oxides says. The other advise is to avoid Britpart. Not all of their stuff is suspect but they do have a reputation for poor quality parts.

You need to slacken off all the spring pins and nuts by a half a turn or so and drive it over a few bumps to settle it. Then either follow the instructions in the workshop manual (chain over chassis to pull it to the right heights) or do what I did - I just loaded it up with bags of sand and wheels until it looked straight then nipped them up.

D

Thanks guys for advice. these 11 leaf springs are pretty tough to move on their shackles . I will try the strap over chassis method to tension the spring with the shackles loose. I was thinking of also using thread bar and plates to jack the spring nearer the chassis

I will let you know how I get on Hopefully tomorrow the weather will improve

Geoff

Tried today to adjust spring heights without any success. I jacked the spring upwards and tightened the shackle then nut to 70lbs on the nearside. vehicle weight was then taken on the spring and I am back to where I started from. The measurement C is 4.5" which would suggest it is OK. the offside measurement C however is 3" With the chassis jacked up I loosened and tightened the shackles at a new position however lowering the vehicle the shackles went back to the original starting positon which suggests that the shackles themselves cannot hold any permanent position and that the height is dependant on the strength or weakness of the spring

I would avoid britpart springs, PO fitted britpart ones to my 88 and its got a bad list on the drivers side now, will be getting a set of GB springs parabolics in summer

Just thought
Have you got the springs the right way round? They should be handed so drivers side sits higher (this is so it sits level with fuel tank and weight if driver)

Sam

Thanks for reply. yes all was checked prior to fitting. Offside is RH spring when your sitting in the cab which is listed and labelled as 265627 the other is 264563 which is Nearside or LH. back springs are also individual labelled to suit OS/NS

This subject is not new and has been well discussed previously and it is difficult to understand why it is so complex to retrofit springs, possibly when these vehicles were mass produced all the springs and parts were all made and supplied to exact or within limits to spec. After market manufactures may try to copy but sadly may never get it right. I suggest the Solihul fitters never experienced these problems with the many thousands they built

Maybe I should buy para,s also although I am keen to keep it original as I have for the past 19yrs

Geoff

Mines my daily and no where near original so thats the only reason im going paras for More comfort

How far out is it - the drivers side is supposed to be a little higher to allow for a driver and tank of fuel.

Also, I meant to ask are you fitting poly bushes or metalastic ones? I'm not sure you can pre-tension polys the same.