Need HELP with spring plate assembly, please?

[mike911]

Hello and Happy Easter,

I have watched a few videos and read the Haynes and Pelican service articles and still can’t figure out what’s the best way to re-assemble my spring plates – radius arms… can’t even figure out what they’re called?

I had a couple of friend's helping me with a repair project, the rear sway bar bracket was not attached due to rust which lead to weakness at the mounting point. We repaired both sides with fresh metal and are getting ready to weld the sway bar mounting brackets into position and I would like to get the spring plates back on the car.

Is there a video or a tech article that clearly explains this process for the amateur?

The car is currently up on stands and is sitting at an 85 degree angle from rear to front (rear is higher). Do I subtract 85 from 90 and take the 5 degrees, add it to the 36 degrees I read the spring plate angle should be? When I do this it appears the angle is quite severe at 41 degrees? The attached photo shows the angle.

Will this change when I put the wheels on the back end and lower the car?

If the torsion bars were moved from their original position (I forgot to mark them) will this impact the position or angle?

As always any help is very appreciated,
Regards,
Mike

[76911S]

To be honest, it is a trial and error thing. I usually measure them before taking them off then set them at the same point when reassembling, but even that is a bit of a crap shoot. If you are starting from scratch you just have to put them on, (try to be the same both sides) put the car of the ground and redo if necessary. From your picture, it appears you have WAY to much angle on the spring plate. It should sit a little below the swing arm before installing bolts, only a small amount of jacking (if any) to get lined up. This is not a job that can be rushed.

Mark..

p.s. It might help to unbolt the shock and let the arm go to full droop as well.

[Harvey Weidman]

Wouldn't you subtract the 5 deg? I would make every effort to get the car level. Then your angles can be measured easily.
Sorry you didn't mark the bars and plates before disassembly. There are techs that know way more than I do about this but I have done a couple dozen of them.
They are not for the man in a hurry. Did you remove the bars? if not, assuming the last mechanic put them on correctly,then you saved a lot of effort. they can go back in the same spline.
If they were removed or the last mechanic missed the right angle, you have to learn the way to add and subtract the incremental degrees by adding and subtracting the inner and outer splines.
If you car is apart, you are just roughing it in anyway. So just try for the closest angle.
I have never attempted to do this with a car that is dissembled. I usually set the angle, assemble and roll it back and forth to measure the height and then recheck or readjust the spring plate angle. From scratch (New bars) I usually get it in about 3 or 4 tries but some have taken many more..
HTH
H

[Haasman]

I did this years ago and recall I was advised to check the bar for cracks and rusting by removing both sides. Also advised to check (while there) the inner splines and where they mount to, keeping careful track of which end is the inner and outer.

I carefully removed the bars, avoiding any scraping or scratching, then cleaned them to inspect. Afterwards I applied a coat of grease to keep moisture from reaching the metal.

While there I replaced the heavy rubber bushings. I did not used any petroleum products on the rubber since it will rapidly disintegrate it.

Agree with Harvey, level the chassis so you can ascertain the correct approximate angle for reassembly.

This might help- the torsion bars are installed without a preload like some coil springs often have.

Hope this helps.

[edmayo]

Go to your local friendly Ace /Lowes/ Home Depot and get a electronic level that lets you set a base angle and then compensates for the angle the car is at. The free spring plate angle is given in the spec books.

[Harvey Weidman]

Ed always has the neat gadgets...now I gotta get one...
H

[Flieger]

Looks alright to me if you've got stock bars. You can't install the last bolt for the cover until you use a jack to load the spring plate a bit. With my 31mm bars I didn't have to disconnect the damper or worry about the 4th bolt- very little droop.

And with the rear higher than the front you must subtract the 5 degree angle from horizontal assuming you are measuring the spring plate relative to horizontal. I used the digital type so I could zero it on the sill.

[route11]

Have you seen the Peter Morgan video?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GqBw1kMJ_d8

[mike911]

Thank you very much for your input on this all of you, I will keep on trying till I get it right, it appears to be an exercise in patience, trial and effort.

I do have an app on my phone (clinometer) which allows me to set the phone on the angle being measured and voila.

Thanks again fellows,
Regards,
Mike