Dropping rear axle: Rear spring

Logan

Logan

Well-known member
What do y'all find easier when dropping the rear end, dropping the rear spring with the rear end, or disconnecting the spring from the axle and leaving the spring hanging? We are going to be putting a new ****** in the sedan next month, and i just wanted to get y'alls opinion on what you think is easier.
 
leave the spring attached to the rear end. Does mean lifting the vehicle higher to drop it down to clear but with wheels off & sitting on a jack one can roll it out & in easier. only remove spring for repairs , without a good spring spreader you can end up with broken arm, or worse,
 
Leave the spring on the rear. Just remove four nuts on rear crossmember u bolts, shock dog bones and the brake rods from the cross shaft (keep the rods attached to the brakes) and also undo bolt holding anti chatter springs so that the rods will easily clear the running board brackets.

Leaving the spring on the rear allows you to tip the whole assembly up toward the ceiling on a four wheel furniture dolly and it will stay there and roll in the corner for more room.


Also learned a good tip when reinstalling the rear. While laying on your back under the rear of the car with the rear out, take a paint pen and mark on the edge of the cross member where the hole for the bolt that goes through the spring is. This will REALLY help in lining up the rear again. You will also need a pry bar to get the spring back in the rear crossmember channel.
 
Logan said:
haha no that wasn't me. We are getting another Gary Bernard 4 speed overdrive since the stock transmission is worn out.
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What's a Gary Bernard 4 speed O/D ? Is it the F150? If you are pulling the rear end with the spring, install 2 U-bolts on the spring for safety while it is out of the car. Better safe than sorry.....
 
Jim Parker Toronto said:
What's a Gary Bernard 4 speed O/D ? Is it the F150? If you are pulling the rear end with the spring, install 2 U-bolts on the spring for safety while it is out of the car. Better safe than sorry.....
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Yes its an f150 ******. Gary's been making them for about 20+ years, he just doesn't advertise it anywhere. And thank you for the advise.
 
CarlG said:
Which bell housing does Gary use?
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He normally uses the stock housing, Which requires you notching the cross member. But he has done some with a AA housing before I believe, he just doesn't find them for people cuz he's busy running his business.
 
Jason in TX said:
Leave the spring on the rear. Just remove four nuts on rear crossmember u bolts, shock dog bones and the brake rods from the cross shaft (keep the rods attached to the brakes) and also undo bolt holding anti chatter springs so that the rods will easily clear the running board brackets.

Leaving the spring on the rear allows you to tip the whole assembly up toward the ceiling on a four wheel furniture dolly and it will stay there and roll in the corner for more room.


Also learned a good tip when reinstalling the rear. While laying on your back under the rear of the car with the rear out, take a paint pen and mark on the edge of the cross member where the hole for the bolt that goes through the spring is. This will REALLY help in lining up the rear again. You will also need a pry bar to get the spring back in the rear crossmember channel.
Click to expand...

You should just come over and help since you've had recent experience.
 
Logan said:
What do y'all find easier when dropping the rear end, dropping the rear spring with the rear end, or disconnecting the spring from the axle and leaving the spring hanging? We are going to be putting a new ****** in the sedan next month, and i just wanted to get y'alls opinion on what you think is easier.
Click to expand...

Leave the spring on, as it's a lot EASIER and SAFER!
 

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I am surprised that no one has commented how dangerous it is to remove a rear axle assembly from a Model A with the spring still attached. That rear spring can very easily kill you. I know it is done all the time and people say they never had a problem. However, you need one to come apart on you just once to make a believer of you.

I have a cottage industry rebuilding Model A differentials and I have heard any number of horror stories from customers about how they tangled with that spring when it came apart.

The center bolt holding the leaves together was never meant to hold all the tension that is packed into that spring once it is installed on the rear axle assembly. The bolt could also be 80 years old and rusted and if the head should pop off the upper leaves will fly 20 feet in the air and take your head with it if you are leaning over it. If that doesn't happen you better run like the devil because they are coming back down

I had a customer bring me a rear axle assembly for overhaul a few months ago with the spring still attached. I told him to wrap a chain around it. He wrapped the chain around the spring, but not around the axle housing. I installed a spring spreader and spread the spring and started to take the shackles out. One shackle bolt was completely broken off inside. It could easily have come apart while I was spreading the spring and jackknifed on me and inflicted injury.

Leaving the spring under the car safely secured by the cross member is the safe way to remove a rear axle assembly from a Model A. Use a good quality spring spreader. The spreader can be left in place until you are ready to reinstall the rear axle assembly.

Tom Endy
 
I just put mine back in. I used a grade 8 3/8 bolt and chained the spring together. I also had a large C clamp as insurance. I thought a lot about just this very thing. I used the bucket of the backhoe to spread the spring. My homemade spreader just wasn't up to it. Once the spring was shackled, I used a cable pull to position it within the frame. That part was fairly easy. However, The spring wouldn't enter the frame channel so I " bridled" it with a chain near the top of spring. A little pressure from the cable pull and it want right in.
As I said, I gave a lot of thought to doing it again and whether or not I would take the rear with the spring or disconnect the shackles and leave the spring hanging. I'm pretty sure I would chain the spring to the rear and take the spring with the rear end. I had a spring get away from me earlier and that's as close to a battlefield as I ever want to get. Thank god it missed my leg!
Terry
 
Tom,
What type of spreader do you use?

I was looking at this one on eBay.
 

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Leave the spring on the axle! I just took mine out and left the spring on the frame. NEVER AGAIN! Use a good spring spreader and be careful.
 
Logan , This is a great time to remove the spring and disassemble to clean and lube . See Les Andrews book . I also like to replace the shackles and bushings if needed at this time . Have a new center bolt on hand to replace the old one . Bubby Sharp in KY
 
What about the drive shaft? Won't the drive shaft and torque tube need to be shortened to use the overdrive, if so the spring will need to be removed so as to remove the driveshaft and pinion. I'm not familiar with all of the overdrive possibilities and requirements. I have always left the rear spring mounted to the backend whenever I removed one. In recent years, now that I have a floor jack and a shop with a cement floor, I use the method described by quickchange.
 
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