Shocks and springs

1

1965 Mustang

Member
I have a 29 leatherback. It is a good driver, but the ride seems pretty harsh.
The springs look ok, but when I jump up and down on the front or rear bumpers there seems to be very little movement. (I weigh about 260 pounds)
I suspect something is not right, perhaps the shock arms are frozen or nearly so. Any suggestions? I guess I could disconnect the shocks and see what happens. Thanks
 
Car should move up and down, bounce.

Any car that I am planning on being driven. I replace the springs, take shocks off and completely inspect. The should move freely.

Driving down the road your car body should be lightly moving around. Absorbing the little bumps. Not pounding or jarring jerking.

Model A’s with a correctly sorted out chassis and front end, will ride quite nicely.
 
Mustang,


very often the old shock absorbers are rusted together inside. Right, if you loosen the shock absorber connectors on one ball/pan side, you will see the spring deflection. That should be up / down about +/- 6 ".
 
65,

You need to manage your expectations better. Ask when all the roads in your area where paved ? The Model A was designed as an early 'off road' vehicle, not like a smooth riding Lexus.

Rebuilding your shocks, springs and a set of new tires will be the best you can do with a stock Model A.

They are great fun but with limitations based on the world they where designed to operate in.

Enjoy
 
Testing some new shocks for a local company.
They work very well so far. Should have at least 800 miles on them over the next week. Hopefully at least ten of them on Pendine Sands... The squeaking in the video is mainly the hood catches!

https://youtu.be/sTM1OOVjAyM
 
Leaf springs need occasional lubrication. Ford offered an accessory set of spring covers that have felt oil reservoirs in them. The oil leaches out and keeps the springs working efficiently. Reproduction spring covers are available and they make a substantial difference in ride quality.
 

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Leaf springs need occasional lubrication.
Click to expand...
 It's good that someone writes that leaf springs need to be lubricated! I have had many fruitless discussions with drivers who drove completely rusted springs and said this was because of "better damping" and that greased spring leaves penetrate dirt and wear them out as a result.

That's not wise.
 
Spray the springs with automatic transmission oil, go for a drive and oil them again, spray way up in the frame, oil the lubricant hole in the hand crank bearing---oil again in a week, it makes a mess but you will find out how good your shocks are
 
Disconnect the shocks. See if the levers move.

Drive the car with the shocks disconnected.

If you can get above 20-25 MPH and the car does not feel like it is uncontrollable then the springs are dead. By dead they may just need lubrication or they could be just wore out. If they are wore out the shackles will be pushed out and the front a bit low.

Also the fronts are the ones that are more likely to dead in a bad way where they need replacing.

If you fix the springs in the front and do not have working shocks then you will have a car unsafe to drive about 25ish MPH.

Yes, I have experienced cars with dead springs and repaired springs. There is a huge difference in how the car drives. Once you get propery functioning shocks on the car then 60 MPH (assuming all else good) is comfortable to drive.
 
Interesting thread. I'm looking for a way to test springs in my shop. If I disconnect the shocks and do the "corner bounce test", should I be able to easily bounce the car up and down? Thanks!
 
Leaf springs, AKA laminated springs, are designed on the basis of their maximum stress and their maximum deflection. The leaves of the spring need to move relative to each other with minimum friction, so it is important to lubricate the springs. Ford engineers recognized the need for lubrication of the springs, so spring covers were offered as a Model "A" dealer installed accessory.
 
Pilotdave said:
Interesting thread. I'm looking for a way to test springs in my shop. If I disconnect the shocks and do the "corner bounce test", should I be able to easily bounce the car up and down? Thanks!
Click to expand...

Yes, but not "corner bounce". Grab the front or rear bumper and start pulling up and pushing down in a repeated manner. You should feel it move and the front or the back of the car will bounce. It will be much harder to do with the shocks connected (if they are working).

If the springs are rusty between the leafs, it will prevent the spring from moving very easily and it will be much harder for you to get the front or the back of the car to bounce (with shocks disconnected).

If rusty, you can lift the car and support it by the frame. Slowly lower the axle to let the spring hang down. Lubricate the sides of the leafs with a penetrating oil, then jack the axle back up. Now let it down and lift it back up a few times, to work the penetrating oil in. Now try the bounce test again.
 
The best antidote for rusted springs is to remove them, then dis-assemble, paint with slip-plate, then re-assemble and re-install.
 
Here is a good reference, currently I have seen, and studied the KRWilson
Testing tooling. I have most of the tooling, missing the arm, and test weight.
At the dealership, back in the day, shocks were tested on the car.
This is described in the service bulletins.
Here is a great thread, practically, a crescent wrench and a stationary vice will approximate:
https://www.fordbarn.com/forum/showthread.php?t=150635&highlight=Rebuilt+shocks+testing
 
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The shocks on the front of my car were frozen solid. No movement possible. I greased the front spring with a hammer in spring greaser, see photo, and installed tube type shocks. Rides much better.
 

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I take the springs apart , grind the friction side at the very ends to allow them to slide easier against the opposite springs in the stack , I was taught this by an old spring re builder some 50 plus years ago, it also allows a new spring to last without binding and cutting into the other springs in the stack which makes a smoother ride, he told me a major cause of spring failure is not being able to flex as it should and loose u bolts will cause a spring to crack at the tie bolt holes .
 
My experience with lubing springs:

This was during the time that new shocks were not available.

Car had no shocks and rusty springs but was drivable under 45 on pavement.

Guess that the rusty springs were dampened by the rust.

Cleaned and lubed rear spring and replaced broken front spring.

NOW I REALLY needed shocks (as in bouncy bouncy) and I wished that I had bought the shocks before working on springs.
 
Thanks for all the responses. I found that my front shocks were adjusted to max firmness - barely able to depress the front axle. Back shocks were adjusted to minimum firmness. I've readjusted all 4 - rides better now!

Thanks again.
 
I looked at the springs in my Roadster. Both appear to have the proper numbers of leaves (F 10, R 7) but it's hard to tell for sure with them in the car. I can see rust that's formed between the leaves. Winter project will be to pull the springs and service them.
 
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