Saggy old springs
Post date: Sep 07, 2009 4:38:7 PM
The back of the car sits pretty low. The springs are supposed to be arched, so that the "point" of the arch aims down. On my car, they have gone the other way. This is common on old Eagles. However, there are places that can sell you new springs to fit like stock, or (if you tell them) will give you a bit more "lift" by having the arches more pronounced. Some people lift their trucks and such by putting "blocks" (usually aluminum) between the spring and the axle that sits under it. Other off road trucks actually have the axle ABOVE the spring, and relocating it UNDER the spring (called a SPOA lift, or SPring Over Axle). The problem is that axles want to move forward and backward, and if you push them further away the torque they apply to the leaf springs is greater if they have a nice extra couple of inches of leverage.
On my car, I new I was going to put in new springs with a mild 2 inch lift. As I was working on it this weekend I found one of the reasons it sags so low. Once side, the torque put onto the spring (and this is WITHOUT blocks) actually broke the top leaf!Yep - all the more reason to put in the new, taller, stiffer, and unbroken springs.
