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old coil springs still good?

mhamilton on Tue May 20, 2008 6:37 PM User is offlineView users profile

Year: 80
Make: Chevy

Just got back from New Jersey Friday. That will be the last time I go there. It took a NJ driver to wreck an original 30 year old car. But, the repairs on that are moving along, and I'm going to have the car better than new with a complete clear coat paint job. With that, I'm more interested in getting the car to look like it should--and being done with those cheap aftermarket front springs.

I found my OE coil springs in the attic, and I wonder if there is actually any wear to them that will seriously detract from the ride. I was under the impression that they were bad when I replaced them, they looked like they had sagged a bit. But, just replacing the worn-through spring insulators (1/4" thick rubber) may have eliminated that problem.

I'm also wondering if the softer factory springs would give me the cushy ride I like. After the accident I was driving around my aunt's Cadillac ('01 Eldo), and the suspension on that feels like cheese cake. But smooooth on the highway! I expect my front/rear stabilizer bars can fill my handling requirements, if the extra-soft springs will give me that same floaty ride.

NickD on Wed May 21, 2008 6:44 AM User is offline

The front of my motorhome also had a rake or sagging, had broken air bags in the springs, talked with over with some of the truck guys at batauto and they suggested I use Air Lifts as to leave it like it is, the front springs could even break. So I got some and put them in, put in about 60 psi and it brought the front end up level again.

Before the heavy duty Monroes and Air Lifts was getting a severe nose dive if I had to slam on the brakes to prevent from smashing a maniac jerking out in front plus it would swerve to the left, violently, doesn't do that anymore. Plus the ride is much smoother. Also I can bounce any SUV or car like crazy, with this thing, can jump on the front bumper and not ever jar it.

You could go back to your old springs and add the Air Lifts and adjust the air pressure to bring it up where you want it. They work.

mhamilton on Wed May 21, 2008 10:11 AM User is offlineView users profile

The height with the old springs was good. They may have sagged a bit from new, but it looked a lot better than the nose up in the air. I remember after replacing the shocks the brake-dive stopped (with the old springs).

I'm mainly concerned about their age/mileage. After 130k miles do they really loose enough temper to affect the ride quality? I'm not sure they could be worse than cheap springs with 1/2 a coil cut off.

I did try that Eaton Detroit spring company. They have springs that are twice the price, and say that they are going to put the car exactly at stock. But, their spring specs are verbatim with the Moog specs (which are a different rate than the GMs). I asked if they would sit too high, never got a response.

NickD on Wed May 21, 2008 11:42 AM User is offline

I only had one spring break in my life, an 80's Chrysler product with a defective strut, then it wasn't that bad, broke near the top and that side of the car only dropped about an inch or two. I just haven't heard that much about broken springs, well maybe at the drag strip where guys weren't adding torque rods to the rear end. How do they look rust wise, any nicks? Do not feel I would worry about it, more important things in life to worry about.

mhamilton on Wed May 21, 2008 12:23 PM User is offlineView users profile

Right, I'm not very worried about the spring breaking (have not seen that yet on a GM car). I'm just wondering if I should keep looking for a replacement, or if my old springs are still good enough to give a nice ride. I know the ride height will be fine with those old ones back in.

The old ones have surface rust, nothing else.

NickD on Wed May 21, 2008 3:36 PM User is offline

Put a nice coat of paint on them and put them back on, not sure to suggest black or yellow, springs on my Cav were black and so were the struts, I just touched them up a little with black paint.

mk378 on Wed May 21, 2008 3:45 PM User is offline

If they hold the car up at stock height they are OK. There are two things when specifying a spring, the height (when not compressed) and the spring constant (amount of force to compress a certain distance). Assuming the uncompressed height has not increased (which seems almost impossible that it would), seeing the car at stock height confirms that the spring constant is still correct.

mhamilton on Wed May 21, 2008 5:06 PM User is offlineView users profile

Thanks, that's good to know.

As I said, I think the sagging I saw was because of the worn out insulators. But even with those, I don't remember it being more than maybe 1/2" below stock. That's probably still within the spec measurements. I know for sure that the alignment had to be adjusted because of the sag, but not a whole lot.

I was just under the (misguided) impression that "old" springs = "bad" springs. Probably would have had a cloud-like ride if I had kept the old springs with the new bushings and shocks. Now I'd bet that it will ride better, handle better, and probably be more aerodynamic without the front end 2" too high.

NickD on Thu May 22, 2008 7:13 AM User is offline

I am assume they test them like valve spring testers, have one of those for checking free length, use a torque wrench, deflect the spring so much and take a reading. But I don't think I could fit a suspension spring in there.

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