Rear Springs
 

When I jack up the back end of my 69GTO convert (say to change a tire) the rear springs come out of their top seats and flop to the side. When lowering the car I have to centre the springs so they seat properly. Does this mean they are the wrong ones?Worn out (compressed too much), or what?
Any help appreciated.

Sounds familar
 

Rick,
same thing happens w/ my 68 vert. ( mines not a GTO but the Lemans is very similar) I noticed that there is supposed to be a rear spring insulator between the spring and frame/body. Mine are looking pretty sad, may not even be the right ones. I'm swapping springs before the spring as my car has a little lean, whihc I'm thinking is a soft spring on the drivers side ( no I'm not THAT fat to make the car lean-LOL) When jacking up the rear of the car with my jack under the rear diff one side compresses first- this is why I'm thinking soft spring on that side. Who knows how old these springs are.

I'm watching this thread to see what other comments or solutions might be.

oh yeah, if you drop the car w/o centering the spring eventually you get a hell of a bang when it re-seats itself huh?

What kind of shocks are you running? I've got some goofy support coil bolted to the shock- car came this way when I bought it. Not sure if this was a normal pontiac thing or if the prior owner wanted extra lift w/o air shocks.

But I read a thread somewhere where these "booster coils" will contribute to wheel hop when you drop the hammer down. I've got wheel hop when I dumpt he clutch So I'm probably going to try to remove them and do a little testing.

Howard

I use a floor jack under the center of the carrier and jack the car up that way. Still have plenty of room to get the wheel out from under the car and the springs don't pop out that way.

I have made the springs come out, tho. Did that when I put the 2 1/2" exhaust under the car. I jacked up the car, put 'er on stands, then disconnected the shocks and lowered the rear axle ever so slowly with a floor jack. I was able to lower the rear enough to get them big tailpipes in.

I'd think that the shocks shouldn't expand so much as to let the rear drop enough to let the springs come out. The shocks, in other words, should help keep the springs in.

Someone has installed springs from Detroit Spring on your car.
They are always like that. Order a new set of Moog rear springs for your
car from your local Auto Supply and they will stay in their pockets when
you raise the car off the ground. A word to the wise......Never....and I do mean never......buy any springs for your GTO that don't say Moog on the box.

Rear Suspension
 

Hi Howard

I also have a slight lean - about 1 inch higher driver's side to passenger side(guess my passengers heavier eh? - oops better not say that too loud! LOL!)

I have no insulator on the driver's side and a very worn one on the pass side. Haven't run into that loud bang yet - thanks for the warning. I have Sensatrac shocks ?? Both springs and shocks look relatively new. Springs are blue - colour coded??

Anyone else have some thoughts?

Goathead68: I'll try that method of jacking the rear end to see if it helps.

gtohurstjudge: Are Detroit Spring and repro originals too soft to stand up for long? Moogs are long -lasting, high-tempered?

Thanks fo rthe help.

Thanks
 

for the affirmation GTOHJ, I was going with Moog springs, good to know those are the correct ones. Hoping this corrects my leaning issue. Be nice if they don't fall out when jacking the car up. Looks like the swap out will be easy as the ones in there now just about faill out when jacked up. Goin gto get the new spring insulators from PY so hopefully everythign back there will be good to go.

I assume the 'vert springs should be a little heavier then the hardtop cars springs but I'm not seeing any difference inthe part numbers listed. I'm getting the springs though a friend with a wholesale pricing locally- beats anythign I've found on the web or in catalogs, and I'll ask him to double check to make sure I get the right ones. (He's the one who told me they'd be Moog springs)

Let you know ho I make out.

Howard

Thanks
 

for the affirmation GTOHJ, I was going with Moog springs, good to know those are the correct ones. Hoping this corrects my leaning issue. Be nice if they don't fall out when jacking the car up. Looks like the swap out will be easy as the ones in there now just about faill out when jacked up. Goin gto get the new spring insulators from PY so hopefully everythign back there will be good to go.

I assume the 'vert springs should be a little heavier then the hardtop cars springs but I'm not seeing any difference inthe part numbers listed. I'm getting the springs though a friend with a wholesale pricing locally- beats anythign I've found on the web or in catalogs, and I'll ask him to double check to make sure I get the right ones. (He's the one who told me they'd be Moog springs)

Let you know how I make out.

Howard

The lean problem seems to be fairly common and I read in the Legend that the cars were supposed to be a little higher on the drivers side so that when the driver got in (without a passenger) the car would be level from side to side. 1" does seem a little much though.

You can have shocks which are too long and the rear will drop too far to hold the spring in. The lower shock mount can be in two different holes, and if it's not in the correct lower hole, the shock is effectively too long. The spring insulator for the rear is only about 1/4" thick--no effect on spring length.

The Detroit springs are too short to stay in the pockets right out
of the box in most cases. On the fronts they are often too high, too low or
they lean to one side. The 70 Chevelle SS I bought last year had Detroit
Springs installed when restored in the mid nineties. The fronts are sagging
and the rear springs fall out of their pockets when the car is raised on a lift.
New Moog springs on all four corners of the car are forthcoming.

techteacher, howard, i'm changing my rear shocks and springs real soon also. i'm very interested in knowing how yours turn out. i've heard that the stock replacement coils make the car sit a little low. i was going to order 1" or 2" over stock so to get a good rake. also heard about variable rate springs over standard springs. don't know which is best for regular driving.

Definately,,,
 

CAS, I will take some "befores" and "afters" and post them here.
may be a little while, still got a sh!tload of snow sitting outside :)
Supposed to be down to -8 tomorrow night, but 40's next week. Hoping to be driving by may,,, we'll see.

Howard

I know this is a very old post, but I am looking for the correct rear springs for my 69 convertible. Does Moog still have the correct springs and if so, does anyone know the correct part number. Thanks, Marc.

MOOG 5401 for all 1969 GTO´s.

HTH

I've found the ones Ames sells (except the firm ride ones which are too high) are pretty close if you are looking for factory ride height. As for springs falling out it can be because the springs are bagged but usually because someone has incorrect, too long shocks in the car.

Yes, I would like to get the factory ride height. I would think they would have been Moog, what brand are the ones Ames sells. Thanks, Marc.

Try Coil Spring Specialties. They are perfect. I have them on both my '68 and my '65.

I’m not sure who Ames carries for rear springs.

. I do know that no one does proper front springs. All too high and they never have the proper bent down tail and flat planed surface that prevents the coil bowing under compression and rubbing on the frame. Now I always reuse the original front springs. If they are a bit low sometimes fresh control arm bushings restore ride height. If not I use spring spacers as needed. Way better than replacements.