Leaf Spring Won't Connect

MICAH1 · 04-04-2009

Anyone out there willing to give Jay (Redskinsjbs) a shout to talk about his front suspension problem.... XXXXXXXXXXX ASAP....

Hoping to make Carlisle!!!!!

Redskinsjbs · 04-04-2009

Hi Guys,

I made a short clip to attempt to demonstrate my problem further.

Leaf Spring Won't Connect on Vimeo

Hope this helps you to help me!

gtblast · 04-04-2009

Jay,

I have not done this on an Opel GT front spring, but I have had similar situations like this with rear springs, motor mounts, etc. If you can get it close, and get a small tapered drift started through the holes in the mount and the spring, then tap the drift with a hammer and this will bring it all into position. Then, start your bolt in the opposite end from the drift and as you tap the bolt in, you drive the drift out and it should work out fine.

jordan · 04-04-2009

The 2 bolts that hold the lower control arms must come off to do this easily. Then connect the bolt through the spring eye, and replace the two LCA bolts. Make sure that the spring perches are correctly installed between the LCA hinge part and the suspension cross member.

jeff denton · 04-04-2009

Like Jordan says. It's easier to pry the lower A arm back into position than to try to line up the spring eye.
You have discovered the huge design flaw Opel built into the front suspension. This is very easily corrected by the use of "Legere Shackles". They not only fix the problem but make it SO much easier and safer to work on. How do I know this? Well, trying to fine tune the front suspension to work in oval track racing has gotten me a lot of experience with taking that spring out and putting it back in. It's even been done very quickly in the pits...

Emtee · 04-04-2009

Now, this was last summer so my memory might be foggy.
As I recall it, part of the advantage is that I had the shackles off (aka 'the bolts from hell') and could keep slack from each step to get the end bolts in. So each of the shackles were a bit loose, I got one end in and tightened the shackles, the other side was where it got bad! It seemed to me like the issue is that the entire weight of the car isn't enough to flatten the spring enough to reach out to the eye. My solution (scary!) is to have a friend be extra 'ballast' by being on the fender and flatten the spring to get the bolt in. I'm sure lots of folks here will tell me exactly how risky this is...the entire car's weight is on the jack lifting the spring. I know...things were pretty tense! Be sure to have jack stands in place that limit the distance that the car can drop in the event of the jack slipping and be sure the jack is just lifting the spring, not the A arm. Bear in mind your hands are in the area so be SUPER cautious when getting the final bolt in...you better trust you 'ballast' completely!
It worked for me although I DO NOT recommend this as the 'best way' to do the job. The A arm removal is the better way....wish I'd have thought of that!!

m

wlkelley3 · 04-05-2009

I ran into similiar issues when I replaced the bushings on mine. To compound the problem I didn't have the engine in when I did it. Jacking the A-Arm only resulted in the car going up and not the spring.

Also had the alignment issues as well. Solved my problem by using several C-clamps and working from the center of the spring out to get the spring in place with the A-arm mount disconnected like mentioned above. Connect the spring and then connect the A-arm. Took a little persuasion too align the bolts bolt went smoothly.

Redskinsjbs · 04-05-2009

Thankyou to everyone for your suggestions.

I now have a plan of action that gives me 3 different approaches to getting that darn spring in. If I can get the sigle spring eye blot on, I'll be able to put my GT back on all fours, something it hasn't done in 7 months!!!

Redskinsjbs · 04-05-2009

GOT IT!!! Thanks to all who helped out and gave suggestions.

The way I finally got it was to undo both upper control arm bolts and the passenger side bolts from hell, relieveing much of the stress on the spring. I then had my friend Dudley, a huge guy, help me to muscle the spring eye bolt into place.

We then played around with the two passenger side bolts from hell for about 45 minutes, zip zip, they were in and the car soon had 4 on the floor...first time in ove six months.

Again, thank you all for your advice. Man do I love this site becuase of all of you awesome people.

markandson · 04-05-2009

Congrats!!! You are becoming Opel educated

.

04-04-2009	#1 (permalink)
MICAH1 101st Airborne Vet V.N. Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Fort Washington, Maryland Posts: 643 Real Name: Thomas Johnson	Answered: Leaf Spring Won't Connect Anyone out there willing to give Jay (Redskinsjbs) a shout to talk about his front suspension problem.... XXXXXXXXXXX ASAP.... Hoping to make Carlisle!!!!! __________________ Thomas Last edited by MICAH1; 04-04-2009 at 09:57 PM.

04-04-2009	#4 (permalink)
jordan Moderator Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: corning ny 14830 Posts: 2,182 Provided Answers: 1	The 2 bolts that hold the lower control arms must come off to do this easily. Then connect the bolt through the spring eye, and replace the two LCA bolts. Make sure that the spring perches are correctly installed between the LCA hinge part and the suspension cross member. __________________ 1970 Opel GT 1.9 1980 Moto Guzzi V50 2000 Saab 9-3 2.0 turbo 2000 KTM 200 exc STOLEN

04-04-2009	#5 (permalink)
jeff denton former opel racer Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: near some glaciers Posts: 2,863 Real Name: Jeff "Oh-Oh" Denton Provided Answers: 4	Like Jordan says. It's easier to pry the lower A arm back into position than to try to line up the spring eye. You have discovered the huge design flaw Opel built into the front suspension. This is very easily corrected by the use of "Legere Shackles". They not only fix the problem but make it SO much easier and safer to work on. How do I know this? Well, trying to fine tune the front suspension to work in oval track racing has gotten me a lot of experience with taking that spring out and putting it back in. It's even been done very quickly in the pits... __________________ No Opels were harmed in the filming of this movie. However two Mustangs, a Pinto, and a Capri were hospitalized. One Mustang was euthanized the next morning.

04-04-2009	#6 (permalink)
Emtee Opeler Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Toronto Posts: 57	What worked for me...not fun at all! Now, this was last summer so my memory might be foggy. As I recall it, part of the advantage is that I had the shackles off (aka 'the bolts from hell') and could keep slack from each step to get the end bolts in. So each of the shackles were a bit loose, I got one end in and tightened the shackles, the other side was where it got bad! It seemed to me like the issue is that the entire weight of the car isn't enough to flatten the spring enough to reach out to the eye. My solution (scary!) is to have a friend be extra 'ballast' by being on the fender and flatten the spring to get the bolt in. I'm sure lots of folks here will tell me exactly how risky this is...the entire car's weight is on the jack lifting the spring. I know...things were pretty tense! Be sure to have jack stands in place that limit the distance that the car can drop in the event of the jack slipping and be sure the jack is just lifting the spring, not the A arm. Bear in mind your hands are in the area so be SUPER cautious when getting the final bolt in...you better trust you 'ballast' completely! It worked for me although I DO NOT recommend this as the 'best way' to do the job. The A arm removal is the better way....wish I'd have thought of that!! m

04-05-2009	#8 (permalink)
Redskinsjbs Opel Intern Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Washington DC Posts: 513 Logbook Entries: 1 Real Name: Jay Provided Answers: 3	Thankyou to everyone for your suggestions. I now have a plan of action that gives me 3 different approaches to getting that darn spring in. If I can get the sigle spring eye blot on, I'll be able to put my GT back on all fours, something it hasn't done in 7 months!!! __________________ J Swift Sincerely Flickr photos Videos

04-04-2009	#3 (permalink)
gtblast Member Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Ijamsville, Maryland Posts: 145	Jay, I have not done this on an Opel GT front spring, but I have had similar situations like this with rear springs, motor mounts, etc. If you can get it close, and get a small tapered drift started through the holes in the mount and the spring, then tap the drift with a hammer and this will bring it all into position. Then, start your bolt in the opposite end from the drift and as you tap the bolt in, you drive the drift out and it should work out fine.

04-05-2009	#9 (permalink)
Redskinsjbs Opel Intern Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Washington DC Posts: 513 Logbook Entries: 1 Real Name: Jay Provided Answers: 3	GOT IT!!! Thanks to all who helped out and gave suggestions. The way I finally got it was to undo both upper control arm bolts and the passenger side bolts from hell, relieveing much of the stress on the spring. I then had my friend Dudley, a huge guy, help me to muscle the spring eye bolt into place. We then played around with the two passenger side bolts from hell for about 45 minutes, zip zip, they were in and the car soon had 4 on the floor...first time in ove six months. Again, thank you all for your advice. Man do I love this site becuase of all of you awesome people. __________________ J Swift Sincerely Flickr photos Videos

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