I am replacing my tired mono's on my 68. Any tips on the best way to get the upper shackle nut off. What tool works best to get at this? Is it easiest just to wait until the spring is removed?
:confused:
Murph

Murph, it is best to drop the gas tank to access the upper bolts & nuts. Some people have removed them without dropping the gas tank, but it is not easy due to little clearance for puling out the bolts- you do plan to replace the frame bushings since you're there anyway, right?.

If you do pull the tank make sure you remove most of the gas first!

Scott,

I am planning to replace the frame bushings. I was just wondering if there was a trick that someone had that made this task easier without removing the gas tank.

I bought the 2407C Hotchkis kit for the replacement springs and mounting hardware/bushings.

I have been hitting all the bolts with liquid wrench for a couple of weeks. All the bolts broke loose pretty easy except for the upper rear shackle bolt and the front spring eye bolt. these were also the only two I could not get a socket and breaker bar on.

Murph

i did this last year
i found it easier to buy new front spring mounts;and a "sawzall" at home depot,with about
10 metal cutting sawblades,and cut the bolts for the rear spring shackles,make sure to keep the blades lubed,it helps them to last longer,a good cutting oil would work better than wd-40,but even that helps a lot.
I used a cutoff tool for the u bolts.
i did remove the gas tank,it gives a little more room, :( but,no matter what its a pain in the butt job,LOL ;)
another hint, take the real license plate off.
you will be able to see,remove the gas filler hose clamps,otherwise there is no way to get at them.!
make sure to support the body,and be careful,we want you to be able to come back and talk to us. graemlins/beers.gif

Well, I seem to be by the bolt issue. I'm up to the part of removing all the tension off the spring. Any words of advise on how to make sure I do this correctly. I would hate to see this thing snap down when I release a bolt on one end.

I have the car supported at the frame with jack stands and also stands and jack under the axle for now. I'd rather be safe than sorry. graemlins/beers.gif

If the axle is off the spring there will be very little tension on the spring. Remove the front spring pocket (3 bolts) and let the front rest on the ground. From there the rear is easy as you can remove the bottom shakle bolt and drop just the spring or you can remove the top bolt, let the loose side of the shakle swing out of the way and work the top bolt and spring free...

So while the axle is hanging I should remove all the bolts on the spring pad then raise the axle off the spring?

Sorry for all the questions. I'm just trying to make sure I'm safe.

Murph

Yes. Get the axle off the springs first.

joe

I did it by removing the axle first. Then I took the front bracket off followed by the rear shackle. You really don't have to worry about spring tension if the axle wieght is not supported by the spring.

Getting them off is the easy part. Pushing the new rear bushings into the frame is TOUGH. Someone on ths board gave the best idea yet. Use a 6-7 inch piece of all-thread, big washers and a couple bolts to make a small press to push the new bushings in. I would never have finished without that idea.

I did the entire swap (rear end included) without dropping the tank. Some portions of the swap would have been easier, but i just did it without removing the tank.

Great to hear Brad. I saw the tip about the threaded rod too. I was planning to use that method.

Thanks for the input so far everyone. I am only getting a little done each night so I will post questions as they arrise.

Murph
graemlins/waving.gif

Here's the update. I got the springs out tonight. It seems that the front spring eyes were not really eyes anymore but more like hooks. Both front spring eyes were broken. :eek: I guess that explains the clunking noise I heard when going over bumps. Is this a pretty common failure point for 35 year old springs?

Everything else looks pretty good. I will be spending the next few days cleaning up everything before I install the new springs.

Murph

I had the same deal when I changed my monos, but only one side was broken. I cant beleive they stayed in place. Another tip on installing the poly bushings into the frame. I found it nearly impossible to get one side to press in. I called up hotchkis and asked about resizing the poly bushings. They said NO PROBLEM at all if I wanted to bezel the end of the bushing to make it align and start in the frame easier. It also leaves a little more room for getting some more grease in there. DONT FORGET THAT or you will hate the squeaks. I know its a little late but I removed all the rear shackles on my 67 without taking the tank out and they were rusted solid. I just drilled straight thru the nut. You will eventually drill the bolt in two and be able to snap it off easily. Its like using a cutoff wheel but more control and less sparks. Not to metion I couldnt get a cutoff to fit in there.

Good luck

Zack

Zach,

I did not end up droping the gas tank. Thankfully I did not need to cut anything. All of the bolts backed off. A couple were a little more trouble than others, but those were the ones I could not get a socket on.

Murph

Murph,

Glad to hear you got your bolts loose without major cutting. I am planning the same rear mono-to-Hotchkis upgrade as you are now doing (eventually...when I have some extra cash). BTW, what rear shocks are you going to run?

I am eager to hear your report on how your upgrade turns out....can you see/feel a big difference,etc.

I wanted to clean/re-paint my rear diff. at the same time as the rear spring upgrade. Anyone have any tips on cleaning your rear...other than with toilet paper... :D LOL

Regards,
Mark P.

Granny's 69 ;)

find someone to sandblast it

A & A Dry Strip
2905 Northeast 71st Street, Oklahoma City, OK 73111
(405) 478-8880
map | driving directions



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Advanced Sandblasting & Painting
Oklahoma City, OK 73102
(405) 525-7263
map | driving directions



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Clean-It CO Inc
1240 Exchange Avenue, Oklahoma City, OK 73108
(405) 235-4013
map | driving directions



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Cote Rite
2237 Southeast 15th Street, Oklahoma City, OK 73129
(405) 672-5550
map | driving directions



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Ground-Up Inc
1100 South Rockwell Avenue, Oklahoma City, OK 73128
(405) 789-4327
map | driving directions



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


J & S Sand Blasting
821 South Lee Avenue, Oklahoma City, OK 73109
(405) 235-1803
map | driving directions



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Metal Re-New
3620 South I 35 Service Road, Oklahoma City, OK 73129
(405) 670-4440
map | driving directions



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Midwest Coatings
1398 North Sooner Road, Oklahoma City, OK 73117
(405) 424-6550
map | driving directions



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Roberts Truck & Equipment
4400 South Newcastle Road, Oklahoma City, OK 73119
(405) 682-2300
map | driving directions



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Sooner Sandblasting
4100 South Missouri Avenue, Oklahoma City, OK 73129
(405) 677-7716
map | driving directions



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Suburban Estates
1100 South Rockwell Avenue, Oklahoma City, OK 73128
(405) 789-4327
map | driving directions



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Topp's Specialty Inc
14800 South Meridian Avenue, Oklahoma City, OK 73173
(405) 692-8677
map | driving directions



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Upton Mike Sandblasting
1701 South Bryant Avenue, Oklahoma City, OK 73115
(405) 670-3664
map | driving directions

caveman,


That's a good idea. Thanks for the tip & info. on local sandblasting companies.


Regards,
Mark P.

Mark,

I plan to use Bilstein shocks. They seem to come highly recommended during a search of past posts. I decided to stick with my monoleaf shock plates so I purchased the mono shocks.

I am having a set of spacers made up to go between the shock plate and spring perch's to make up the difference between the thickness of the springs. I was not comfortable with the thought of torqing down the new u-bolts with nothing for the shock plate to seat against.

I also talked to Hotchkis this morning on a couple of things. 1) They do not re-valve their Bilstein shocks for this application. 2) The brass bushing that comes in the spring pads is not for use in this application. 3) The front spring eye bushings that come pre-assembled on their srpings is rubber while all the rest of the bushings are Energy Suspension poly's. 4) I had also asked them which original ride height that they claim the 1.5" drop is from. There is almost a 0.75"-1.0" differnce between most Camaros and the ones with the G31 suspension upgrade. This is according to the 68' factory assembly manual. They said the 1.5" was from the base springs. I am still skeptical of this.

Did you ever de-code your rear gears?

Murph

Howdy Murph,


Sounds like you have a few issues to work through.
I have'nt had a chance yet to look up & de-code the numbers on my axle tube.

I wish it were different but, due to storage space, my Camaro is stored at my in-law's garage about 35 miles from my house. So I only get to play with it on the weekends when there isn't anything else going on. graemlins/sad.gif

Thanks for the update & let us know how it turns out.

Good luck,
Mark P.

Update: I've started working on the springs again. I am ready to start installing everything back on the car. I started with the front mounting bracket spring clips. I did not like the fact that they are scratching my new paint when installing them. Anybody got any tips on how to avoid scratching the paint when installing the spring clips?

Murph