Ok, I took the leafs out of my '53 wagon, cleaned and painted them and replaced the bushings. How the hell do I get them back in? I know there must be a trick to this, but I haven't figured it out. With the arc in them, they are nowhere near long enough to bolt back up, but I can't get them close, even with a jack under the spring and one end bolted up. I'm sure someone has an easy way to get these back in.
You need a spreader... You can build one easy. Just get a straight piece of pipe a piece of all thread the same length as the pipe, two nuts for the allthread and two about 2 inch square pieces of flat stock. cut the allthread in half then weld the 2 pieces of flat stock on to one end of each piece of stock. thread a nut on the opposite end of each one, (about to the top) then put one in each end of the pipe. then you can use a wrench to thread it out thus spreading the spring.
use a c-clamp. i also use a piece of all-thread to pull the spring together, then clamp it and use you original spring bolt
what about putting the rear of the car on jackstands but low, put some wood blocks near your shackle for the spring to slide on and use the jack to bow them out enough.
There are several ways to do it. One way is to remove all leaves from the main leaf which makes it much easier to connect the other end. Then re-install other leaves. Another way is to borrow or rent a porta power if you don't have one.
That is also another good way. Make sure there is more downward force from car weight than upward force from jacking. Guys heads have been crushed when not done safely.
did you do a search I now there was a good thread a few months back on all the ways you could put them back in.
You can take out the centre bolt and just install the main leaf first. Then do what Bordndead327 suggested to put the leaf pack back together.
I use a Porto Power to spread the spring wide enough to easily slip in the shackles.....Good luck.. Brucie
Alright, I know I'm resurrecting a long-dead thread here, but I thought some pictures would be handy. I was looking for a leaf spring trick and I came across this, and it contains some excellent information that could could use some pictures and one more trip to the top of the list. I decided to do the threaded rod method, and it worked wonders. About $13 for the tube, allthread, nut, and washer. not bad for a tool that is so incredibly helpful with a difficult task. I did just as described in this thread. I bought a piece of 5/8" all thread, and a piece of square steel tubing just slightly larger than the all thread. 3/4" I believe. Used a couple whacks of a hammer and steel chisel on two opposing sides of one end of the square tubing. basically making one end of the tube look slightly like an hour glass. The point of this was for the two side walls to fold inward instead of outward when I flattened the end. Then I beat the end relatively equal on the other two sides the create somewhat of a chisel tip on one end of the steel tube. Then I used a grinder on one end of the all thread to accomplish the same thing. Thread the nut onto the all thread, stick the washer on it, and slight it inside the tube. Now you have yourself a handy dandy leaf spring stretcher that will save you lots of time when trying to remove or install leaf springs. Just put either end of the stretcher in the crevice near the eye of each side of the leaf spring, tighten the nut, and voila! Now here come the pictures. The first few pictures show both ends of the spring spreader so you can see how they were made. The next two pictures show how both ends are positioned on the leaf spring itself. And the last two pictures are a before and after, if you will, of the spreader in action. The first is before the nut has been tightened. The spreader has been extended just long enough to hold it on the leaf spring. In the second picture, the spreader has been extended enough to spread the leaf spring out at least a couple of inches. I didn't measure but you can tell just by looking that the difference is clear. The nut wasn't even getting difficult to turn at this point. This is definitely a great tool to make and keep around.