Im in the process of redoing the front suspension in my '59 Panel Truck. The subframe is out of a '79 Camaro. Question is : When I took out the springs , one side had a rubber cushion above the spring and the other side does not.??? Ive ordered replacement springs and Im wondering if those rubber cushions need to be on top of the springs or not.?
The rubber ring is a spring isolator and there should be one on each side from the factory. It cushions the spring against the subframe and should be replaced if you have the spring out and it is worn. You can get replacements at NAPA from my experience.
I think those were there to keep the spring from squeaking? Tape a section of an old inner-tube on top of the spring when you put it back in.
Those are spring isolators they are installed from the factory to keep the spring from squeaking. If one was missing, someone had either taken it out or it may have never been installed from the factory. I have own 7 78-81 Camaros and all had the rubber isolators in place.
Sounds like they couldnt hurt. I'm sure the previous owner had problems with ride height. He had the drivers front spring propped up with one of those coil spreaders. Im hoping this subframe is square or Im in deep sh*t.. When I would hit bumps there was alot of rattling and banging coming from the front and rear suspension. I got the rear fixed and Im hoping that these springs, ball joints and control arm bushings do the trick in the front...
I bet it rides and drives alot better! Dont forget to tighten your bushings after you have the truck loaded. Good luck.
1958 p/u with 1979 camaro Z28 subframe, just thought you would like to see. I put Big-Block springs and full rubbers in to raise it some.
Actually we called them "air conditioning spacers when I was doing front end work and often used them exactly as Hnstray said in his post. To level the car if one corner was lower then the other. I used a lot of them to get Pontiacs level in the early 70's when I worked in a dealership and a customer would complain that their new car was X/of an inch lower on one side than the other. Some cars did have rubber caps about the thickness of a truck inner tube that were used to prevent squeaks too.
I was kinda thinking that stock springs might not be ok...I ordered Eibach springs that are 1 inch under stock, but they are supposed to be beefier. I got a 350 small block in there. How much heavier are the big blocks ? I guess I may be able to get taller spring spacers if needed .
I put the big block springs in to raise it some for tire clearance, But, it still was't enough, so I put in full rubbers. It was a SBC. the front Wheels were 15" x 8" with 4" back spacing. it rode and handled well. I think the front tires were 205 X 70.
I've seen them on the AC side of the car to offset the weight of the AC components. When we used replacement springs, the AC designated spring sometimes were tagged with "AC side" on them. I did get lopsided cars in now and then to align when other shops mixed up the springs. Bob
Well you were right. The Camaro front springs dropped the front end down about 5 inches and now the tires are rubbing. I tried the full rubbers , but the springs are progressive and they aren't tall enough to stay put. The original springs are spent. They both had those metal spring speaders installed and were banging .. Considering that the largest stock spring available is the Camaro big block, I guess I'm gonna have to get a pair made up. The only other option as I see it would be to fit a steel spacer in the top of the coil tower. I'm thinking that the springs most likely wouldn't last that long considering the added weight. Any ideas...??
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