Removing rear springs

[Dennis Nicholas]

I wonder if the induction heater tool would help? Ruairidh may have tried with his?

[Bob Olive]

Why not try Ken Cooke's (I think it was Ken...) method for lossening rear springs? Undo or loosen the nut, and go for a fifty mile drive...

[Reckless Rat]

I think if yiou look at the photos the chassis is missing a car to drive it about.

[Duncan Grimmond]

Mr Warm Spanner sounds a bit on the wimpy side to me for this project, I'd prefer to reach for Torchy McTorchface...

When I did my springs last Spring I used a lump hammer and a bar through the eye to shoogle the things loose but fortunately there was nothing like the amount of rust-weld your springs show.
Good luck, put your gloves on BEFORE you start !

[Robert Leigh]

All the suggestions I have read in this thread are potentially useful in an appropriate situation, so thanks to all. In my case I have a broken main leaf on a rear spring, and since it happened in Tetbury it seemed sensible to get rescued to home near Cambridge. I am at the stage where the car is on stands, the back bit of spring is removed from the axle, the main bolt and the 'U' bolt are both removed (after cutting a hole in the floor), but the main part of the spring has not started moving despite what I hope was suitable brutality. I know that penetrating oil may do some good, but I haven't got a long time to wait as I am old! Is it just a matter of perseverence or does anybody have a further useful and effective suggestion please. I know that the springs have not been interfered with for at least 60 years, but in reality that could be 95 years.

[Howard Wright]

Hi Robert

You really need to be brutal.

I threaded a 30mm square hollow section through the chassis and used a large sledge hammer to shift my spring.  Here is a photo of the hollow section once the spring came out!

Cheers

Howard


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[frequentflyer]

I found a bit of ally box section in the back of the workshop that fitted over the springs. A good wiggle left to right and up and down and the springs come out, Biggest issue was holding the car down. If i had a second bit of box I would hace had a lovely wheelbarrow.

[Robert Leigh]

Removal has been achieved thanks to perseverence, two good friends, the right bar to fit in the chassis and many blows on it with a sledge hammer. I can see now that my springs are differently set from the spare ones available to me. To avoid going through a repeat excercise on the other side I am hoping to find another spring from which I can rob the main leaf. My springs have square ended leaves and prior to breakage the back of the car sat quite high. The square ended leaves are not a requirement because it is irrelevant to the main leaf.

[Nick Lettington]

Hi Robert. Are you asking for a single main leaf? I can send one to you... I am probably a little in your debt! Roughly how much camber does the other side have unloaded? Ring me if it's easier.

[Robert Leigh]

Thanks again for the offer, Nick. As I told you I was spoilt for choice and finally chose a spring from five; it had the nearest curve to my old spring but I felt it was not near enough. By taking the main leaf and bending it cold I assembled it with the rest of my old spring, giving an assembly which fitted together snugly and seemed to have exactly the profile I had before breakage. I have been progressing with other jobs which turned up during dismantling, in particular welding cracks in the floor which I had not been aware of, and cleaning and painting the usually unseen bits which are now accessible. Hopefully I will have a better car after all this.