Rear springs

[Ian Williams]

Duncan the head of the 1/2'' through bolt is prevented from turning by the hexagonal hole in the chassis rail, with springs thinner than the depths of rail you will been a spacer otherwise you will never manage to tighten the bolt.

[Nick Lettington]

Given the length of the spacer, I would suggest that it performs both functions (u-bolt and big bolt)

[Ian Williams]

Yes Nick, if you don't put the spacer under the U bolt as well as the through bolt then it becomes necessary to shorten the U bolt, and in some cases also extend the threads on the U Bolts. You can use a short leaf from an old spring as a spacer or an appropriately sized piece of steel plate, I suggest it would be sensible to make this plate the width of the spring to avoid putting a bending load into the U bolt.

[Duncan Grimmond]

Ian, that seems to make sense. I was concerned about the narrowness of the spacer, a full width one would be much more appropriate.
I'll see what there is on the other side and make new spacers as required. Long enough to be under the line of the shackle?

[Hedd_Jones]

Simplest way to take the axle off if the springs are fubar is to cut through the bottom leaf near the axle mount.

You can then deal with the cotters and pins on the bench. And remove the springs from the chassis at your leisure.

[Duncan Grimmond]

Having taken the old springs off yesterday and painted the new ones, I fitted them today. As suggested the grub screws were holding the pins in place. These were very tight and I planned to replace them and re-cut the threads but I couldn't unscrew them nor could I screw them in allowing them to fall out. However, I have no plan to remove them again...I hope!
A minor hitch with one of the springs was resolved and it's all ready to check over in the morning and return to the ground to see how it sits, considerably higher I hope.