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Old 10-13-2018, 12:36 PM   #1
ThreeQuarter
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Join Date: Jun 2000
Location: Texan in Iowa
Posts: 2,517
Rear coils and alignment

When I assembled my '68 C10 coil rear suspension I bolted the axle to the control arms last, after loosely connecting the panhard/track/locating bar. With the suspension hanging, I noticed I had to pull both trailing arms a couple of inches to the driver's left to get them to line up with the axle. No big deal I thought, because when I get more weight on the rear the panhard will shift everything back into line.

Now that I have the rear end resting on the ground and everything torqued, I can tell the springs are still not happy where they're sitting. The bottom of both springs are skewed to the driver's left. Even if I bottom out the suspension, there isn't enough lateral movement in the panhard to make the springs look vertical. I made sure all four spring ends rested on the trailing arm/frame, and I aligned the clamp's notch with the spring end. Original panhard, trailing arms, axle, frame...new springs.

So...I'm thinking it's the way the springs are made--the way the ends sit on the trailing arms & frame when they're clamped down that makes them want to not sit plumb. Maybe I can loosen the top & bottom spring clamps an spin the springs to find their sweet spot?

Anybody have similar experiences with new springs? Mine are HD C10 springs.
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Ben
'68 Chevy C10 Custom LWB 327/TH400 2nd owner
'16 GMC Sierra 1500 SLE Dblcab 4wd 5.3
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