1965 Rear Suspension Disassembly Questions

[James W.]

[Ed S.]

Re: 1965 Rear Suspension Disassembly Questions

James - having done this on my 64, here are some suggestions (in no particular order). Regarding shims - I will assume that you have never had your T-arms out and they still have the original bushings in them. If that is correct counting shims is not necessary - if you have the T-arms out for the first time you should rebuild them or send them to one of several preferred shops that rebuild them - both ends, the bushing end and the bearing end. Re removing the shock mount - put a nut on the thread - apply penetrating oil around it as much as possible - hit the nut with a hammer - it should begin to move back - don't hit the threaded end if it is unprotected. Rubber bushings for the spring - I got mine from Quanta - the gas tank guys. They also have a near correct looking grey spray paint. When you have your spring off and apart - inspect each leaf - you are concerned about pitting and cracks and potential failure. My main leaf was pitted - others were fine - I got a main leaf from Eaton - they will sell you just one leaf - a perfect match. If you are reinstalling the original spring or an Eaton reproduction you don't need the longer spring bolts - the original length will work just fine. If you haven't read this - the hardest part is ahead of you - freeing the sombrero bushings with the diff attached. If you have questions on how to do that ask. Hope this helps.

[Ed S.]

Re: 1965 Rear Suspension Disassembly Questions

One more point - do you have your car up on jack stands while doing this work? If yes - you need to consider the position of the front stands - you can leave them on the outside rails but if you do I suggest putting some 4 x 4 blocks under the front cross member - the problem is when you finally drop the diff and cross member you are removing a lot of weight off the back and the weight bias is all towards the front - a lot of it beyond the front jack stands - the nose of your car will likely tip forward (down) from the weight of the engine - blocks under the front cross member will prevent that.

[Richard G.]

Re: 1965 Rear Suspension Disassembly Questions

I admit the very first sombrero bushings I removed were stuck and I was sure I was missing something.
I wasn't! They stick like they were glued. The bigest prybar you can find will help.
I am not talking bout the two foot long one's. I'm talking about a four footer.
Leave the bolts in but loose so the assembly stays there when it comes loose.
Now I use hydraulics, a duck billed hydraulic ram. Much safer but it can be done with a big bar.

I will warn you the cups in the end of the spring, where the bolt go through vary from vendor to vendor.
Some are natural and some plated. I found some NOS ones and compared them to the aftermarket ones.
Going through this process for the first time was painful because the crimp didn't work out and I couldn't tell if it was me or the parts.

First half of a good crimp.
1963 spring washer install 1st state.jpg

second half of the crimp.
1963 spring washer install finished product.jpg

A tail of two cups.
Spring Cup finish.jpg

The diameter of one of the vendors failed crimp.
Failed cripp at .922.jpg

Success at last, using this size of replacement cup. It may have been NOS I just can't remember and I failed to write it down.
Retainer 1.015.jpg

One has to wonder about quality when their is almost a tenth of an inch difference in the part.

[Frank D.]

Re: 1965 Rear Suspension Disassembly Questions

I did all this on my 63 last summer, attached is John Hinckley's article on sombrero bushings. I kept and marked my original slotted shims and reinstalled them exactly how they were removed, I added the long cotter pin to secure them. Van Steel rebuilt my trailing arms and they required new spindles which added to the costs.

.I used NOS bushings for the leaf springs and strut rods, the repros are pretty bad, rubber is too stiff and dimensions and thickness are wrong. NOS bushings are still available. Vendors sell a "shock knocker" tool to remove the lower shock mount, it works well, I reused my leaf spring main perch bolts as the repros were too long and may have impacted the differential case, do not torque these completely until the car is on the ground. Take shop air and blow out the vertical cavity behind the wedge shaped metal on the frame just rearward and below where the trailing arms enter the frame - you'll get a ton of accumulated crud out of there.

[James W.]

Re: 1965 Rear Suspension Disassembly Questions

Frank,

Thanks for the info. Where did you get the NOS bushings?

James

I did all this on my 63 last summer, attached is John Hinckley's article on sombrero bushings. I kept and marked my original slotted shims and reinstalled them exactly how they were removed, I added the long cotter pin to secure them. Van Steel rebuilt my trailing arms and they required new spindles which added to the costs.

.I used NOS bushings for the leaf springs and strut rods, the repros are pretty bad, rubber is too stiff and dimensions and thickness are wrong. NOS bushings are still available. Vendors sell a "shock knocker" tool to remove the lower shock mount, it works well, I reused my leaf spring main perch bolts as the repros were too long and may have impacted the differential case, do not torque these completely until the car is on the ground. Take shop air and blow out the vertical cavity behind the wedge shaped metal on the frame just rearward and below where the trailing arms enter the frame - you'll get a ton of accumulated crud out of there.

[James W.]

Re: 1965 Rear Suspension Disassembly Questions

Ed,

Rear of the car only is on jack stands.

James

One more point - do you have your car up on jack stands while doing this work? If yes - you need to consider the position of the front stands - you can leave them on the outside rails but if you do I suggest putting some 4 x 4 blocks under the front cross member - the problem is when you finally drop the diff and cross member you are removing a lot of weight off the back and the weight bias is all towards the front - a lot of it beyond the front jack stands - the nose of your car will likely tip forward (down) from the weight of the engine - blocks under the front cross member will prevent that.

[Frank D.]

Re: 1965 Rear Suspension Disassembly Questions

Frank,

Thanks for the info. Where did you get the NOS bushings?

James

The NOS strut rod bushings came from eBay, the leaf spring cushions came from: ( Also, I soak these old NOS soft parts in several layers of Aerospace 202 before installation)

https://www.gmpartsdirect.com/oem-pa...3831586?c=az0x

[James W.]

Re: 1965 Rear Suspension Disassembly Questions

Is the picture of the rubber cushion p/n 3831586 the part you received from GM Parts Direct?

The NOS strut rod bushings came from eBay, the leaf spring cushions came from: ( Also, I soak these old NOS soft parts in several layers of Aerospace 202 before installation)

https://www.gmpartsdirect.com/oem-pa...3831586?c=az0x

[James W.]

Re: 1965 Rear Suspension Disassembly Questions

Richard,

What did you use to crimp it into the spring? I will assume the one on the right is the NOS cup?


Thanks,

James

I admit the very first sombrero bushings I removed were stuck and I was sure I was missing something.
I wasn't! They stick like they were glued. The bigest prybar you can find will help.
I am not talking bout the two foot long one's. I'm talking about a four footer.
Leave the bolts in but loose so the assembly stays there when it comes loose.
Now I use hydraulics, a duck billed hydraulic ram. Much safer but it can be done with a big bar.

I will warn you the cups in the end of the spring, where the bolt go through vary from vendor to vendor.
Some are natural and some plated. I found some NOS ones and compared them to the aftermarket ones.
Going through this process for the first time was painful because the crimp didn't work out and I couldn't tell if it was me or the parts.

First half of a good crimp.
[ATTACH=CONFIG]103894[/ATTACH]

second half of the crimp.
[ATTACH=CONFIG]103895[/ATTACH]

A tail of two cups.
[ATTACH=CONFIG]103896[/ATTACH]

The diameter of one of the vendors failed crimp.
[ATTACH=CONFIG]103897[/ATTACH]

Success at last, using this size of replacement cup. It may have been NOS I just can't remember and I failed to write it down.
[ATTACH=CONFIG]103898[/ATTACH]

One has to wonder about quality when their is almost a tenth of an inch difference in the part.

[Ed S.]

Re: 1965 Rear Suspension Disassembly Questions

Gary Beaupre had - hopefully still does - a tool made to press in the end cups. He used to loan it free of charge except for a small mailing fee. I "borrowed" it from him - worked great - it rolled back the lip of the cup very uniformly, worth the small investment - if Gary still has the tool. Suggestion - if you do this I recommend using FEDEX or UPS - do not use USPS now, they are experiencing very serious delays in distribution centers nation wide. Small packages are getting "lost".

[Richard G.]

Re: 1965 Rear Suspension Disassembly Questions

I used a tool I purchased online from Corvette Central.

CC tool.JPG

If Gary doesn't have the tooling PM me.
It's a once in a life time tool for most people.

I used a press in to install the bushings. I found it easier that the bolt.
1963 spring washer install.jpg

Rick

[Frank D.]

Re: 1965 Rear Suspension Disassembly Questions

Is the picture of the rubber cushion p/n 3831586 the part you received from GM Parts Direct?

Yes. that would be it. Same as the strut rod bushings.

[James W.]

Re: 1965 Rear Suspension Disassembly Questions

I assume this is used in all four (4) locations?

James

Yes. that would be it.

[James W.]

Re: 1965 Rear Suspension Disassembly Questions

Frank,

Please show a picture of your '63 from the side. I'd like to see the rear ride height.

Thanks,

James

The NOS strut rod bushings came from eBay, the leaf spring cushions came from: ( Also, I soak these old NOS soft parts in several layers of Aerospace 202 before installation)

https://www.gmpartsdirect.com/oem-pa...3831586?c=az0x