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New 5 leaf springs, now out of alignment

The car was not wrecked in the rear. I'm not THAT stupid (i don't think, at least) :dumas

The tires are not both wearing on the outside, so I'm going to guess it was like that when I bought the car. I never noticed it until now though.

As for the vibration, it was there ever since I redid the drivetrain. This included a trac-loc diff, a T-5, and the new motor. All were installed at the same time so it is very difficult for me to say which caused it, but it did not do it before with the stock 289 and 4 speed with the cruising gears int he open rear. What's funny is it will do it for a while (say 50 seconds) smooth out for like 10 seconds, that start back up (this is going downhill in N) Those numbers were completely made up, but you get the point.

It is a problem that I haven't had the energy to tackle because I can just tell it is going to be expensive and a paint in the ass to solve. For now, I am most concerned with aligning the rear end.
 
Don't let it beat you. It may turn out to be simpler than you think. I chased a vibration in mine, change balancer, flex plate, trns mount, redid diff. etc. Finally found when putting new ujoints in that the rear driveshaft yoke was bent inward bind the rear u-joint. I beat it back out, better but not 100%. At least I know where the problem is. When I dump the t-5 in it I'll get it fixed, shortened and balanced.

Search the other site for the vibration....there's a member 68rcodevert I think....had a similar vibration after a t-5z swap(guessing again) I know he did all kinda stuff trying to find the vibe. Wound up being the tranny. Not saying you have a trans problem. There is a lot of good info in that post though. Some of it may help you do the things that don't require $$$$$.
 
Thanks for all of the great advice and help here. I am going to research the problem and try moving the rear dif housing around when I can get an extra pair of hands later this week. Hopefully that will solve the problem. I'll post when I know more.
 
Regarding alignment issue, yes I can imagine that if you loosen up the back end, rearend housing from leafs that you could infact tweak it by an 1/8-1/4". Derek is it too difficult to drive down here? I was thinking that while the car is down here for the glass project, you could bring it to my work. I'm sure Jeff & Mike would be happy to entertain you while I do all the work. :cool

If though you don't want to drive it that far and if you can't find local help, call me.
 
Derek, if it's out of alignment, loosen the the rear from the springs and start nudging. It doesn't take much at all to shift it a little. Once you think you have it straight (measure), start tightening a little on each side until you get to torque specs. I found that if I tightened one down before the other, it would shift just enough to get it off center. Good luck and if you take it to Craig, I'd let Jeff and Mike do the work. Wait, that means Craig would have to entertain you.......crap dude, you're screwed either way. Nevermind.
 
Bedhumpin.gif
 
I bet you got two springs that are arc'd differently. I had this problem with springs from Mustang Plus. I could see where the brake machine had come down unevenly on the spring during manufacturing. My side to side difference was 5/8"...way off. I called Mustangs Plus about it and the guys first response was..."you know we have a car on the showroom with this problem". Turned out that they had a new supplier and there were obviously defects in their production (gee...could it have been in China? :2guns ). They sent me a new pair from their old supplier...they were great"...yea!
 
Tracy,
You don't think the pivoting of the rear shackle would make up for one leaf being longer than the other?
 
"cmayna" said:
Tracy,
You don't think the pivoting of the rear shackle would make up for one leaf being longer than the other?
Click to expand...

If the spring was longer on the front portion, it would effect the axle position/angle, longer to the rear portion would be compensated by the shackles. They would still act different when the car bounced from being driven.
 
"blackford" said:
I bet you got two springs that are arc'd differently. I had this problem with springs from Mustang Plus. I could see where the brake machine had come down unevenly on the spring during manufacturing. My side to side difference was 5/8"...way off. I called Mustangs Plus about it and the guys first response was..."you know we have a car on the showroom with this problem". Turned out that they had a new supplier and there were obviously defects in their production (gee...could it have been in China? :2guns ). They sent me a new pair from their old supplier...they were great"...yea!
Click to expand...

Tracy, when did you buy these springs? TI bought these 5 leafs around 2001-2002
 
Okay,
So I tackled the job solo today. I jacked up the rear, loosened all of the bolts, and was able to push the left side forward ever so slightly. Then I took great care to make sure each side of the U bolt was equal length and pressure, and wouldn't you know it, problem solved!

Thanks to everyone who helped, especially Sluggo for his diagram that even my feeble mind could comprehend :wstup

So feeling good, I decided to take good advice and begin narrowing down the vibration issue. It has been bothering me for years and honestly I'd prefer not to drive all the way up to Reno and back twice (for Hot August Nights) without the ability to go faster than 60 mph.

So first thing I decide to do, after extensive research on the *other* site, was to rotate the driveshaft 90 degrees. So I take off the rear U joint, and I say to myself "how the hell can I rotate this thing 90 degrees?" I had asked myself that very question before going in, but I figured it would be apparent once I got in there. So now back to the computer, only I can not for the life of me remember where I read to rotate it 90 degrees.

So I call Craig:

"Craig, I have a really stupid question for you"
"ooh, I'm perfect for those"
"How do you rotate a driveshaft 90 degrees"
pause
"you don't, it's 180 or 360"

So after further discussion of pinion angle, etc. I decide to rotate the shaft 180 degrees, and I put it back together, and...

THE VIBRATION IS GONE!

I have been living with that damn vibration for 8 years now. I have had that driveshaft in and out for numerous things, never marking which wasy it went in, yet still ALWAYS putting it in the wrong way (at least half a dozen times)

I am a total dufus for not doing this years ago, but I am just happy that the vibration is gone, and it didn't cost me a penny!

Feeling on a roll, I also got my courtesy lights working. I new fuse, some new bulbs (at $2.50 a pop!) and some wire splicing and now I am in business.

Anyway, thanks for al of the help and good advice I received here. I solved two major problems to day without spending a penny on parts, and now my car is like a whole new toy to me!

I owe all of you a beer... tomorrow that is.
 
"Sluggo" said:
Don't let it beat you. It may turn out to be simpler than you think.
Click to expand...

Too bad that never comes true for me :boohoo

Yahtzee! Congrats on your fabulous day!
 
Way to go Derek!! Nothing like figuring out a problem is there....very satisfying.
 
"Meyer65" said:
Okay,
So I tackled the job solo today.
Click to expand...

Let's clear the air on this issue. We all know Derek was actually scared to death that he was going to end up with me entertaining him as taught by Duane, while Mike and Jeff worked on his car. So he had no choice but to get out his man card and tackle those two issues alone.

Seriously, Derek very happy for you that both issues were resolved with ease. Sure makes me think about rotating Red's driveline and muffler bearings.
 
But doesn't the driveshaft rotate 180* just driving down the road???
 
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