Problems, front lower BJ's, and spring rates???

mrvette

mrvette

Phantom of the Opera
Joined
Mar 24, 2008
Messages
15,194
Location
NE Florida
I have had this '72 vert for 18 years now, when I got it, I put in a set of 460 lbs front springs, along with the 360 plastic in the rear.....

at that time I put in a new set of lower ball joints.....and now am finding out they have failed for the 3rd time, and now going on set #4....ready to work on it tmrw.....

I am suspecting that the lower joints are being worked to death by the stiff spring, I have another spring set from an 80-82, Chris McDonald gave them to me years ago, and I dunno the spring rate, just know that they are way taller than the ones in the car....

SO, while I"m at it strikes me, I would like to lower the car an inch or so, so goes anyone know how much to trim off the springs to drop the front down a bit, I intend on backing the nutz down in the rear by an inch or so.....

maybe even remove that plastic spacer between the plastic spring and the diffy, and put it under the plastic spring so the stack up remains the same....


any particular heat problem from the diffy that maybe affect the spring???

:crutches:
 
Twin_Turbo said:
what brand ball joints? get some moogs.
Click to expand...

Paid a high price and had MOOGS in there TWICE....the supposed grenade proof shit.....

so I have no other options, already bought the cheaper replacements, but not that I can't exchange them.....so my questions are about the shitty roads here in Florida, may as well driver on a RR track....and so the stiffer spring rate makes me wonder about Lower BJ wear with the 460 spring as opposed to the stock spring, and then to put in the springs I have...and cut them to lower the car by about an inch....or maybe 2 inches...:friends:
 
I never had a moog joint fail, ever... something's out of whack. You sure they are moogs and not the china chit VB&P was selling as a quality ball joints? Chit had the integrity of rice paper.

Do you ever grease the BJs?
 
Twin_Turbo said:
I never had a moog joint fail, ever... something's out of whack. You sure they are moogs and not the china chit VB&P was selling as a quality ball joints? Chit had the integrity of rice paper.

Do you ever grease the BJs?
Click to expand...

MARCK, gimme a ounce of credit here, YES< they are greased to the point the damn car can't corner for the drips......I dunno WTF they were made of or from, they were Moog, on the BOX but I hear that means nothing these daze....but that is internet scuttlebutt.....

so I have no where else to go but wonder about the front springs.....


:crutches:
 
I removed the spacer from my spring - but I also put an aluminum shim between the diff and the spring because I think that block is there to allow the spring to fully compress without hitting the case (and to be the stock width).... I've had no problems with the removal.

Front springs, I have the lower spring rate (stock Corvette), with 1 1/2 coils cut off - I think it rides perfect, front and rear are balanced (too much on either end and either your butt is traveling up and down faster or slower than the front and it's a weird feeling)

The lower ball joints are the ones that wear the least - normally speaking, you replace them about 50% less often than the top - so something is screwy.... what camber and caster are you running? are the arms parallel with the ground? are the arms cracked? it almost sounds like it's not riding square on the ball joint and/or something is interfering. the spring rate seems more like a red herring - 420 isn't that much more than stock, especially since the factory optional spring was 550#....
 
Lower joints take a beating no matter what spring, shouldn't fail that often though ... Rockauto seems to sell the good Moog joints, I bought a set from them but I've also had good luck with Autozone's Duralast brand.
 
It's not the spring rate. The load on the ball joint is the same regardless of the spring rate. It's the corner weight of the car.

As far as cutting the spring, the lower arm is 1.5:1 ratio so cutting an inch will lower the car 1.5 inches. You will need to find the installed height vs. the free height. Say the free height is 15 inches and the spring is 10 inches at load height. Cutting 1.5 inches off the spring will translate to 1 inch off installed. Then that 1 inch (off the spring) will equal 1.5 inches at the wheel.
 
It will lower a little less even because the rate goes up by decreasing active coils

Sent from my GT-I9000 using Tapatalk
 
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