Front crossmember question. Spring pocket issue. HELP

[fine69]

Hey all.

I am working on board member 70cst's truck.

The Big block springs wont stay in place in the front crossmember. The front suspension has been changed to one out of a late 70's truck. With disc brakes.

I think the stamped nubs that the coil spring goes into is worn too far to hold the spring.

My question really is,

Is the actual crosssmember the same down to 67? I have another crossmember that is nice.

But i wanted others thoughts on it. Will the lower control arms from the later crossmember bolt right onto the 71 crossmember i currently have ?

Let me know fella's.

Or if your not sure what i am talking about let me know.

Thanks, Mike

[fine69]

29 views and not one thought on it???

[70cst]

Hey...I'm signed on. I'll give you a few bumps.

[VA72C10]

not sure to be honest....never laid eyes on a 73-up crossmember to view the difference

Bump for you and maybe you could move this over to suspension forum if no hits here by tomorrow...

[Hottrucks]

good one Mike??
I know the later ones have the rubber control arm Bushings???? Another Good ?? would be can you convert from the solid shaft to the rubber bushings ??? then I could keep my pocked LCA and get the smoother ride???

Jeff

[70cst]

Originally Posted by Hottrucks

good one Mike??
I know the later ones have the rubber control arm Bushings???? Another Good ?? would be can you convert from the solid shaft to the rubber bushings ??? then I could keep my pocked LCA and get the smoother ride???

Jeff

Thanks for the suggestion...I am open to whatever it takes to make the Circuit Rider safe and right.

[Longhorn Man]

does it have drop springs or chopped springs by chance?

[70cst]

Originally Posted by Longhorn Man

does it have drop springs or chopped springs by chance?

The springs are the factory spec'd front springs for a BB truck which are the same spring as a 3/4 T truck I do believe...
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[70cst]

Earth to WES-Earth to Wes. Calling Wes.
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[71 super]

try lolife and see what he says. I believe the crossmembers are the same if not identical. It would depend on the year of the swapped crossmember as some things changed around 81. I do know there is an extra hole that must be drilled in the frame to use the later crossmember. So the problem is in the upper portion of the member? If you are going to reuse the upper and lower control arms and the same drag link stuff the swap should not affect anything but the location for the brake hose attachment, as the 67 stuff exits to the rear while the 71 up stuff crosses over and exits to the front. Based on my own reasoning the swap should not be a problem with the exception of moving the brake line location. Hope this helps. Harold

[70cst]

Originally Posted by 71 super

try lolife and see what he says. I believe the crossmembers are the same if not identical. It would depend on the year of the swapped crossmember as some things changed around 81. I do know there is an extra hole that must be drilled in the frame to use the later crossmember. So the problem is in the upper portion of the member? If you are going to reuse the upper and lower control arms and the same drag link stuff the swap should not affect anything but the location for the brake hose attachment, as the 67 stuff exits to the rear while the 71 up stuff crosses over and exits to the front. Based on my own reasoning the swap should not be a problem with the exception of moving the brake line location. Hope this helps. Harold

Thanks....any ideas are a big help as we ( Mike) tries to determine why the front springs are not seating correctly.
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[70cst]

Other thoughts

[N2TRUX]

Originally Posted by fine69

But i wanted others thoughts on it. Will the lower control arms from the later crossmember bolt right onto the 71 crossmember i currently have ?....

Mike- I have never done the swap on a 67-72, but my understanding is the later A-arms will work just fine. You might need to mod the brake lines a bit, but the rest should swap over.

To confirm, get Keith (Lolife99) or Scot (Scoti) in on this. Both those guys are have amazing memories on the topic.

[lolife99]

I've never done the 73-87 swap into an older chassis.
I always leave the original crossmember, itself.

The "D" stamp up in the spring pocket should be the same.
I don't understand how it's moving around?
Especially a full length spring.
Got any pics?

The 67-70 crossmembers have a brake line tab on the back side of the crossmember.
The 71-72 crossmembers have it on the front side.
73-87 have no tab.
The brake line connects thru a hole in the frame itself.
I see no reason you couldn't swap out the crossmember.
All the a-arms will interchange with the different year crossmember.
The only difference would be the 73-87 trucks had a slightly larger u-bolt.
A drill will fix that.
(9/16" if I remember correctly)

[70cst]

Thanks for the follow up N2TRUX & lolife99...

I spoke with Mike this morning and the thought is maybe I was sent the wrong springs last fall. I bought these through ECE and Stan did not have the right set of springs in stock so he was able to find a set and had the springs sent to me. These springs are to be the same front spring as for a BB truck or C20 as they both take th same springs up front.

As Mike said these springs do not seem to be "seating" properly and I have noticed since I picked up the truck last Aug., it just didn't seem to steer/handle properly.

So for me this is a potential safety issue...we will eventually figure this out. Sometimes it's the fine tuning that can drive a person nuts. But we will get this resolved. Thanks again for all your input.

And for the record-Stan of ECE has been very helpful.

[lolife99]

If you pull the spring,... take a picture up in the pocket.
Also take a picture of the spring itself.
I have never seen that area distorted.
I've had some extremely rusted trucks,... but there is nothing there that would wear the stamped steel of the crossmember.
I suspect it's the spring.
I still don't understand how it could move.
A BB spring or a stock length SB spring would require a spring compressor to install.
Even with the wheels off the ground,... you shouldn't be able to move it.

[Classic Heartbeat]

Earth to WES-Earth to Wes. Calling Wes.

WES to DeWayne-WES to DeWayne..lol I talked to Mike yesterday on the phone. I realy do believe the problem to be spring related. My hunch is and I spoke to Mike about it is that the spring was probably formed wrong. Either the "D" shape is too large or too small. Like lolife99 says,

I have never seen that area distorted.

Meaning the upper spring pocket. They only other problem it could be is the springs are lowering springs. I give that only a small chance, because Mike says that he can't get the spring to set in place, even with a crowbar.
My suggestion was to pull the springs and compare them with a set of originals he has setting around the shop. If they are different, then theres the answer. He can inspect the spring pocket once the springs are out. However like I said, I don't believe that to be the problem. The chances are pretty slim that one pocket would be distorted, let alone both. WES

[lolife99]

Originally Posted by 70cst

As Mike said these springs do not seem to be "seating" properly and I have noticed since I picked up the truck last Aug., it just didn't seem to steer/handle properly.

Are you saying you can feel the front suspension moving around?
Has the front end been rebuilt?
(balljoints, tie rods, a-arm bushing, etc?)
Do you have newer shocks and a sway bar?

[70cst]

Originally Posted by lolife99

Are you saying you can feel the front suspension moving around?
Has the front end been rebuilt?
(balljoints, tie rods, a-arm bushing, etc?)
Do you have newer shocks and a sway bar?

The front has been 100% rebuilt with new components as the rest of the truck. When I say the steering feels funny..I am saying it just doesn't feel tight and right. It's hard to explain.
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[70cst]

Originally Posted by Classic Heartbeat

WES to DeWayne-WES to DeWayne..lol I talked to Mike yesterday on the phone. I realy do believe the problem to be spring related. My hunch is and I spoke to Mike about it is that the spring was probably formed wrong. Either the "D" shape is too large or too small. Like lolife99 says, Meaning the upper spring pocket. They only other problem it could be is the springs are lowering springs. I give that only a small chance, because Mike says that he can't get the spring to set in place, even with a crowbar.
My suggestion was to pull the springs and compare them with a set of originals he has setting around the shop. If they are different, then theres the answer. He can inspect the spring pocket once the springs are out. However like I said, I don't believe that to be the problem. The chances are pretty slim that one pocket would be distorted, let alone both. WES

WES....
My thinking is that the wrong front springs were shipped. There can only be so many possibilities to why these springs seem not to fit properly.
Again thanks all for your input.
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[fine69]

I will get it figured out, and let everyone know.

[70cst]

Next Monday fine 69 will have the Circuit Rider up on the lift and we will find out what is causing the front spring problems...