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raising rear end?

4K views 24 replies 10 participants last post by  sixt9coug 
#1 ·
i just got my new shocks on they're gas adjustable kyb's. the PO had some no name air shocks on that were crap, but it added a nice height to my rear end. wehn they put the new one's on it lowered it to about even with the front. i know there's a way to raise the back end back up. but i don't remember what it was i needed. was it different leaf springs? or just a spacer added to the springs? or what i can't remember. and also is it cheap :rolleyes: thats the key ;)
 
#2 ·
the only SAFE way to raise the car is getting the springs re-arched. Its pretty cheap if you take them off and bring them to a shop. DONT use longer shackles, it will KILL springs in short order, and spacers under the axle will lower the car.

Rick
 
#4 ·
id just buy new springs. but im a rich paint store jockey lol. jk.. if i was so rich why havent i dont that yet? lol i priced them out from ESPO and they said around 280 for new shackles, bushings 1" drop springs ( to match the 1" drop in the front.. still will pick it up an inch in theory ) and shipping. thats not a bad deal to me.
 
#5 ·
air shocks what a great way to crack out the body around the mounts. I know just found some got to get the torch out.
 
#7 ·
Back in the early 80's when "jacking up" a car was the thing to do, I added a leaf to each side of the springs from a junk set I had laying around. I didn't cost anything and raised it just enough to look cool. Another thing you could do is remove the rubber insulators between the axle and the spring. Some people frown upon this but I haven't had any problems with doing it. You might have to get shorter U-bolts to take up the space difference but they're not too expensive. THey act as a slight "lowering Block" installed by the factory.

These are only "cheap" alternatives and I would recommend the new springs if you can afford them.

Mark
 
#8 ·
The easy and cheap way to raise the rear end of any 67 - 73 Cougar is to get Mustang shock / spring plates for the same year and eliminate the isolation clamp assembly from the rear spring. It will go up around one inch. Be sure to reuse the wedge. Leaving the wedge out will cause immediate U-Joint failure. You will also need the Mustang rear axle U-Bolts.
 
#9 ·
Royce.. which wedge?? i think my U Joints are crapped out and after teh traction bars went on my car, some thing else had to go. it was like a pad that went between the spring and housing. if that was the wedge, i guess that would explain the U Joint doings.
 
#10 ·
Yup that's it.
 
#11 ·
ahh crap. well time to fix more crap i guess
 
#12 ·
sixt9,

Go back in the archives and look up the thread on leaf spring wedges. I had posted a Family Handyman-style pic of AlphaCat's axle mount setup without the rubber insulators and showing the location of the wedge. This topic was discussed at length there.

If you're feeling lazy today, the pic is also in my photo gallery. Look for the pic with the 'clown coloring'. Every piece was photo-edited to be a different color. Easy to see.
 
#13 ·
if you're still working on your leaf problem, what i did to fix my car's sagging rear-end was to leave the one original main leaf spring that connects to the shackles on the car. then i bought a set of new leaf springs ($60) each i think it was and i used those for the other supporting leaf springs. when i did this i included the mains that cam with my set, cut the connecting ends off and just put them on under the original main. my car was raised a definate 4 inches probably more because of this.

-if this way is even possible for you, you need alot of C-clamps and pateints
 
#14 ·
ok ok.. is the wedge metal or rubber?? im kinda confused now. i havent looked under teh car yet, but i looked at the old shackles that i have in a corner of the garage and really only saw the rubber insulators. hell i might have the wedges still on there then.
 
#16 · (Edited)
I'm afraid if you moved the axle to underneath the springs, then you'll look like an off-road monster truck. I can't imagine anyone who would want their car to sit like that.

The fact that it's unsafe is a whole 'nother story!!
 
#17 ·
I've got an extra leaf spring added to my 70 {PO}, and it seems to sit fine, they did it to accomodate the 265 tyres, which I have now replaced with 235's.
 
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#21 ·
heres a pic of the ones under my car. anyone see the wedge?? its too dark and i dont feel like pulling the wheel off to get a better look.
 

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#23 ·
one of these then?? nevermind the oily ground or the Mystery bucket of contamination.
 

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#24 ·
Steve,

Yes, your wedge is still there. It is the piece of cast iron that is right below the rear end spring perch, between the perch and the rubber isolator.

Now I gotta ask a silly question. Why on earth did you get rid of the old mounts and yet you kept the rubber insulator? That kind of defeats the purpose. The only thing you did was to get rid of the old insulator-type sheet metal retainer. It is the rubber you want to get rid of! That is the part that will keep moisture in there, causing rust and leaf spring breakage. But then again, in sunny SoCal you don't have much of that for a problem. Another problem with the rubber is that is what causes the sloppiness in the rear end mounting that causes wheel hop on hard acceleration. I see you've taken care of that with traction bars, but getting rid of the rubber will help even more. The good part of leaving the rubber in there is that you lessen the road noise/vibration transferrence from the suspension through the car and to your butt. The rubber isolator sandwich was used so the Cougar had a softer, quieter, more luxurious ride than the corresponding Mustang.

I suspect the whole reason you took off the old mount was that the bolt pattern for your traction bars was narrower than the bolt pattern of the mounts, right?

Rick,

I have to respectfully disagree with you about the wedge not being a wedge. Mine certainly are! I had measured mine and they definately taper 1/4" in thickness from back to front, resulting in an angle of about three degrees. That's a wedge in my book!
 
#25 ·
yeah i took off the mounts because the U bolts wouldnt go through the other brackets that i showed in the 2nd pic. ok i feel better now lol. i guess my u joints crapped out for another reason then.
 
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