Coil spring spacers?

Issues with shocks/springs, tires, steering box, stopping, etc.
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audiocontr
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Re: Coil spring spacers?

Post by audiocontr »

Did you ever come up with a solution?
1973 712m
1968 Haflinger
1965 Pathfinder
1978 GMC Palm Beach (Hey, its got 6 wheels!!)
NEWFISHER
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Re: Coil spring spacers?

Post by NEWFISHER »

Assuming you are asking me, yes. I tried M Werman and no luck so I tore into it. Pulled the coil, measured the chassis stub diameter and built a spacer to rest between it and the upper cup. Had to pull it a couple times to fine tune the ride height but worked great in all on and off road full stuff situations. Sold the pinz so the spacers and the oil pan gaurd projects stopped. Pm me I have a couple bushing blanks I can send you.
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4x4Pinz
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Re: Coil spring spacers?

Post by 4x4Pinz »

I have been playing with some 1 1/4 black pipe cut at 1.25 inch length with a 3/4 inch piece of 1 inch welded inside to space down the upper cup a little and make the truck set level. The first thing I had to do was rotate my mid axles to the proper location, arrange the load in the rear to a location more over the rear axles and I also replaced the front springs. replacing the front springs made no difference in the stance or ride but I had to give it a shot since it seemed the front was lower and the tire stance was more dramatic then it had been in the past. Now my truck is heavier then most and I use it offroad more then most, so I have some suspension (and other) wear in places that I don't see on other trucks.
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audiocontr
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Re: Coil spring spacers?

Post by audiocontr »

"rotate mid axles to proper location"

This is the first Ive heard of such things! Can you say more of what to look for and how to rotate?
1973 712m
1968 Haflinger
1965 Pathfinder
1978 GMC Palm Beach (Hey, its got 6 wheels!!)
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4x4Pinz
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Re: Coil spring spacers?

Post by 4x4Pinz »

well first off you have to be a little rough on your truck. On some of my adventures I managed to put enough torque on the axle to cause them to rotate slightly (yes this means the alignment stud hole is slightly deformed). One step that I have seen skipped when owners split their axles halves is to coat the inner housing with a liberal amount of loctite. That joint consist of the clamp, pin (via alignment stud) and glued with the use of loctite.
All you have to do is look at the clamp (where the two large bolts hold the axle halves together). If they are not level with the ground, the axle has rotated a little. I have seen several pinzies with this condition and the owners were not aware of it. All axle bolts should be level with the ground. It really only takes a quick look to see if they are not.
Think of the pinz, especially the 712 as having three points of contact with the ground. If you lower the middle point then stress is put on the front and causes the nose to drop. I found this after replacing the front springs with new and the nose did not come up at all. Yes I have a heavy truck but not compared to an ambulance fully equipped. Once the axles are put into the proper location the nose came up considerably and the camber on the wheels was greatly reduced. The spacers are minimal and probably not needed but I wanted my truck to set level. Of course I could have sourced longer spring cup studs but the spacers were much easier for me to fab. I was using some of Marks spacers but they kept breaking at the point where they fit into the body mount. My new design does not fit inside but rather over. The downside that I can see with my design is that there is no "pin" and the springs must make up for the axle swing. I have been using my new design for about a year which equates to roughly 30 multiday outings on trails that most pinzies will never see and with a load that few will ever carry. To date I have seen no ill effects.
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Haf-e
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Re: Coil spring spacers?

Post by Haf-e »

A while ago I had a friend make me up a set of front spring spacers to extend the original ball "seat" part downward. I haven't put them in yet. I would be willing to supply them to GadgetPhreak's truck if he wants to try them out. I can always make up another set - they are pretty simple.

There was a slight mis-communication and the height of the extensions was only 22 mm - which is about the minimum that a part can be made for this approach to work. I was wanting it to be 1 inch / 25 mm instead.

Here are some photos with dimensions:
Front spring spacer.jpg
Front spring spacer.jpg (291.62 KiB) Viewed 2919 times
Front spring spacer Dimensions .jpg
Front spring spacer Dimensions .jpg (621.91 KiB) Viewed 2919 times
This approach retains the ball seat for the upper spring cup. It would be hard to replicate the original part's inner curved surface with a simple lathe - so the idea of making an extension seemed like an easier approach.

Thoughts?
Haf-e

1971 Pinzgauer 710M

Image
Disc Brake Conversion Kits for 710 and 712 Pinzgauers
www.klugewerks.com
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