Front spring stop

[ssls6]

My 72 has a front spring stop bolted to the frame on the drivers side but not one on the passengers side. The stop is located right behind the front shackle. It looks like it limits the rearward motion of the spring eye during flex.

I need a passenger side stop. Does anyone know where I could find one?

 

[Greg72]

Instead of looking for another one (which never existed on the passenger side, BTW) I'd remove the one on the driver's side!!!


Seriously, if you're modifying the suspension that stop will give you some SCARY behaviors under braking. As the front end dives under braking the drivers side spring is limited by the stopper, but the passenger side continues to compress....the effect is that the truck wants to "turn" sharply to the right....a rather unsettling effect.

Once I figured out what was happening on my truck, I removed that stopper and from then on my braking was perfectly straight and a lot less "exciting"!!!!


.

 

[ssls6]

Thanks. I didn't realize that the passengers side never came with one. I'm learning a lot from this site. I've been into Chevelles and El Caminos for years but this is my first K5.

 

[gjk5]

Thanks, I had wondered about that stop and whether removing was OK. (glad to hear it is since I removed it months ago.)

 

[Greg72]

I suppose to be "technically" correct, you could spend the time figuring out how far back to move it so that it only works in extreme cases.

AFAIK, that was part of the retrofit for a safety recall on early K5s. The idea was presumably to hold the spring if the shackles or rear spring bolts ever broke...it would still be a pretty scary stop, but at least that whole side of the truck wouldn't drop completely to the ground!!!! There was also a metal strap welded across the front spring hanger for similar reasons. If you lose that spring mount, you probably also lose your steering since it's connected on that same side......(another reason why you don't see those parts on the passenger side)

A set of good quality bolts and a set of the ORD HD shackles are probably the better way to go anyway.....

 

[gjk5]

Soon to be done along with ORD shackle flip to get rid of my blocks, thanks for the info.


Sorry for the hijack ssls6.

 

[JIMs70K25]

I removed it and the strap in the front from both my trucks.

 

[ZZ4x4]

I had heard a different reason for the spring limiter. I had read that it is called the "Steering Quickener" and was designed to limit the spring during hard right hand turns or large bumps. As the driver side spring flexes the amount of steering wheel turn to keep the truck pointed correctly would increase.

I could see it being a safety recall as mentioned to prevent a death wobble during a sudden maneuver where the wheel would bounce back and forth in your hands as the vehicle pitched right and left.
Jeff

 

[Burt4x4]

Years ago I read a recall letter from GM over at an old site called blazernet.com

Someone had posted the actual letter and in 1969 the K5 driver's side front eyebolt was shearing off. The fix was the added 'strap' on the front and the stop on the rear to 'trap' the spring inplace if that bolt was to break. I guess the bolt was undersized or something. There was more to the letter but I can't remember the rest.
I removed my stop but the front strap is still there. It doesn't get in the way so I just left it.
Good Luck