Coil Springs

[bobf]

I have a 85 Avanti which was the last year to utilize the Studebaker frame. Last winter I dropped the Right front lower control arm and when I reassembled it the outer edge of the coil spring had a slight interferance with the top of the frame surrounding the coil which produced a annoying squeek on the road. I can stop it by greasing the coil but it only lasts a couple hundred miles. I've dropped control arms several times and never had the problem before. Am I doing something wrong? Any suggestions would be appreciated

Thanks Bob Fouts

[mweiss]

where did you get the spring from. I have some concerns about a pair I recently purchased from SI, I feel they may be getting these reproduced incorrectly, either wrong Kf or perhaps slightly too tall. -m weiss

ok

[bobf]

This was one of the origional coils which I have R&R'd several times without a problem, until now.

[rickhmn]

try turning it. They develop a set into a curve as the whole fornt suspension is sort of a big circle. If they are in different than what they were before somtimes they try to curve funny and squeak or bump the shock or it can make the car sit high on one side. If it's not too bad and this is the cause it will go away.

[64V-K7]

I believe the lower tips of the coils have a tapered end and the ends on bot sides should be pointing toward the engine. Doesn't your car have the rubber isolators on each end?


Bob Johnstone

https://www.studebaker-info.org

64 GT Hawk
55 President State Sedan
70 Avanti (R3)

[mweiss]

I have heard the idea about facing the coil in a certain way towards the engine;It's hard to get both ends to point inwards, since the new coils that SI provides end at 90 degrees to each other, in other words, there was no way to get the ends to both face inwards. Anyway, that concept seems to be a myth to me, if one thinks about the mechanics and force constants of springs in general.

ok

[bobf]

My 85 never had rubber isolators on the coils, however I don't believe the would cure the squeek as it's caused by a slight interfearance between the side of the coil and the frame at the outer edge of the coil.

[jallen]

I don't have this information for Avanti, but I know that for many models GM specifies the orientation of the spring in their shop manuals. If it didn't make a difference there would be no reason to
include that information. If it were my car I would be thinking about new springs, preferably NOS which show up on ebay once in a while. In the meantime I think marking the springs and rotating them might eliminate your problem.

[joedskid]

I hope this isn't too simple or maybe I'm not understanding the whole picture but I would check the orientation of the left coil spring and use it a a model to orient the right one.

Good luck.