luminal67 Posted July 10, 2009 Report Share Posted July 10, 2009 Well I took my car out of the storage unit today for the first time in 9 months. Well I get it home and discover that the right side is sagging more than the left. My first thoughts, I broke a strut mount. But then I remember that that would not effect ride height. fuck. So I look under and sure enough, the spring is broke/breaking. This is a Flex-A-Form spring and it is only like 4-5 years old. I call George at FAF and tell him what happened and he tells me he doesn't own the company any more and to call back in an hour and talk to Mark, the new owner. So this is where Im at with a dead car. How difficult is it to reinstall a stock leaf into these cars with out that tool to compress it? -end rant- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mra32 Posted July 10, 2009 Report Share Posted July 10, 2009 I think if you have the rear of the car jacked up high enough or just have it on a lift you can disconnect the upper strut mounts and the trailing arms and wiggle it in place. with the drooping knuckles Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boymeetspavement Posted July 10, 2009 Report Share Posted July 10, 2009 Idk about the rears in these but I did a rear swap on a daytona awhile back, we just lifted the car as high as we could blew everything out the bottom. lol I wouldnt suggest that for safety reasons though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xtremerevolution Posted July 10, 2009 Report Share Posted July 10, 2009 Might be worth noting that mine is also broken, which is why I bought the Birchmount steel lowered leaf from "dohc v6". Mine is sagging on both sides, and you can see the leaf splintering and cracking right past the subframe mount. A bit disappointing considering it was a $350 shipped leaf and that I can't get it replaced no questions asked. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luminal67 Posted July 10, 2009 Author Report Share Posted July 10, 2009 Might be worth noting that mine is also broken, which is why I bought the Birchmount steel lowered leaf from "dohc v6". Mine is sagging on both sides, and you can see the leaf splintering and cracking right past the subframe mount. A bit disappointing considering it was a $350 shipped leaf and that I can't get it replaced no questions asked. Ok I guess FAF changed owners and I spoke to the new guy. He said theres not much he can do for a 4 year old spring, but I'm gonna E-mail pictures to him anyway. I don't expect anything will come of that. I also payed $350 for my spring as well, bummer. I assume the steel ones are no longer available either, hasn't DOHCv6 been gone for a while? So now I just have to locate my original and try to jamb it back in there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xtremerevolution Posted July 10, 2009 Report Share Posted July 10, 2009 Might be worth noting that mine is also broken, which is why I bought the Birchmount steel lowered leaf from "dohc v6". Mine is sagging on both sides, and you can see the leaf splintering and cracking right past the subframe mount. A bit disappointing considering it was a $350 shipped leaf and that I can't get it replaced no questions asked. Ok I guess FAF changed owners and I spoke to the new guy. He said theres not much he can do for a 4 year old spring, but I'm gonna E-mail pictures to him anyway. I don't expect anything will come of that. I also payed $350 for my spring as well, bummer. I assume the steel ones are no longer available either, hasn't DOHCv6 been gone for a while? So now I just have to locate my original and try to jamb it back in there. I actually bought this from him "recently." http://www.w-body.com/forum/index.php?topic=79743.0 I messaged him several days ago to get an update, and a week and a half ago as well, and haven't heard anything back from him, although I did pay him the $175 for the spring already. I might have to find his number on his website and give him a call. What was his name? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crazy K Posted July 10, 2009 Report Share Posted July 10, 2009 Mark. that sucks, but rear spring replacement is not hard. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kuntzie Posted July 10, 2009 Report Share Posted July 10, 2009 the steel ones are still available... birchmount here in canada makes them Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luminal67 Posted July 11, 2009 Author Report Share Posted July 11, 2009 that sucks, but rear spring replacement is not hard. Any tips? And you are referring to the factory one right? the steel ones are still available... birchmount here in canada makes them Thats awesome. it will check them out. 220 plush shipping isn't bad at all considering the FAF spring was over 300.00 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xtremerevolution Posted July 11, 2009 Report Share Posted July 11, 2009 that sucks, but rear spring replacement is not hard. Any tips? And you are referring to the factory one right? the steel ones are still available... birchmount here in canada makes them Thats awesome. it will check them out. 220 plush shipping isn't bad at all considering the FAF spring was over 300.00 Yeah no kidding. Great price. And apparently they're very high quality too. I have a feeling mine started breaking during my drive from Chicago to LA when I completely overloaded the back of the regal with weight. 4 straight days of ass-end sagging weight can't be too great for a lowered fiberglass leaf spring. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luminal67 Posted July 11, 2009 Author Report Share Posted July 11, 2009 Thats what I don't get, I never hauled anything heavy in my car. The heaviest was a transmission I brought to NC from Ohio. Other than that my trunk stayed empty. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xtremerevolution Posted July 11, 2009 Report Share Posted July 11, 2009 maybe that's why mine only lasted 3 years. i'm constantly carrying 3 big amps, a 12" sub, and a trunk full of sound dampening. oh well. it was great while it lasted, but knowing what I do know, I wouldn't buy another. I am supremely disappointed. flex a form could have redeemed themselves by offering me a brand new spring with my return of the old one, but they didn't. i'd rather not take the risk of having it crack again in 3 years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Garrett Powered Posted July 12, 2009 Report Share Posted July 12, 2009 $350 seems way kinda high for one too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luminal67 Posted July 13, 2009 Author Report Share Posted July 13, 2009 Well. I'm gonna see how hard it is to reinstall a factory spring this week. If that fails, I have another FAF spring that sat too high that I can throw in at least temporarily. I wish I hadn't sold my other good FAF spring now Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GP4U2NV Posted July 13, 2009 Report Share Posted July 13, 2009 Did you think about doing a upgrade to coil over rears? My leaf broke and that is what I did. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xtremerevolution Posted July 13, 2009 Report Share Posted July 13, 2009 the faf leaf or birchmount leaf is just as much of an upgrade as coilovers. the only advantage to coilovers is the ability to adjust ride height. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GP4U2NV Posted July 13, 2009 Report Share Posted July 13, 2009 the faf leaf or birchmount leaf is just as much of an upgrade as coilovers. the only advantage to coilovers is the ability to adjust ride height. AND THEY DONT BREAK Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xtremerevolution Posted July 13, 2009 Report Share Posted July 13, 2009 the faf leaf or birchmount leaf is just as much of an upgrade as coilovers. the only advantage to coilovers is the ability to adjust ride height. AND THEY DONT BREAK The birchmount leafs don't break. They're steel. My leaf took a lot of abuse. I've had it for 3 years and drove through places you wouldn't even think about. That being said, coilovers will void the warranty on your kyb gr2"s, they don't assist in reducing body roll like the leafs do, and best of all they are more expensive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mra32 Posted July 14, 2009 Report Share Posted July 14, 2009 the faf leaf or birchmount leaf is just as much of an upgrade as coilovers. the only advantage to coilovers is the ability to adjust ride height. AND THEY DONT BREAK The birchmount leafs don't break. They're steel. My leaf took a lot of abuse. I've had it for 3 years and drove through places you wouldn't even think about. That being said, coilovers will void the warranty on your kyb gr2"s, they don't assist in reducing body roll like the leafs do, and best of all they are more expensive. How does a solid transverse spring reduce body roll? what about coilovers voids a warranty on the gr2s that a lowering leaf spring wouldnt? the sleeves being on them? If you were that worried about the warranty, you could try to run sleeves that were not glued to your struts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xtremerevolution Posted July 14, 2009 Report Share Posted July 14, 2009 the faf leaf or birchmount leaf is just as much of an upgrade as coilovers. the only advantage to coilovers is the ability to adjust ride height. AND THEY DONT BREAK The birchmount leafs don't break. They're steel. My leaf took a lot of abuse. I've had it for 3 years and drove through places you wouldn't even think about. That being said, coilovers will void the warranty on your kyb gr2"s, they don't assist in reducing body roll like the leafs do, and best of all they are more expensive. How does a solid transverse spring reduce body roll? what about coilovers voids a warranty on the gr2s that a lowering leaf spring wouldnt? the sleeves being on them? If you were that worried about the warranty, you could try to run sleeves that were not glued to your struts. I don't exactly remember where, but I know for a fact I read in several places that the leaf spring assists in reducing body roll. As far as the GR2's, the sleeves make marks on the actual shocks, which can be distinguished pretty easily. Using them with a lowered leaf makes them look perfectly fine. Not exactly how true this is, but I wouldn't be willing to take that risk for the sole purpose of adjusting ride height, which as far as I can tell is the only advantage to coilovers. I'm hoping this birchmount leaf will last a while. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GutlessSupreme Posted July 14, 2009 Report Share Posted July 14, 2009 How does a solid transverse spring reduce body roll? Tranverse leaves have an inherit anti-sway effect when mounted the way ours are, in addition to acting as a spring. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corvette_leaf_spring I know, I know, it's wikipedia. but it's a good read. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xtremerevolution Posted July 14, 2009 Report Share Posted July 14, 2009 How does a solid transverse spring reduce body roll? Tranverse leaves have an inherit anti-sway effect when mounted the way ours are, in addition to acting as a spring. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corvette_leaf_spring I know, I know, it's wikipedia. but it's a good read. This right here is one of the biggest reasons why I went with the FAF leaf spring instead of coilovers when I first lowered the car. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mra32 Posted July 15, 2009 Report Share Posted July 15, 2009 ah thats what I expected. is the birchmount leaf a single leaf or multiples? I'd bet if its multiples, then the sway bar effect would be minimized. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xtremerevolution Posted July 15, 2009 Report Share Posted July 15, 2009 ah thats what I expected. is the birchmount leaf a single leaf or multiples? I'd bet if its multiples, then the sway bar effect would be minimized. Might be multiple. I guess we'll find out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mfewtrail Posted July 15, 2009 Report Share Posted July 15, 2009 There are some pictures of the birchmount spring here: http://www.w-body.com/forum/index.php?topic=51018.0 (2nd page) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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