Beta Springs

[davidb]

Beta FRONT springs: Suspected the front new/old struts for clunky
ride. Rears seem okay. Took front struts off, cycled them, spring
compressor, modest improvement. I have new front "A" arms w/
new bushings [duh]. Yes the 19MM bolts were adjusted laden. I
called Di-Fatta [among others] & was told springs this old ['82]
may be the problem as opposed to shocks/struts. Cause of the
clunky ride. TMK only new springs availible are from Beta Boyz,
are lower + more stiff. That will not improve ride quality. Other
than that I actually was able to drive her more than 4 miles today
w/o fuel starvation. Maybe tearing off that S.S. mesh sock helped?
Got the Bosch pump from Bob [Vick's] today. That will get rid of
that annoying whirring noise, I hope. Another day, another issue.

[jp]

I installed rear spring isolators in the LBZ last week and I have to say they do really make a difference

Now, onto installing the rear mounts courtesy of Mr. Keller!

[len_newstrum]

Pardon my ignorance, jp, but what are "rear spring isolators"? What was their effect?

Len

[jp]

Hi Len

they are kind of like spacers, rubber blocks that get inserted in the springs. They gave some lift to my rear springs and the ride is actually better too

[davidb]

W/all due respect to JP either "spacers or isolators" is okay. The
Mitchell manual calls them "springs pads" which is probably best.
You were lucky to find replacements. Out of desperation, to hope-
fully improve my ride quality, I ordered front upper strut rubbers
from Obert. At $282 apeice + shipping = desperation purchase.
Mitchell calls them "spring mounts" which is really not accurate.
Thanks to Charlie for the lead. Well thanks, I guess. OUCH !
Maybe I'm off on what JP is talking about tho, rubber blocks?
Never heard of blocks you insert in the spring coil?

[len_newstrum]

It sounds like there is a great deal of confusion here as to what jp meant by "rear spring isolators". There are three ways to increase the static length of a spring: solid spacers between the end of the spring and the spring seat, increasing the spring length by inserting H-shaped spacer blocks (usually about an inch long each) between coils in the spring, or putting in a spring spacer between coils that goes completely around the spring diameter. My earlier post--#35 in "Beta Coupe lug bolts loosening"--included the following description of the last solution.
"I found spring spacers on-line that are commonly used by off-roading trucks to increase their road (rock?) clearance and to stiffen the springs somewhat. They are simply a doughnut with an hourglass cross-section and a single vertical cut (like a lock-washer). I chose one with the same diameter as the spring and a thickness at its thinnest point equal to the nominal coil spacing plus the quarter inch rise that I needed. With the wheels dangling (it) is was simple job to soap them up and thread them onto bottom-most coil, doing a little trimming so that the end of the spring fits into the lower spring seat correctly. The quarter inch increase in height isn't noticeable."

The first solution requires disassembly of the strut and is really expensive ($282 apiece + shipping, according to davidb), but does have the advantage of not affecting the spring characteristics.

The second solution is both cheap and easy, but requires that the blocks be spaced in pairs to avoid the spring 'cocking' under load. I didn't like the fact that they imposed point loads on the coils. Whether that would result in long term distortion of the coils is arguable, but I didn't want to chance it.

The last solution is cheap. I don't remember exactly what they cost, but as I recollect they were about $7 each, plus S&H and only required jacking the car up, taking off the wheels, doing a little trimming with a wallboard knife, and feeding them into the bottom coil. They should go in the very first coil, hence the trimming. I found them on-line after a lot of searching, but they are there. Try NAPA on-line catalog, off-road trucks sites, and such. For me, it was a great solution.

Len