Rear Coil Insulators - Should they be on the top and bottom?

[Big Blue 72]

Hey all,

I pulled my old springs in preparation for the new Eibach's and my old coils only had the rubber insulators on the top of the coil. Should there be one on both top and bottom? If not, what is the reasoning behind that? They are impossible to find at the local part shops. I thought NAPA would have them for sure, but no dice even there...

[jensenracing77]

they are just on top as far as i know. it is to reduce noise from the body and does not matter on the bottom. this is just what i think, i am sure that someone else will say for sure.

[J-(Chicago)]

They're just on the top.
Prothane sells them new.

[Big Blue 72]

Originally Posted by jensenracing77

they are just on top as far as i know. it is to reduce noise from the body and does not matter on the bottom. this is just what i think, i am sure that someone else will say for sure.

That makes sense! I was in a different paradigm... I was thinking of it like a bushing to minimize wear, but I guess it makes more sense that it is "insulating" the cabin from noise. Thanks! Paradigm shift completed!

Originally Posted by J-(Chicago)

They're just on the top.
Prothane sells them new.

Rock auto has them for a decent price, but shipping is stupid for such a small part... $7 something for two small rubber insulators? C'mon! Anyone have spares or ideas of where else to look?

[OLD SKL 69]

Assembly manual only shows them on top. I bought mine at Brothers Automotive Products. You can cross shop them to see who has the best price.

[#1CutlassSupreme]

I did Eibach springs on my 72' and I only put insulators on the top. The Eibach springs have that cool metal flake coating and I was tempted to insulate the bottom, but I just followed the assembly manual to play it safe and installed them on the top.

[Big Blue 72]

Originally Posted by OLD SKL 69

Assembly manual only shows them on top. I bought mine at Brothers Automotive Products. You can cross shop them to see who has the best price.

Thanks man, I will have to check it out!

Originally Posted by #1CutlassSupreme

I did Eibach springs on my 72' and I only put insulators on the top. The Eibach springs have that cool metal flake coating and I was tempted to insulate the bottom, but I just followed the assembly manual to play it safe and installed them on the top.

Good to know! How much did they settle? My old springs are shot and I was tucking like 2 inches of tire and would ride on the bump stops with a big guy sitting in the back seat.

I got a good deal on some rims and tires and the rear tires are 275/50R/15's. They were off a 67 Firebird and the offset is almost perfect but the tire hits the inside lip of the fender when the tire is like 1/2" inside the wheel well. How much suspension deflection is there? Do your tires tuck inside the wheel well when you push on the rear end? I know the springs will raise the rear of my car from what it was, but I don't know if I can get away with the 275's. I may have to put 265's on the rims or look into rolling the lip on the fender. What does everyone think?

[bigoldscruiser]

I find this whole discussion interesting because my '66 98 only has the pads on the bottom and not on the top. After having the rear out of the car, I had noise that I could not find. I thought maybe it was from the springs against the metal at the top. I ordered a new set of insulators off eBay and, even though they showed 4, they only sent 2. When I contacted the vendor, they said my car only used 2 and it was not a good idea to install any on the top. I ignored their advice and bought another set and put them on the top. Alas, still had the noise. I finally changed all the trailing arm bushings and the noise was gone.

[Big Blue 72]

Originally Posted by bigoldscruiser

I find this whole discussion interesting because my '66 98 only has the pads on the bottom and not on the top. After having the rear out of the car, I had noise that I could not find. I thought maybe it was from the springs against the metal at the top. I ordered a new set of insulators off eBay and, even though they showed 4, they only sent 2. When I contacted the vendor, they said my car only used 2 and it was not a good idea to install any on the top. I ignored their advice and bought another set and put them on the top. Alas, still had the noise. I finally changed all the trailing arm bushings and the noise was gone.

Big Blue always had a noise in the back of her and I never knew what it was. I thought it was the trunk lid, gas tank, etc... When I began to pry the passenger-side shock off the stud I quickly realized that the upper bushing on the shock was completely gone . When everything is all back together I am sure that things will be much quieter.

I got KYB shocks to replace the stockers and I noticed that when I try to rotate the shock to the stud that it just kinda twists the bushing instead of the the shaft just rotating. What is you guy's experience with this? Is it a problem? Or something that will just work itself out? Thanks for all the input!

[J-(Chicago)]

How in the world did you fit isolators on the axle tubes? The boss is only like 3/4'' tall on mine. I'd be afraid of my spring popping out.

[rockethound]

hey, every one likes them on top! oh wait what are we talking about?

[Big Blue 72]

Originally Posted by rockethound

hey, every one likes them on top! oh wait what are we talking about?

Awesome!