I'm looking to replace my front coils on my non air 71 442. The choice seems to be between 5450 and 5536, although one website lists a 5440. Moog offers no specs on the 5440 on their site. 5450 has a spring rate of 450 and a load-lbs of 1642, with a installed height of 12 inches. This is suppose to be for an A/C car.
The 5536 has a spring rate of 487, a load -lbs of 1984.50 and an installed height of 11 inches. This is suppose to be for a non aired car which is lighter. What gives?
I checked A/C Delco and their numbers cross over to exactly the Moog numbers in the same scenarios.
Now to further complicate things, Rock Auto also lists OEM numbers that the Moog numbers are designed to cover and a couple of the original GM part numbers listed by Moog for a non air 442 corresponds to the lighter 5450 spring which they say is for an A/C car. Confused?
Has anyone made a choice between the 5450 and the 5536 and are you happy with the choice you made? I am most concerned the 5536 will be way too stiff and although an inch lower, the front may sit too high.
In the mean time, I will email Moog and try to get specs on the 5440, which isn't very common.

 

You may want to look into Eaton Springs in Detroit. You can order off the shelf, or they'll be happy to turn what you spec. Decent prices, too. I bought stock rates, but one inch longer to raise my ride a bit.
http://www.eatondetroitspring.com/

They treated me well when I called and emailed questions. The fellow I spoke with was very knowlegable (sp?).

 

Thanks for the info, I have heard of them and will check them out.

 

Here is the info I got off the Moog data sheets for those two springs a long time ago:

> 5536
> 442 small block - AC - heavy duty, 442 big block - no AC - heavy duty
> wire diameter = 0.690"
> load height = 11.000"
> load = 1984 pounds
> rate per inch = 488 pounds
> free height = 15.063"

> 5450
>small block - AC - heavy duty, big block - no AC - heavy duty, -442 big block - AC - heavy duty
> wire diameter = 0.690"
> load height = 12.000"
> load = 1642 pounds
> rate per inch = 454 pounds
> free height = 15.616"

I have the 5536 springs on my car, which is a small block with AC. The car sits the same height with them as it did with the worn out 40 year old original springs. I have noticed that it sits a tad lower than most of the other 70-72 Cutlasses I have parked next to at shows.

How old are your rear springs? It may work better to replace them to match the front springs so that your car sits correctly.

 

Thanks for your input. The 5536 has a one inch lower load height than the 5450, and based on what you say , I may be more inclined to go with the 5450. I have 5450's in my 71 SX, a 455 with A/C which ride nice and sit OK. It's hard to adequately judge the SX, as the springs were replaced almost thirty years ago.
The only downside with the 5450's in my non A/C 442, is that it may sit an inch higher. As the 5536s have a higher load rating, do you find the ride hard or just pleasantly firm?

 

Pleasantly firm and not hard or harsh at all, and this is comparing them to 40+ year old saggy, worn out originals.

This is how my car sits with the 5536 / 5409 combo:

P2250124.jpg

 

Your car looks beautiful. The front sits about where my SX sits. I think either spring would work out OK, but sometimes it's hard to "pull the plug" and actually order one part over another.
At least picking a back spring isn't as critical as changing it for another is relatively easy in comparison to changing out a front spring. I'm going to keep my original back springs until the restoration is done, and then if I'm unhappy with them I can easily change them out.

 

PM sent.

 

After much study, I bought 5536 front and 5385 rear for a W31. But since I haven't put them in yet I can't comment if I made the right choice. These seemed to be as close to the original FE2 suspension part specifications as far as I could tell.




One conclusion I came to is that every spring for sale out there ultimately comes from Moog, regardless who is marketing them. Look closely at the specs including wire diameter, number of turns, the black powder coat finish, etc. They all line up with a Moog number.