Ryan McManus

What is top or bottom ? Noticed a small notch on one side the springs they are from Greg at Oldsmobile Supercars it's for my 70 cutlass

MDchanic

I've never been aware of any difference top to bottom, but perhaps I've just not been paying attention...

- Eric

Ryan McManus

I have noticed a difference with the front coils, they seem to have one side that is more flat and stand up on the floor turn them around and they fall over

coppercutlass

I belive on the rears there is a rubber isolator up top to quiet the ride down but the side that lays flat i would say goes on the bottom if there is a flatter side but from all the springs i have done i never really paid attention unless it was progressive rate ( cargo coils) . The fronts have a specific spot where the pig tail has to bump into. so the side that does not lay flat goes on the bottom control arm. For the rears i would say they are almost the same in my experience.

RetroRanger

Iirc the rears pigtail should both face the drvrs side and be on the bottom

coppercutlass

I though they had to face each other ?

MDchanic

I think they just have to be there.

- Eric

RetroRanger

I just rtm the pigtails should both face left ( I guess that's drvrs side) 31-48 series which I assume is cutlass.

I assumed that orientation helps prevent axle wrap up ?

Fun71

I remember one of Dave's posts many years ago saying the rear springs were oriented with the pigtails a certain way so the production workers could easily read the numbers on the tags when the chassis was coming down the line. If so, the orientation doesn't really matter as far as functionality is concerned.

Ryan McManus

I have read in previous post someone mentioned the pig tails facing drivers side

joe_padavano

The diagram in the Chassis Service Manual (Section 4, Rear Suspension) shows the pigtails pointing towards the PASSENGER side.

RetroRanger

70 manual section 4.3 states pigtails face left side for 31-48 series >

joe_padavano

That's interesting. I just grabbed the 68 CSM because it was the closest one to me. Page 4-2, Figure 4-2. What I take from that is that pigtail orientation really doesn't matter.

oldcutlass

As long as both are facing the same way, I assume.

MDchanic

I don't think it matters at all (at least not on the rear springs).

- Eric

joe_padavano

Probably not even that is needed. The coil spring is rotationally symmetric. Spring force is the same no matter how it's rotated. Unlike the front springs, both end coils of the rear spring are flat, so clocking has no affect on spring function or loads into the spring pads. At the front, the lower coil is open, so the design of the spring pocket in the lower control arm has a recess to accept this pigtail and clocking matters for that reason.

MDchanic

Joe has elucidated my sentiments on this weighty subject with crystalline clarity, though admittedly more verbosely than my previous spare prose could convey.



- Eric

joe_padavano

MDchanic

Joe, where did you get a picture of my ego? Did my wife send it to you?



- Eric

joe_padavano

Sorry, but you are mistaken. That's a selfie...

oldcutlass

Fun71

This all reinforces what I mentioned above, that one of the Daves had posted that the pigtail orientation shown in the assembly manual was merely to let the line workers easily see the tag on the spring and had nothing to do with functionality.

I must say that the last several posts have been extremely entertaining, in a non-Oldsmobile context.