Technical 500F rear spring replacement advice

[Strada Bianche]

Hello there,
I have a 1970 Fiat 500F and wish to replace the rear suspension springs with slightly lower ones.
I assembled the suspension from scratch in 2016
but this time around I don't want to disturb the rear steering geometry by completely removing the swing arms if possible.
Ideally it would be nice to leave the brake cable connected.
I have tried undoing the shocks and allowing the swing arm to drop, but they don't go far enough to allow the removal of the spring.
(When I assembled it I compressed the springs first but can't do this in reverse as there isn't enough room to get the spring compressors in)
Any advice on doing this and the sequence of disassembly would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks

 

[the hobbler]

Hello there,
I have a 1970 Fiat 500F and wish to replace the rear suspension springs with slightly lower ones.
I assembled the suspension from scratch in 2016
but this time around I don't want to disturb the rear steering geometry by completely removing the swing arms if possible.
Ideally it would be nice to leave the brake cable connected.
I have tried undoing the shocks and allowing the swing arm to drop, but they don't go far enough to allow the removal of the spring.
(When I assembled it I compressed the springs first but can't do this in reverse as there isn't enough room to get the spring compressors in)
Any advice on doing this and the sequence of disassembly would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks

I have done this job before (but admittadly, many years ago) and I definitely did NOT remove the rear wishbone/swing-arms. If I remember correctly, I just removed the rear dampers, pushed the wishbone down and inserted the spring. With it in place, there was a certain amount of alignment required with regard to the top rubber and tin fitment rings, but nothing else. Then, just put the damper back in place through the wishbone, jack up the wishbone to the point that the damper can be done up top and bottom.

 

[Strada Bianche]

I have done this job before (but admittadly, many years ago) and I definitely did NOT remove the rear wishbone/swing-arms. If I remember correctly, I just removed the rear dampers, pushed the wishbone down and inserted the spring. With it in place, there was a certain amount of alignment required with regard to the top rubber and tin fitment rings, but nothing else. Then, just put the damper back in place through the wishbone, jack up the wishbone to the point that the damper can be done up top and bottom.

Hello there thanks for such a fast reply!
I shall give it a go. (I also remember a lot of spring twisting to align the rings)
Strada Bianche

 

[fiat500]

Hello there thanks for such a fast reply!
I shall give it a go. (I also remember a lot of spring twisting to align the rings)
Strada Bianche

Could you just loosen the pivot bolts through the Silentblocs? That way you should get plenty of wiggle room.

 

[telemike4]

You can get them in and out without removing the wishbones with wiggling. I might also have used a ratchet strap to compress them slightly.

 

[Strada Bianche]

Could you just loosen the pivot bolts through the Silentblocs? That way you should get plenty of wiggle room.

Hi Peter that sounds like it should give me that last bit of movement I need
Thanks

 

[Strada Bianche]

You can get them in and out without removing the wishbones with wiggling. I might also have used a ratchet strap to compress them slightly.

From memory when I inserted the original springs I compressed them before inserting and held them in place with loads of heavy duty cable ties, but cant do this in reverse as I cant get my hands in, however your suggestion of a ratchet strap is great!
as soon as it stoops raining for a few days ill get onto it!

 

[telemike4]

I have just done my final rear spring, but neglected to take photos. Sorry. The order I did things in was:
1) I mounted the wishbone
2) mount the top of the shock absorber with the shock partially/fully compressed
3) slip the spring in. I didn’t have any trouble aligning it at all and I believe they are the original spring.
4) fully extend the shock absorber and try to get the bottom mount through the hole in the wishbone. You might need to jack up the bottom of the wishbone about 10mm to get the shock bottom mount through the hole. I definitely used a ratchet strap on the other side but not on this side.
5) do up the bottom shock mount
6) feel smug.

 

[Strada Bianche]

I have just done my final rear spring, but neglected to take photos. Sorry. The order I did things in was:
1) I mounted the wishbone
2) mount the top of the shock absorber with the shock partially/fully compressed
3) slip the spring in. I didn’t have any trouble aligning it at all and I believe they are the original spring.
4) fully extend the shock absorber and try to get the bottom mount through the hole in the wishbone. You might need to jack up the bottom of the wishbone about 10mm to get the shock bottom mount through the hole. I definitely used a ratchet strap on the other side but not on this side.
5) do up the bottom shock mount
6) feel smug.

Thanks for the advice, no need to apologise for not taking photos!
im looking forward to feeling smug!
Thanks