Front spring question

I have a model A front spring, 1-3/4", 10 leaf, 30" eye to eye center. Inside the eyes there seems to be steel bushings or spacers with an I.D of 9/16". Are these bushings part of an old shackle?, and can these be removed - pressed out. If they were removed then the i.D. of the eyes would be 3/4". I thought all the springs eyes were 3/4". Any ideas? Thanks.

 

They're the remains of old shackles. Press 'em out.

 

You can take em out with a hacksaw, drift and hammer.

Saw the bushing so that it's almost cut through.
That will relax the grip to the point where you can drive it out with small drift or punch.

Wear goggles when hammering.

Take care not to cut the spring eye.

Patience is key here.

 

I got it hammered out ok. Are the shackles usually a tight fit as the spring eyes seem to be a real tight 3/4".

 

it's a " tight fit" because i believe model A front springs have a 11/16" eye

pete & jakes used to have a shackle for this...11/16 on one side and 3/4 on the other for the perch. maybe they still do?

 

I went to Pete and Jakes website. They do have 11/16" bushings for shackles. That makes it a whole lot easier! Thanks for the info.

 

Sand the rust and dirt out of the spring eye with some emery paper.

Won't hurt to use a rat-tail file at the start.

That'll help the bushing go in easy.