MTFCA Forum

Hi all - I purchased a new 26/27 front spring from Langs and it doesn't fit right. When I attempt to put the shackles on, the oilers on the spring get hung up on the perches on both sides, so the movement is very limited. Doesn't seem to be enough clearance between the perch and the oiler. From what I can tell, the main spring leaf is thicker than my original. Any help or advice you have would be appreciated. Thanks.

A picture would help. Are the oilers driven in too far? Is the issue that you can't fit the Shackles?

Yes to the picture.
As I read it, the oilers are not installed deep enough.
There isn't much room between the top of the oiler & perch. The lids have to be pointed toward the spring center.
There is just enough room to open the lid to get your oiler tip in.

Thanks, all. It could be that the oiler needs to be seated more within the spring leaf. If you look at the picture, the oiler gets hung up on the perch on both sides.

The oilers will need to be fully seated. When the weight of the car is on the spring, I think the oilers will have a little more clearance.
Many new springs are on the stiff side. A few hundred loaded road miles will usually limber them up and they will usually settle a little. Tightening the spring to cross member clamps after a couple of hundred miles is a good idea.

Thanks for the picture. Now i understand. I thought you couldn't get the shackle in. Get the oiler in deeper and put weight on the suspension and It should clear.

Is your front axle a “correct” 26/27 axle? In other words is it a bowed axle or is it a pre 25 straight axle? Dan

Dan - in going through this rebuild for the first time, I believe my axle is pre ‘26/‘27, as it’s straight on the bottom. I’m assuming I may have the wrong spring for this axle? Are the clearances between the perches slightly different? Thanks for the help.

Is the spring a high arc spring? Or is it the 26/27 low arch spring?
What was on it before?

The new spring is a low arch, 8-leaf spring. I believe the old one was a low arch spring (same arch as the new one), but only had 7 leafs, two of which were broken.

The "bowed" front axle that Dan is referring to is generally considered a "1927" axle since it came out in very late in the 1926 model year (8/2/1926).
The "1927" model year started 9/1/26, at least as close as Henry cared about model change years.
Here is a discussion with pictures showing what they look like.
https://www.mtfca.com/discus/messages/4 ... 1411832467

Ford made the axle change due to the lower spring arch for 1926 and the heavier cars bottoming out on the rough roads.
The oilers on the spring leaf was not one of the best ideas. It barely fits and is hard to use.
The clearance for the oilers and the spring to the axle is determined by the spring perches and spring shackles.
Those did not change for 26-27 but often there is axle wear (from bad bushings and shackles) making extra clearance.

For 26-27 All cars got 8 leaf springs in the front along with the lower arch setup.
So somewhere in history the car got an earlier 7 leaf spring installed.
Mike

Thanks all!

The oiler in the photo is put in incorrectly.

Original Smith wrote: ↑

Tue Mar 17, 2026 5:03 pm

The oiler in the photo is put in incorrectly.

Larry, obviously the oiler isn't driven in far enough, but does the orientation of the flip top lid matter, or are there other issues with the picture?

Look in the Ford service book. Yes, it's difficult to open the oiler when installed correctly, but still enough to get the oil can into.

I solved that problem by leaving them out. The little extra dirt isn't going, in my opinion, hurt that much more than the dirt that comes in though the shackles themselves. And because I don't have to fight getting the door open, more likely to get some oil.

Quite simple to utilize a "cat bar" & pry one side of the spring at a time to oil - put a rag in if you're concerned of marring the paint !

The oilers shown in the service manual appear shorter than those sold by the vendors. I mounted them with the cover opening from the front, but even so, they open fully on my original (or at least old) 8 leaf front spring.

If memory serves (which it doesn't do much lately) the reason I mounted the oilers 90 degrees off was that the hinge contacted the shackle.