Broken Leaf Spring
15 1/2 year old son just had to have a ford f150 4 x4, so spend a lot of time
looking for one that seemed to be in good condition. I even had a pre-purchase inspection done to identify any problems..that was yesterday. Purchased vehicle yesterday and today find out that the inspection missed a broken leaf spring. Inside the glove box I found a tag that read "out of service", broken leaf spring. So first I google leaf spring to see just what one is (you can stop laughing, yea I know). So first I read the label on the spring (triangle 43-1231) and then search for a replacement part..not happy with the price, so what can I replace them with...I take it from reading that I will need to replace both in the rear correct? Are there any other options?
Maybe I should add the truck info/use:
2000 f150 4 x4 V6 shortbed, single cab. Most he would haul would be bales of hay.
Most of his driving will be to school & back, to get to school he has to drive down a mountain across the river and up the other side.
Last edited by saddiegirl; Sep 28, 2012 at 02:11 PM. Reason: adding additional info
First of all I would try to make this truck as safe as possible for my young
driver.
Have you considered calling a USED auto parts supplier in your location?
They may have a replacement set or leads to someone who has a set.
There are also companies that can replace a broken leaf, and of course,
just spending the money for new spring packs.
Also, the truck should have all the fluids checked and/or replaced.
Filters should be checked and/or replaced.
Have the brakes inspected too.
What is the mileage on the truck?
Thanks for the reply...
During the pre-purchase inspection they checked all the fluids/brakes/trans/etc.
All fluids were at proper level, and trans fluid was clean. I'm suprised they missed the leaf springs since they took off all tires
, I've been using this same shop for years and have always found them to be honest and do great work. They said one thing good about f150 is they are pretty cheap to fix and can easily get parts.Only thing found during inspection was the idler arm has some play. No signs of any leaking fluids.
I've already set up an appt. to have all the fluids/filters replaced for next week..along with having the idler arm fixed.
I have no idea if what's on the truck now is "stock", and when I looked in the door I see a bunch of codes (such as 4N), but not sure which one to use for leaf springs.
Vehicle has aprox. 151k miles. Had a heck of a time finding a f150/auto/single cab/4 x4/short bed (just what he wanted) in our area.
since you just purchased the truck, and the tag was in the truck, i would take it back where you bought it and see if they will honor the repair for free since the tag was in the truck but overlooked.
At least here in Massachusetts, if you fail inspection on a vehicle you just bought from a dealer, they have to either repair it for free. I would imagine that since this would be a safety issue, and it wasn't disclosed at the sale of the vehicle, you'd have some pull regardless of the inspection policy in your state. If not, threaten to report them to the better business bureau, as that is definitely a safety issue that most people wouldn't notice and could cause a serious accident.








