I have a 2000 150, and it looks like the center leaf of the spring broke and twisted into my tire, messing up the inside rim. Is this a common problem with the 150's? i hauled a couple loads of wood and am wondering if this caused it to bust of if it was already cracked. Any thoughts on what this should cost to repair, I think I am getting overpriced quotes.

 

Broken leaf spring

I have a 1997 E150. On June 25, 2003 my right rear center leaf broke. I use my van as a service van. I was driving home like any other day, hit a small pothole and BAM - it sounded like somebody threw a baseball against the side of my van. The center leaf turned sideways and jammed under the rear panel. When I got home I jacked up my van and repositioned the leaf back into position and used 4" metal straps to keep it from coming out until I can replace the leaf spring. I was told it's unsafe to drive a vehicle with a broken leaf spring( sometimes we don't have a choice), to replace ASAP and to replace both at the same time with either the same used off of the same vehicle or new ones. This way they have the same usage. In the San Francisco Bay Area, Ford dealers want $190.00 per leaf and local wreckers wants about $70 per leaf. A local wrecker tried to get me a pair - I waited a week and finally told him to forget it. My next option will be to call truck part houses or truck wreckers - they only sell used leaf spring by the pair and are asking $200.00 for the pair! I've never replaced a leaf spring before. The manual I have says it's not the difficult - I HOPE!

I don't know if broken leaf springs are a common problem? There is no recall on them (didn't see one) or if FORD will warranty them. Does anyone know??????????

Hope this helps Burley and have a great July 4th weekend!

 

theres a place here in michigan that sells brand NEW rear leaf springs for ford trucks for 100 bucks each
i just got a pair from them , very nice parts, and for a few extra bucks they'll even throw in the U bolts and nuts

 

When I 1st got my truck, I had a couple guys tell me to keep an eye on my springs- seems it is (was) a fairly common problem.

 

MrBandBooster, since you're in the SF Bay area. Try a pricing a shop in Oakland, A-1 Spring. They might be able to replace the one broken spring, re-arc both, etc. Just an option....

 

BTW. The hardest part about changing springs are removing the eye bolts. I've had to use a sawzall on one that was absolutely rusted in.

 

Thanks Faithful - I'll call A-1. When I called several Ford dealerships - they asked for the spring code and their prices average $220.00 and they can only give prices (the spring code is located on the driver side door label at the bottom right corner. You will see the letter "SPR" and under that you should see your code. Mine says "GC"). All documentation has been removed and they don't know if you need a 2/1, 3/1 or whatever! Three places I called said I should have a 3/1 spring not a 2/1 springs on my van. I found a place who will charge $120.00ea. "NEW" to replace my broken spring and $80.00 labor for each side or upgrade to a 4/1 for $128.00ea. This guy said he replaces alot of Ford E-150 leaf springs. To say this has been an education is an understatement! If you use your E-150 van as a service van, you may want to consider upgrading to a stronger spring or wait and hope yours won't break! If you need to replace a leaf spring, look under "Springs - Automotive" in your local yellow pages. As I have found, wreckers and junk yards are a waste of time and dealerships are to expensive!!! The spring shops I called all said, if you carry a lot of weight in your van, it only takes hitting a pot hole in the road ( size really doesn't matter) at the right speed, angle or whatever to break a spring. If you want to know which springs you have - look at yours and count the total number of leafs. The top leafs are about a 1/2" thick and represent the first number. The bottom leaf should be about 3/4" thick and represents the second number when talking about leaf springs
( 2/1, 3/1, 4/1 etc. ). I'll keep you posted on my adventure!Everyone, have a great day!!!!!

 

Many years ago i drove a duster that had some broken leafs and incidentally needed to be lifted in the rear, i was lucky enough to be working at an auto wrecker. Anyway, to make a long story short, i cut some leafs off a cordoba, took them apart, took the originals apart and mixed and matched until i had two matching pairs - clamped them together with some new clamps i bought from a front-end shop and installed the springs. Seeing as how i got the springs for free, it cost me about fifteen bucks for the new clamps.

 

Can you share the name and number of this place?