broken leaf springs
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Senior User
Joined: Dec 2001
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broken leaf springs
i was doing the brakes on my 74 f250 the other day and i noticed that 3 center leaves in the right rear spring pack were broken. i cant imagine how 3 leaf springs in the center of the pack can just break in half. how does this happen? what causes it? is this a dangerous situation?? would this cause the rear of the truck to sag substantially? thanks!
Posting Guru
Joined: Jul 2001
Posts: 1,613
Likes: 2
From: Gainesville, FL
broken leaf springs
Nut,
This is more common than you might think. Over loading a truck and getting off road can do a number on leaf springs but a few things have to happen first.
1. The leaf springs must be rusty. A binding of the springs is a must. I.E. rust.
2. There must be a load on the truck. Then there must be a rapid input to the suspension. The heavy load causes a large displacement of the springs and the rust causes them to bind and fracture.
There is a solution:
1. Remove your leave springs. Have springs bead blasted and paint your leave springs. It's a pain and thats why it wasn't done from the factory.
2. Remove springs and place teflon shims (0.010") between them.
3. The worst one. Pull'em apart and grease them up.
My Way is the Highway
KingFisher
This is more common than you might think. Over loading a truck and getting off road can do a number on leaf springs but a few things have to happen first.
1. The leaf springs must be rusty. A binding of the springs is a must. I.E. rust.
2. There must be a load on the truck. Then there must be a rapid input to the suspension. The heavy load causes a large displacement of the springs and the rust causes them to bind and fracture.
There is a solution:
1. Remove your leave springs. Have springs bead blasted and paint your leave springs. It's a pain and thats why it wasn't done from the factory.
2. Remove springs and place teflon shims (0.010") between them.
3. The worst one. Pull'em apart and grease them up.
My Way is the Highway
KingFisher
Laughing Gas
Joined: Feb 2002
Posts: 1,067
Likes: 13
From: Kincardine, ON
broken leaf springs
Having "been there done that" several times with my leaf springs, Kingfisher nailed it right on the head. It's not the most fun job,but if longevity and reduced further maintenance are your goals then its the way to go. Besides, its a good time to do those spring bushings to.
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