I dont know how it happened, I dont beat on my truck or off road it or anything.

The drivers front coil spring is broken. I cant believe it because of how thick they are. Anyone else ever have this problem? Its the first one I have seen (I am a mechanic).

I wonder what I should do, get a new pair and replace them as a set (not sure if our strut compressor will squeeze this spring down though to do it) or just order the drivers side coil/shock assembly from a junkyard and put it in.

What about aftermarket options? My only concern with aftermarket is it being a different spring rate giving a different ride height, etc.

 

There were alot of different springs available for our trucks from the factory....so i'd not get a junkyard one as you might not find the exact match. If it were me...i'd replace the set....

 

Pete

Didn't know you were related to my wife (that's a joke). She cracked a total of 5 springs on 2 cars (an Escort and my TBird) in 1 year (I suspect it was hitting speed bumps too fast but I can't prove it). I ended up having 6 springs replaced, all using oem parts. Here's the thing I encountered with my TBird, once the 4 springs were changed out and an alignment was done if you drove down the road and touched a road seam that ran down the length of the road, it would darn near throw you in the ditch. I took it back to the dealer 3 times on that as it was unsafe, they just kept saying it was aligned within specs and there was nothing else they could do. I went to an alignment shop that deals primarily with hi-performance autos and he knew exactly what was going on. Related to the new springs not taking their 'set' yet when doing the alignment. He reworked it a little (drove 1000% better), said to raise the hood and put some supports there (it was going into winter storage, and to put a couple of bags of sand on the front end and a couple in the trunk over winter. Once spring came and I got the car out of storage, bring it back and he'd go over it again. Come spring, got the car out of storage and it drove perfect. Had the alignment checked and he said it was right on and haven't had an issue with it since.

I would not replace the springs on just one side, they are far too finicky if you have a used one on one side and a new one on the other.

Hope this helps.

Paul

 

hcbph,

Lol, I dont know if i could be considered related (this is my first one).

If I was to go with new, I would do them in a set,

If I go used, I think I may just replace the driver side.

The only reason I dont want to do new springs is because I really am not sure if I have the tools to compress them to get them on the shock(strut) assembly. If you read the descriptions of new strut compressors, only a few claim that they "can handle even the heaviest of coil over shocks, including the F150 and Toyota Rav 4". This worrys me because it hints at the idea that most other compressors cannot compress the springs.

That is why a junkyard one already mounted on a strut is so appealing. Just unbolt the old one, bolt in the new (used)one. Plus I would only have to do one side. Total cost= $50.00 plus tax. Just the springs will be about $50.00 per side new.