breaking into leaf spring packs?

[alaskajosh]

I wish to take my spring packs apart for cleaning/inspection. Is it possible to do so without grinding off the rivet holding those "C" shaped retainers?

Also, can one tune the ride somewhat by adding or subtracting one or two of the lower (shorter) leaves? Noticably?

Thanks for your time
Kind regards, Josh

[gudjeon]

I used a big hammer to spread apart those big clips to undo the spring packs. One note of caution: securely clamp the pack when removing/grinding off the centre bolt in the middle. Over the years, rust can create a lot of pressure between the layers. It can pop apart with some force when the centre bolt is removed. I breathed some life into older springs this way. I wire wheeled them down and packed them with the thickest grease I could find. Use the hammer to pound the clips back. Some springs clips can be difficult to shift, so heat may be necessary on the clip-not the leaf :thumb-up:

[S11A]

I took the springs from an old muscle car to a shop that did heavy truck springs. They re-arched the springs (forget the exact process but it does more than just re-shapes them - adds more spring back to the metal too). I also had them add a leaf to stiffen the rear up. They also cleaned up the leaves, greased, etc. This did help the ride immensely - went from mushy to nice and firm.

I was in high school and had $0 budget, so it must have been pretty cheap :-) I would be surprised if it cost more than $50 a side.

New shocks helped too, I am sure. That will make as much difference in ride as the springs. The springs absorb shock; the shock absorbers dampen the oscillations resulting from the shock.

You might want to check the number of leaves and any other differences between a regular truck (is yours an 88 or 109?) and the 1-ton ones. Maybe start with one leaf and new shocks, and see how that is before adding several new ones.

[Alaska Mike]

This is what I refer to as the TAW treatment, because I first heard about this from TeriAnn Wakeman. On her website(http://www.expeditionlandrover.info/leafSprings.htm), she describes placing UHMW plastic between the leaves, which reduces friction. The tape costs about $50, and she provides the part number and source.

I would add that you're going to probably have to replace the bolts that hold the spring clamps on the leaves (flat head, 4 each) and the bolt that holds the spring pack together. They will likely break when you try to remove them. Be careful when removing that center bolt, as the springs will jump when it's removed. My spring pack leaves have different archs, and they launched the little overload when the center bolt snapped. I put a clamp on the second pack before I tried to remove the bolt.

The clamps were a pain to get off, and I had to bend them into a U-shape (instead of a C) to get them off of the springs. I'm going to leave them that way, since the plastic will take up even more space in the tight clamps. It's some beefy metal, so be prepared to spend some time with a hammer.

I burned out my bushings with a torch to install new ones (greaseables from Great Basin Rovers). Then I went to town on the leaves with a very aggressive wire brush on an angle grinder. I just took off the loose rust and the scale that had formed near the middle of the spring. Then I painted them with Extend, let them cure for a day, and then top -coated them with a thin layer of black spraypaint. They've been curing all week, and this weekend I'll apply the plastic and put them back together. I'm hoping the plastic keps down the heat, allowing the paint to last a little longer.

It's time consuming, but leaf springs aren't cheap these days. If you can salvage them, it's worth a shot. Even without the plastic, I bet they'll flex better.

[alaskajosh]

Wow. Thanks for the good responses.

I was planning to apply the UHMW plastic. McMaster-Carr only ships blue label to Alaska which is dumb as ground service has been available for several years now. I wasn't able to find this stuff through Grainger.

These springs were given to me by a friend who upgraded to Heystee Paras. They are very low mile springs and the bolts have unthreaded with ease. They do have some surface rust though... mostly just from sitting out in the weather the last few weeks.

Kind regards, Josh

[yorker]

I'd hesitate to call it the TAW treatment I think Jim Allen (http://books.google.com/books?id=Q2o_ioVl8IoC&pg=PA35&lpg=PA35&dq=teflon+leaf+spring+liner&source=web&ots=hx7wapURym&sig=xB0-N4L84Uc0WkkdW2ZIlbeYTCY&hl=en) was one of the ones who turned her on to the idea back in the 1990s. At any rate people have been doing the spring liner trick for quite some time, it is an excellent idea. Ultra High Molecular Weight Poly Ethylene works better than Teflon but you can use teflon pads or strips too:

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?p=2695877



From: "Peter M. Kaskan" <pmk11@cornell.edu>
Date: Sun, 26 Apr 1998 00:59:10 -0400 (EDT)
Subject: Teflon Inserts for Springs & McMaster Supply

Hi all - Jeff G. wrote that the teflon inserts are expensive. Check the McMaster Supply Company Web catalog - www.mcmaster.com. Cut your own from their stock! They have reprocessed teflon sheets in thicknesses from 1/32 to 1/4 in, and dimentions from 12x12 to 24x 36in. For the thinner stuff that is as long as our springs (3ft max?), prices are about 14 to 25 bucks. You could do an axel for about 25 bucks. (see pg 2864) This company will sell to the public - last I checked. They have some amazing bits and pieces you'd never find in a hardware store!! Would I love to take a walk through their warehouses - bearings and gears, all sorts of metal, probably every type of screw and nut, winches, come-alongs, shackles, exaust manifold insulation tape, special tools, oil pumps (a must for gear oils!), clutch lining material, brake shoe material etc. etc etc.... Check it out! (and no I'm not getting any benefits for plugging!)
Peter -----------------------
Peter M. Kaskan
Uris Hall 231
Dept. Of Psychology
Cornell University
607-255-3382
pmk11@cornell.edu





http://books.google.com/books?id=Q2o_ioVl8IoC&pg=PA35&lpg=PA35&dq=teflon+leaf+springs&source=web&ots=hx7wapTRAk&sig=X054AcF6asSj6YjNSyW2KqIfuD0&hl=en


http://coloradok5.com/52inchspringswap.shtml This link(CK5) mentions that you can get the plastic from here:http://www.multicraftplastics.com/



You can also get the stuff here:
http://www.speedwaymotors.com/p/2079,323_Spring-Liners-with-Lip.html

http://www.speedwaymotors.com/p/7471,,_Flat-Spring-Liners.html


You can also rearch your own springs yourself if need be- it is tough work though. Considering the complaints I have heard about the current quality of regular leaf springs it may very well be worth your time to refurbish your old ones.


Slick Spring Tricks.(modifying leaf spring suspension)

Author/s: Joel Mollis

Mods for Smooth-Riding Leaf Springs

Leaf springs: call 'em antiquated, call 'em old tech, call 'em unsophisticated; but also call 'em sturdy, functional, cost effective, and easy to modify. What makes a solid axle and leaf spring setup so popular is its inherent simplicity. Whereas a drive axle suspended with coil springs requires a complex multiple-link designed to locate the axlehousing and to allow for wheel travel, an axle using leaf springs as its springing medium is incredibly straightforward. The leaf spring packs properly locate the axlehousing in both a lateral and a fore-and-aft position; no additional linkage is necessary.

However, for all of their goodness, leaf springs have a dark side: innerleaf friction. To understand how friction is created by leaf springs, let's look at the basics of a leaf springs setup. A group of individual leaf springs bolted together us referred to as a leaf spring pack. As a pack is cycled (compressed and extended), the two ends of each individual leaf rub against the bottom of the leaf that is stacked on top. This occurs because the upward curvature of each leaf's ends are designed to support the leaf directly above it. As the spring pack is compressed, the curvature of these individual leaves flatten, and the leaf's ends rub against the bottom of the leaf it's supporting. All this metal-to-metal contact creates friction, and as the spring pack ages, rust and dirt gets between the leaves, creating additional friction. During actual use, inner-leaf friction actually, causes an increase in the spring rate, since it takes additional force to compress a rusty, sticky spring pack. Increased spring rate makes for an overly stiff ride and limits axle articulation during offroad romps.

The cure for inner-leaf friction is simple, straightforward, and can be performed by anyone with a few basic tools. The fix requires that each spring pack be disassembled, each individual leaf be smoothed, and anti-friction liners be installed between each leaf before the springs are reassembled into a smoothly functioning spring pack.

If you're ready for some slippery tech, let's have at it.

Fantastic Plastics

To select the proper material from which to make anti-friction spring liners, it's best to familiarize yourself with the some of the basic facts about plastic.

First, plastic names: UHMW, also known as polyethylene, is a plastic material with an Ultra High Molecular Weight. Polyethylene/UHMW is a durable, waxy, synthetic thermoplastic developed by German chemists during the early 1900s. Nylatron GS is a derivative of nylon. Nylon, a synthetic material invented by DuPont chemists in 1938, is made from petroleum, natural gas, oxygen, and water. Teflon is a Space Age, super-slippery material also known as PTFE, or polytetrafluoroethene, and is another product developed by DuPont during the early 1930s.

The thickness of the material used in anti-friction liners is also important. Although UHMW, Nylatron GS, and Teflon are available in various thicknesses, the best advice is to select liner material that is neither too thick nor too thin. Our source for all things plastic, Plastic Sales Southern offers a huge selection of anti-friction plastic material in every possible thickness, but the company suggests 0.030- to 0.060-inch-thick material for the sake of durability.




As for sizing, Plastic Sales Southern can supply any of the anti-friction material used in this story in two ways: by the foot or cut to a specific width. If you choose to purchase plastic material by the foot, you'll need to specify the length your springs require. Measure each leaf's a 1-foot-wide piece of plastic, then determine the length of material you'll need. If you prefer, call Plastic Sales Southern and give tell them the measurements; the material to length for the install.

1. Before the actual work begins, you'll need to decide which material is right for your truck's leaf springs. Our favorite material for spring liners is adhesive-backed UHMW. (A). If you prefer, UHMW is available without adhesive. (B). The dark material is Nylatron (C); the material on the right is super-slippery Teflon (D).

2. To get the smoothest action from a leaf spring pack, each individual leaf must be smooth and clean at the area where it rubs or comes into contact with the leaf directly above it. Carefully disassemble the spring pack, noting haw each individual leaf was originally installed. Using a small circular grinder with an 80- or 100-grit wheel, smooth the top side of each leaf, including the top of the leaf's edges.

3. With the leaves smoothed, take the time to spray on a few coats of epoxy paint. The coating will help delay the onset of rust and will provide a clean surface for the plastic spring inserts. Measure the width and the length of each leaf, then transfer the measurements to the plastic material.

4. Trim the plastic material to size with a razor blade or a pair of scissors, then place an insert an the leaf's top side. If you're using Teflon, non-adhesive-backed UHMW, or Nylatron, the insert will be held in place when the next leaf is stacked on top as part of the spring pack's assembly process. If you're using adhesive-backed UHMW, peel the backing material off and stick the plastic insert onto the leaf. Punch a hole through the plastic where the spring pack's center bolt passes and assemble the spring pack, alternating leaves and plastic inserts.

5. If the spring pack you're working on has spring clamps at its ends, you're in luck. If a spring pack doesn't have these clamps, non-adhesive-backed plastic inserts will tend to partially slip out from between the leaves after the spring pack is repeatedly cycled. For this reason, it's best to have a local spring rebuilder attach a loose-fitting clamp to both ends of a spring pack if you intend to install non-adhesive-backed inserts because the clamps will keep the inserts properly located. If you're installing UHMW with an adhesive backing, the insert will be held in place by the adhesive, so spring clamps aren't really required.

6. Select aftermarket spring packs are out. fitted with Teflon or nylon buttons at the leaves' ends. This Superlift Superide spring shows the insert and how it mounts to the leaf:. Small locating holes are punched into the leaf and accept the male studs on the plastic insert. This setup delivers smooth spring action and ensures that the insert will stay in place. National Spring can punch these holes in existing leaf springs and provide plastic inserts if you want to run this type of anti-friction insert.




SOURCES



PLASTIC SALES SOUTHERN INC.
Dept. OR
6490 Fleet St.
Los Angeles, CA 90040
(323) 728-8309 www.plastic-sales.com

[Alaska Mike]

For lack of a better name, that's what I called it, since she has the resources listed on her site. Obviously it's not a new idea, but it should help smooth out stiff springs.