Steve, I’m sure that any lubricant, even the lightest oil is going to attract dirt. Over the
years that has been one of the reasons I’ve been running them dry. I think one has to
consider the life expectancy of a set of springs. Most of us tend to think that they will go
on forever, but the reality of it is that any metal part that is constantly being flexed is
eventually going to fatigue and fail. So….I suppose your question is, how much are we
reducing the life of the spring by attracting dirt to it? I don’t know, maybe someone else
has done the calculation.
Where did you get that information from Jim? I personally find it hard to believe that
would shorten the life of the spring. It does seem logical that they would have ended the
practice because of the expense. Although lubrication does improve the ride, a dry
spring will perform just fine without it.
Liquid Wrench and WD-40 are basically solvent such as kerosene, with a very, very
small amount of oil. Spray either one on something and come back the next morning
and it’s probably going to appear dry. The Chain and Cable lube or lube or motorcycle
chain has a lot more of the oil or grease that you want to get into the machine.
According to Eaton Detroit Spring, you shouldn’t paint or powder coat ‘between’ the
leafs. That makes sense to me, because as it works out from between the leafs the
pack will become loose.
There are as many opinions on restoration and maintenance of leaf springs as there are
people who use them. I’m just reporting the results that I’ve had and what I’ve recently
discovered. Arguing my way is the right way is as useless as arguing Religion, Politics
or which make car is the best.
dg
Last edited by Denny Graham; 05/25/2015 1:24 PM.
