The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Engine Shop rebuilding leaf springs...

earlier today i started disassebling my "new" '31 chevy. while doing this, i noticed that my leaf spring were a bit worn looking and 'kinked' in spots. it looks like the main leaves in two of the springs will need to be replaced. if i would like to have the springs rebuilt, what are my options? avoiding the high cost of new springs would be nice, so please let me know of any low-cost alternatives.

thanks,
ed

ps. where can i get new bushings for the shackles?

Eaton Detroit Springs should have what you need (if you have a half ton truck or a car). They also have most parts needed to hang springs. If you are doing an original appearance restoration, let them know (they will use original style spring "binders").

http://www.parts123.com/PartFrame.a...i ngs.com&TITLE=Eaton_Detroit_Spring

You might find that buying new springs are not far off the cost of repairing or re-arching. Here is some info from the Eaton site regarding rearching:

"Re-arching a leaf spring is when the arch of a sagging spring is raised back up to the original height.

Prior to re-arching any spring it should be examined for fatigue, that is has the spring outlasted it's useful life.

To check for fatigue look at the spring from the side before taking it apart.

* Are the leaves close together at the center and separate from each other towards the ends?

Then take the spring apart. Look at the flat surface of each leaf.

* First look for any breaks or cracks.

* Next look for small spots that look like rust but are a darker shade then the surrounding area.

* Then look for lines like those on the palm of your hand running across the flat surface of each leaf.

If any of the above are present then the steel is fatiguing. Do yourself a favor and replace the spring.

If none of the signs of fatigue are present then the spring is a good candidate for re-arching.

There is a couple of ways of re-arching a leaf spring.

The first and most popular way is to use either a press or a hammer to raise the arch. Using this method will result in short term results.

A spring has a memory, cold setting a spring this way will not erase it's memory and over a short period of time the spring will return to the height it was prior to raising it.

The second way of re-arching is to erase the springs memory and give it a new one.

This can only be done by annealing (that is remove the heat treat) this is done by heating each leaf to at least 1650 degrees. Then the spring is re-shaped. And finally the spring is re-heat treated.

Bear in mind that very few spring shops have the equipment required to heat treat springs."

Tim

Edmurder, I had a '54, 1/2 ton with the driver's side spring flat, no arch. An old mechanic friend gave me instructions on how to fix it. I didn't have the money for anything else. I got another front spring set from a junker and took it apart. I took the spring off my truck and took it apart and one by one bent each leaf back by putting the end of the leaf in a heavy vise and slipping a long piece of pipe over the other end. I took one of the leaves from the donor spring, I think it was one from around the middle, bent that one too and put the extra leaf where it belonged in the middle of my old set. When I put the spring back on, it was about on par with the spring on the passenger's side and I drove that truck for a few more years with no problem. Also, that was when the truck and spring were only about 25 years old or so. Good luck! Jacques

ouch! eaton's prices are, well, pricey.

Do all the leaves need repair or just the main leaf? My truck was well-worn with one rear main broken and the other rear flat. The rest of the spring pack was reusable, so I replaced the rear main leaves with boneyard stock and put it all together with new nuts/bolts.

depends what ya mean by "worn and kinked looking", Ed - just find a spring pack at the wreckers the same width and about the same length, and use as many of the leaves as possible/ necessary to get ya back to sprung. got a couple broken leaves in onea my trucks that are about to get replaced like that.
functional is good, cheap is great!

Bill

Try benz spring (www.benzspring.com) in Portland, Or. They are about the best price you will find, and they do good work.

Don't forget to check the yellow pages for spring shops in your local area as well. I was pretty lucky and found a shop that could get me new spring packs for the front of my truck for cheaper than any of the previously mentioned vendors. Best yet...no shipping costs. Good Luck.

i found a lot of shops on yahoo yellow pages. hopefully i'll get a chance to call a few on my afternoon break.

anyone know of any good yards in the phildelphia area? the yard i usually go to (craig's in south jersey) got rid of (crushed?) all of its old cars while i was sleeping over the winter. i think i'd rather use new or rebuilt springs, but if that proves to be too expensive, i'll try the yards.

here's a picture of my garage scene, taken as i was heading in last night. i was given a digital camera for christmas and it's almost as fun to screw around with as old cars...

[img]http://photo.starblvd.net/~edmurder/3-1-5.jpg[/img]