I hope my front end doesn't sag when I get older Seriously. I have been looking at the way my kids truck sits and I thought it was lower on the driver side because the tire was low on that side. However when I looked closer, it appears that the front spring assembly doesn't have as much arc on the driver side as the passenger side and that is why the truck is listing a little bit to port. Reading previous posts, I see that spring sag on the driver side appears to be a common problem??? My question is, can I take the passenger front spring from my donor frame and put it on the driver side of my truck? Any issues with that? Remember, this is a LOW budget project so new springs are simply out of the question right now as they are a bit pricey. Included are some pics of the kids putting the Chassis Saver coating on the rear of the frame. Check out the difference in the cleanliness between the two boys. My younger was simply hysterical. He had more paint on him than on the frame.LOL All the new pics in members gallery Andy
Why not? That kind of help is priceless!!! If I can put a 1/2 ton front axle on my 3/4, and take leafs out to boot, why couldn't you do that? I can just hear brit now, however... It's all you FAT AMERICANS that break the driver side springs! 'Course, if he lived here, would he be as fit as WE are?
Sounds Good ! Remember : You can take the springs apart and wire brush them , spread graphite grease between the leaves and re-assemble , you won't believe how smoothly your truck will ride . You can also line up the disassembled spring leaves side by side and marry one up out of the must arched (curved) ones , this will really put some ' spring ' into your old truck .
Well BOTH front springs were broken on my truck when it arrived from your svelt country! dude you can get the main two top springs re-arched for very little bucks, find a good spring shop or even an ol timer blacksmith who knows his stuff and they will drop them in the forge, heat em an re-arch em for ya. ________ Bbw ebony
Re-Arching Leafsprings ...Is a total waste of time and money ~ I've seen it time and time again , the leaves will go flat again after a year or so regardless of use .
painted springs No~ this isn't a great place to vacation in Florida, but rather a question about painting springs. Nate: "Take them apart and grease them." I believe I remember reading where you said DO NOT paint them. (?) Obviously, if you have grease all over them, paint wouldn't stick too well. You don't want "pretty" springs, you want quiet, long-lasting ones, right? Thanks for the addd-vice!
Painted Springs ...That's a small town in Arizona , off old Rt. 66 isn't it ? I guess you can paint leaf springs ~ the new ones I bought for my '49 were . Bead blasting them is a serious no-no for any spring , leaf typ or coil . Maybe that Krylon ' Fusion ' paint that's supposed to remain flexible for plastics & bumpers would work ? I use Rustoleum for most under carrige painting as it lasts and lasts . Thinking about it , I'd prolly paint them and then after allowing to dry in the hot sun for a few days , grease them . A few here will remember the old ways when you'd wrap them after the annual cleaning & greasing ritual , this ensured the fabulous ride would last even in salty winter conditions .
Nate, could you please be a bit more specific about what you exactly mean by this procedure? BTW, the difference in distance from driver to passenger side between the top of the main leaf and the bottom of the frame is just over 1/4 inch. Thanks, Andy
I used the nylon stuff you buy on a roll, cut it slightly longer than the spring below and insert it like one big sandwich then use a CP new bolt to hold it all together, i painted the springs when they were apart. ________ HERBAL VAPORIZERS
Take each spring apart (IIRC you said you have spares) and lay them out in order , like they exploded ~ now take the spare spring and do the same and eyeball the two lines of leaves , use the ones that are more curved to mix 'n match one spring ~ this is the poorboy's way of rebuilding a spring . It works a treat and as mentioned , the teflon slider tape is WAY better than grease but I no longer know where to buy it ~ Model 'A' parts houses usually carry it as it makes your old timer ride like new or better . I hope this cleared it up for you Andy . -Nate
Been using polypropalene for awhile instead of teflon. Grit attacks teflon and imbeds. The poly provides a smooth glide and resists the grit better. If a leaf has worn a groove where it meets the next leaf be sure to taper with a grinder or it will eat up the teflon/polypropalene in a hurry. 1/16" or .060 thick lasts for years. Some of the old springs were wrapped in oily burlap and then a thin tin wrapping over that. When we run across one of these the leaves are usually still in good shape. The old ford traverse buggy springs had a groove each way from the center bolt and the center bolt was hollow with a grease zerk in the end so greasing would let grease travel down each leaf. Bout the only good thing about that setup.
Thats the stuff i used, polly ride, cant think straight at moment, more drugs flowing through me than a LA gang house! lol now wheres that pink elephant i was dancing with? ________ Dodge 440
Okay Nate. I get it. got a question though. I have never done this before so enlighten me. What do I do about the metal straps/clips that are wrapped around the springs which I guess hold them together (see pic)? I assume that in order to take apart the spring assemblies these straps/clips have to be sacrificed? What to do when putting it all back together? these straps/clips seem to be integral to the spring. Some are broken and/or missing. do they need to be replaced and where does one get those? Andy
You can just bend them open, they are not spring steel just plain mild steel, you can make your own up to replace the broken ones and get some cold rivets and hammer the rivet to secure new strap to appropriate spring. the only thing these straps do is stop the springs spreading sideways like a magician does with a hand of cards, ________ ASS MOVIE
Don't believe him brit is now so zoned he just thought he typed that and now isn't even sure he's reading this...
One more thing, brit did brit really change his signature???? no- I don't THINK so! come join me in a nice lard glass of red wine, brit. It'll do you gooooooooooodddddddddddd.
Like Niel Said ...you just gently open them a *little* bit so's you can slide the leaves out . What the hell was written in yellow ? I couldn't read a word of it
Who was it that had the ingenious way of removing the pins on the shackles? Was it you, Ken? something about a sleeve and a nut and drawing it out with a socket??? Andy
