Rear springs

[31 RPU]

I think I have my front spring in pretty good shape.
Brattons has a measurement in their parts catalog of the rear spring. My spring is a little shorter and a little wider than what the tolerances are. How critical is this?
My spring does have some wear on the bottom of the shackle hole where it has rubbed the rear end housing but I was told it was used to haul fire wood.

Thanks

[31 RPU]

Anybody?

[Tom Wesenberg]

Several combinations of leaves were used on the rear spring, so one dimension probably isn't too accurate for all the springs. See Marco's spring chart.

A little wear on the bottom of the spring end is fairly common from heavy loads and worn shackles. Unless the rear of your car looks low, I would think your spring is fine to use. If it's apart grind the sharp edges where the upper leaf rubs into the leaf below it. Also grind a slight bevel on the bottom of the upper leaf at the ends where it wears into the lower leaf. Then sandblast the spring leafs and paint them. brush grease onto the bottom of each leaf and sprinkle some graphite onto the grease, then reassemble the spring pack.

[tbirdtbird]

how much is a little bit? can you give us a measurement
If the spring fits into the mount at the top then I see no problem.
Slight differences at the shackle end should not matter that much.

Need pix of eye on end.

I have welded up the kind of wear you describe on the housing. It is not rare. Overloading does it every time.

The shackle hole in the housing must also be egged out. Search on here for repair methods. I have welded those up, also. Insert a piece of 3/4 inch either ceramic or carbon rod (weld won't stick) and weld up all around it. Break out the ceramic or carbon, die grind smooth, done. One poster on here a couple yrs ago wanted to use epoxy to fix this. He greatly underestimated the forces on the spring. A non-metallic repair will fail very quickly, prolly less than a mile, from all the pounding.

Don't forget new shackle bushings

[31 RPU]

About an inch lower and wider than the limits set in Brattons parts catalog.

[tbirdtbird]

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OK, this sounds like the spring is sagging. I think you mean lower and longer. The width of the leaves I guess is not the issue. Not surprising it has sagged with all the overloading.

I am not sure if I can comment on how well this will work. Some may tell you to have the spring re-arched but it will sag again in a fairly short period of time and to me is a waste of money and time.

Maybe Purdy, Tom W, and some other pros can comment on whether they would use this spring

[Tom Wesenberg]

Since it's a 10 leaf on the rear of an open pickup, it may be OK, unless you plan to haul heavy loads. Some people remove leaves from the spring to soften the ride.

[31 RPU]

It's a Cabby....

[Tim B.]

I agree with Tom. It depends on how you intend to use the truck and how long you expect the repair to last. If you've got more time than money and access to a hydraulic press you can re-arch it while you get the funds together to replace it. Not difficult to do. Here's what I did. Lay out the final dimension of the eyes and start with the main. Take your time and gently work the arch starting at the top and working towards the eye every inch or so till you're close and then each leaf until the arches nest well but not tightly. You want to draw them up to obtain some of the tension and final shape. Keep the arches symmetrical so the sprnig will not be off center. Tighten it up. Check final dimension and adjust the arch of the leaves as necessary to get it in tolerance. One of the quieter jobs. Tim