I've got an OT car with sagging rear leaf springs. It's a back-up daily driver. Anyhow, I really want to fix the sagging rear (it's been irriating me for years now). Is it better to get long add-a-leaf's or to have the rear springs re-arched?
Thanks,
Carl
My choice would be to have the springs re-arched.... adding an extra leaf to the pack seems to help as well though the ride will get a little rougher.
Jim Warman snipped-for-privacy@telusplanet.net
Thanks, Jim. Any thoughs on how much the service will cost and how long it will take? Will the ride change consierably?
Carl
The spring sags because the metal gets weak and loses it's "spring". If you re-arch them, you have not gained that ability back. And unless it's done right, you'll lose even more. Check in to the price of new springs. Sometimes, there's very little difference in cost between new and re-arched. Also, consider simple spring blocks or a longer shackle.
Why not just replace the springs? Leaf springs are not the expensive. I bought a brand new set for my Explorer for $75 each.
MadDAWG
Personally, the cars that I have treated to an extra leaf always seem to drive nicer. The feel is a little crisper.... something I like.
Been a long time since I've been around a spring shop... I worked in one in the 70s and we re-arched a lot of car springs. I would think 2 to 3 hours to re&re the packs, a couple of hours between the rebuild and hammermill, and maybe a $100 or so in leaves and hardware - maybe a bit more if the bushings in the eyes are gone (remember, I'm thinking in Loonies and not Washingtons).
Best bet is to phone spring shops in your area for a quote...
Jim
Actually, there's not much lost in the way of "spring".... the springs sag through the same dynamics that the hammermill can unsag them. The continuous loading of the spring will cause the metal to "re-adjust" itself over time.
Longer shackles usually introduce a modicum of instability since they tend to "rack" more than the shorter stock shackles. Most of the installations I have seen tend to bend the back 1/3 of the spring down rather than bring ride height back.
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