Suspension Movement - how much does yours move?

[Dan Babb]

How much movement does your chassis have if you push down on the front fenders?

I'm wondering if the springs in my truck need to be pulled out and degunked and greased up better.

When I stand on the frame and bounce up & down, the front moves...but not a lot (and I have that big Hemi in there now).

How much bounce should the front & rear of the truck have if I'm trying to make it move.

I weight around 185, so it's not like I'm a total lightweight.

[JBNeal]

if your springs are all rusty, they'd be stuck together, and it's gonna take more OOMPH to get them to deflect.

[MBF]

I'd try jacking it up by the frame (not by either axle) and spraying some penetrating oil between the leaves for starters. See what that does. I don't get a lot of movement when I lean over the fender (I weigh 150) but she does move a bit. Mike

[41/53dodges]

go find some speed bumps or a washboard road, and go nuts. that oughtta knock em' free!

[HanksB3B]

My shot shocks produced an extremely rigid ride (as if there were no suspension at all) I replaced them with the Autozone shocks Merle had suggested on some thread probably a couple of years ago (under $100 for all four). I saturated the springs with WD40 while on the truck and then coated them with a high quality synthetic grease (Kendal Super Blue). The combination of new shocks and loosening the springs up made a world of difference.

Hank

[Dan Babb]

New shocks are in my build plan. Right now, I don't have any shocks on the front and it doesn't move much.

I'll try jacking the frame up a bit and see if putting some penetrating oil on the springs helps at all.

Can I put some heat on the springs to help loosen up some of the rust too...or is that not a good idea?

[HanksB3B]

Ultimately the best thing to do would be to remove the springs altogether and either have a shop that rebuilds springs re-build yours. Fernando posted some information recently on how he actually had springs custom built. If I were on a budget and had the time, if I decided it was absolutely necessary (major rust being the deciding factor) I would take my springs apart sand all the rust off and rebuild them using an appropriate coating (which I would have to research) maybe something that has teflon? My truck is a California truck so it really didn't take much more than an air-driven wire brush and some chassis paint to get things at least "looking good" the saturation and grease coating (which I will most likely wipe at some point) and the new shocks were done a few weeks after getting the truck back on the road. I would shy away from using heat. From the little I know, springs loose their temper when heated.

Hank

Edited November 26, 2010 by HanksB3B

[JBNeal]

The leaf springs are best re-worked cold. The '48 had an awkward looking stance when I got it on the road, so I dropped it off at the local big truck spring shop. They re-arched the leaves while it was on the truck for twenty bucks, and it has sat nice & level since then. The rear leaves were rusty and stuck together, so I loaded the back with about 800# of rock I picked out of a hay field and drove it over lumpy roads & railroad crossings for about a hunnert miles. I did the same on the '49, and both ride a LOT smoother. The trick is to have most of the weight over & behind the rear axle to get the most spring displacement.