Welding Spring Leaf

[rustrunner]

Well the good news is that I have a rolling frame for the B-4-KA restore.  Have brakes done, with relined shoes, new wheel cylinders, new seals, and back bearings replaced.  Ready to plumb 2 speed axle, air Hyd. and Vacuum brakes.  Still have crappy old tires, but that's about the last thing.

 

However, I have one leaf of the overload pack that is broken, and was wondering if anyone has ever welded a spring leaf? 

 

Is the top leaf, and not broken completely in half, but looks bad.  And since it is a road tractor it will show unless I put fenders on it, which I had not planned on.   Do not ever anticipate loading the truck to the point where the leaf would have a load placed upon it, but one never knows.

 

Thanks Dan

 

 

[NiftyFifty]

Sorry but you can't weld spring steel, it would get super brittle and very likely break right away which is never safe no matter where it is in position. Why not just remove the broken leaf and the opposite side?

[Todd B]

I agree and suggest the same

[ggdad1951]

agree, you cannot weld spring steel w/o drastically the material properties.  In this case, making it VERY brittle and it WILL break under stress.

[austinsailor]

Most any spring shop should be able to make you one. It's not that pricey.

[rustrunner]

OK

 

Will look into having one made, or I will remove the top spring on each side.  However, have a trip planned to look at a couple of Dodge trucks remains, and will see first if I can pick one up.

 

Thanks ALL - Dan

[jeffsunzeri]

"has anyone ever welded a leaf spring..."  Yes, many times.

 

A competent welder can weld the spring for you. If done properly, the spring will become annealed at the point where the weld was placed, losing all the springiness. By competent I mean a welder who understands rod/alloy selection, pre-heat and post-heat operations and annealing and heat treatment processes.

 

Any weld would be considered a temporary fix until either a replacement spring could be fitted or the spring could be properly heat treated back to the full-spring condition (not likely to happen).

 

And even if you won't load it enough to make the spring touch the stop, a well placed pot-hole will do the trick.