Leaf Springs evaluation...

[Jim Saraceno]

My '35 has leaf springs, front and back. How does one tell if they need work or replacement?

Usually it is just my wife and I in the car and it rides just fine, but last year we took a trip with another couple sitting in the back seat and the car wanted to wander all over the road. Is that a sign of sprung springs?

[greg g]

What kind of shape are your you shackle bushings and pins in??? Leafs may loos their arch over time, but usually if there are no broken leaves, its probably wear in the mounting components and shocks that lead to wander. It will rear steer as the rear axle won't remain straight as it travels up and down. I remember Dad's 60 Dodge dart had weak springs and he went through having broken leaves replaced a number of times. He took it to a spring shop and they added two leaves and rearched the assembly, put in new bushings and pins on the shackles. When the let the car down from the lift, the rear end was so high that standing up I could rest my folded arms chin high on the fins. Had to go have the head light re aimed as they were pointing about 6 feet infront of the car. We finally put about 4 bags of sakreete in the trunk to get it down to normal height. But never had a broken leaf again.

[55 Fargo]

Wouldn't a couple that maybe weighs in around 300 plus lbs be enough to raise the front a little. Thus possibly the steering could go off slightly. Are any springs broken, do they hold up there arc, what about when people are in the back seats do the rear springs sag a little. If these area original springs, most likely go there moneys worth.....Fred

[Reg Evans]

My 35 Dodge Sedan does the same thing with 2 people in the back. I've always suspected worn out front end parts.

[Lou Earle]

I really do not see how worn front end parts would make the Car stay on the ground in front if weight is added in the back - sounds like fulcrum and lever effect to me.

What could be happening is that the lighter load on the front by the lever action is accentuating any looseness in the front end. Stiffer or limberer springs I do not think would make any difference- I notice this on my 49 caddy and my 48 taxi when it is loaded

\Lou

[Don Coatney]

Jim;

If a centering pin shears off the differential will wonder. This happened to me.

Once had a spring that lost its temper and was sagging.

Before and after spring replacement stance left side. Bought replacement springs from ESPO.

http://www.espo.com/

[Reg Evans]

I did a temporary fix to the sagging drivers side rear spring on my 40 Plymouth by adding an air shock on that side only. It was about 1.5" low on that side and it's even now with 60psi in the one shock. Rides better too. Now....where's my bailing wire? The muffler is sagging.

This 40 is a very low mileage car with tight front end parts and is not affected by passenders like my higher mileage 35 Dodge is.

[Jim Saraceno]

Don,

When your center pin broke, was it obvious by looking at it or did you have to take it apart to figure that out?

[Don Coatney]

Don,

When your center pin broke, was it obvious by looking at it or did you have to take it apart to figure that out?

Jim;

The first sign of a problem was a couple drops of oil on my gargae floor. This oil came from the pictured damaged shock. Searching for the cause of the damaged shock led me to the broken pin.

[Jim Saraceno]

Thanks for all the comments. I think what I need to do is to get 4 people in the car and then crawl underneath to see what the springs look like.

[Ed Griffin]

Jim, while your under there, have someone move the steering wheel and watch your front end parts like tie rod ends etc and see if any excessive play is visible. My 50 Chevy truck does the wondering as well and it is badly in need of the front end being repaired. It too has front leaf springs but it does this with no extra weight. Cant hurt to check while your there.

[Jim Saraceno]

I've been through my entire front end, there is still a little play in the steering box but the rest is up to spec. I've only experience that wander once and that was with another couple in the back.

[greg g]

may it have been something as simple as low air pressure in a couple tires?

[Jim Saraceno]

Greg,

I hadn't even thought of that. I'll have to check. Thanks!

[Jim Saraceno]

I should have posted this a long time ago. Gregg G was right. The problem was not my springs but a low tire.

When I checked the tire pressure, the right rear tire was woefully low. It had a leak so I brought it in for repair. Since then, I have not had that problem with the rear end swerving with people in the back seat.

While I had the car in to my mechanic, I asked him to evaluate my springs and he said I definitely have some weak springs, though no sign of broken leaves. He simple measured the distance from floor to fender on both sides and saw they were off but a sizable amount. He recommended to do them in pairs (either replace or re-arch) so that's on my to do list.

We have a good spring shop in St. Louis so sometime, the springs will come off and I'll take them down there (my '35 has leaf springs both in front and back) and let them tell me if I need new or re-arched.

Again, sorry I didn't post this long ago, I appreciate all the guidance I received for this posts and others and I thought it would be good to let everyone know what the problem turned out to be. Maybe someone else will learn from my mistake.

[greg g]

Jim, glad it was something easy to fix. Hope it didn't take 28 months to find a good source of air..............Sometimes it is good to look for the simple things first.

People take for granted that their tires are good to go, but if you look closely at the cars around you and take note of the condition of their tires you gotta wonder what they are thinking.