Rear leaf spring question

[DonnieT]

So, my 48 Plymouth is sagging to the passenger side. Yesterday I finally took the time to look around. I noticed that the passenger side leaf spring has 8 leaves in it and the drivers side has 10. Was this standard for some reason?

I set a 4' level on the back bumper and started jacking on the back passenger corner just behind the spring shackle on the crossmember to see how far I would have to go to level. I had to go 3 5/8" to level.

Front wheels are the same size, rear wheels are the same size.

As far as I can tell the chassis and parts have not been replaced for a very long time, if ever.

Any ideas I would greatly appreciate.

Thanks,

DonnieT

[50mech]

Should both be 8. No model used 10. HD springs were 9 or 7.

[DonnieT]

1 hour ago, 50mech said:

Should both be 8. No model used 10. HD springs were 9 or 7.

This one is definitely 10. Wonder what it came out of? I wouldn't think that would give me an extra 3 5/8" of lift. Unless the pass. side one is sagging as well as less stiff?

Thx!

[50mech]

11 minutes ago, DonnieT said:

This one is definitely 10. Wonder what it came out of? I wouldn't think that would give me an extra 3 5/8" of lift. Unless the pass. side one is sagging as well as less stiff?

Thx!

Obvious spring mismatch aside, it's Not mismatching a spring shackle on one side is it?

Edited July 27, 2020 by 50mech

[DonnieT]

12 minutes ago, 50mech said:

Obvious spring mismatch aside, it's Not mismatching a spring shackle on one side is it?

It didn't stand out to me as different sized but will investigate that now that you mention it,

Thx

[belvedere]

Someone may have added leaves at some point.

[DonnieT]

5 hours ago, 50mech said:

Obvious spring mismatch aside, it's Not mismatching a spring shackle on one side is it?

nope the shackles are the same. With the car sitting at rest the fender sits 1 1/2" lower on the pass. side tire than the drivers. I could see the added leaves adding that much lift to it.

Thx,

DonnieT

[50mech]

Yeah, who knows where that spring came from, just about anything  1-3/4" wide and within a couple inches of the right length could be popped in there.

 

A lot of factors go into ride height, you could have a spring with 4 leafs that has a greater pack thickness and more arch that would add 3" ride height over the 10 leaf springs.

 

Or for example looking at the chart here

 

https://p15-d24.com/topic/40661-leaf-spring-swap/

 

You can see two 8 leaf with nearly the same arch, but a 250lb capacity difference because of pack thickness. In fact the heavier springs have 3/8" less arch but I bet they would ride a good bit higher on the same car.

[Sam Buchanan]

That car was owned by a bubba-sized driver at some time......    ?

[DonnieT]

10 hours ago, 50mech said:

Yeah, who knows where that spring came from, just about anything  1-3/4" wide and within a couple inches of the right length could be popped in there.

 

A lot of factors go into ride height, you could have a spring with 4 leafs that has a greater pack thickness and more arch that would add 3" ride height over the 10 leaf springs.

 

Or for example looking at the chart here

 

https://p15-d24.com/topic/40661-leaf-spring-swap/

 

You can see two 8 leaf with nearly the same arch, but a 250lb capacity difference because of pack thickness. In fact the heavier springs have 3/8" less arch but I bet they would ride a good bit higher on the same car.

Thats quite a difference.  Thanks for the link, I did a search for past threads on leaf springs but did not come up with that result.

[Dartgame]

You could try pulling 2 leafs out of the side that has ten and see how it sits....

[DonnieT]

20 hours ago, Dartgame said:

You could try pulling 2 leafs out of the side that has ten and see how it sits....

Good thought. I found a newer rear end for it so this winter when that happens, I may just move one over.