Leaf spring re-arch????

[stakeside]

I finally got tied of looking at my 29 DODGE BROS truck setting lower on the drivers side. I measured about 3/4”at the frame front spring support. Do I need to have front leaf springs re-arched to match?

Will a rebuild be enough? Such as new bushings, re-asembly and cleaning of leaf springs?

Edited June 15, 2020 by stakeside
E (see edit history)

[stakeside]

Re-arch is about how much?

[hwellens]

Spring details for cars and trucks are on Dodge Bros website.

[Matt Harwood]

If you can find a spring shop near you, you'll find having the springs re-arched is very inexpensive. We had the springs re-arched on my wife's station wagon and it was like $150 and took a day. I'm going to take my 1929 Cadillac to them and have them rebuild all four springs. They specialize in heavy trucks, so leaf springs are very familiar to them. The trick is finding a spring shop near you that does this type of work. They're around, check where the truck guys go. I was grateful to find them!

[edinmass]

Not all springs can be re- arched. I have been going thorough this the last 8 weeks, and it is a good solution some of the time, but on post war cars, it makes more sense to buy new springs. On pre war expensive cars with tapered ends, the cost is huge.......but worth it. 100 year old springs are past their cyclical life.......springs that are re-arched are still old, used springs. We are currently making a new set of springs for an expensive car...........the re-arch worked poorly.......and the car has 26k on it. Sometimes you have to bite the bullet. 

Edited June 15, 2020 by edinmass (see edit history)

[stakeside]

Well it will cost about $300 for both front springs. What is the cost of new springs?

[ArticiferTom]

First you may want to take them apart and clean rust and dirt from . This sometimes cause a flating of arch . also swap a couple side to side may bring to a equal level . Check your shackles also . Others have had different wrong sized one put on because that all that could be found . Chet on 28-29 Q forum site has write up on getting his proper and having new made .

[Bimus]

one way to add some arch   one not so hard hit every inch on each leaf  will give some lift . in time they will flatten some   I think new springs would be best  and would avoid putting money in old springs

[Guest]

1 hour ago, Bimus said:

one way to add some arch   one not so hard hit every inch on each leaf  will give some lift .

Works great.  I have done this for others and always had good results.  In 1962, 400,000 miles ago I had mine done at a first class spring shop, about 20 years later I realized I was probably driving  all by myself 90 percent of the time so I took the right hand springs out and de-arched them so that the car sat level when I was alone in it.

[Rusty_OToole]

It used to be common when cars had rear leaf springs especially on Fords. They would re arch the springs and put in an extra leaf. On a real old car you might want to take the springs apart, polish smooth with a disc grinder  and smooth out any gouges. The tip of the leaf likes to wear a gouge in the next leaf where it normally works, and when you hit a large bump the leaf hits the end of the gouge and this prevents the spring from working correctly. You will see what I mean if you take a worn spring apart. At some time they started putting a slider or insert at the tip of each leaf, at first they were bronze later plastic. Have also heard of putting a strip of hard plastic or nylon between the leaves to protect and help them slide. It may be better just to buy new springs, they are not that expensive. No doubt the bushings will need to be replaced as well.

 

Does your truck have shock absorbers? Renew the springs, service or replace the shocks, get an alignment and you will think you are driving a new truck.

 

One more thing. Your truck comes with heavy duty springs and rides hard until you put on a heavy load, then it smooths out. If you never carry heavy loads you can have a few leaves removed to soften the ride. The spring shop should be able to advise you on this.

[FLYER15015]

Cheapest fix is to just switch the rears from side to side.

This will last another 90 years, then she will sit level for the next guy...............

Only cost is your labor, and maybe a few band aids.

 

Mike in Colorado

[stakeside]

These are the spring specs from DB Club site.

My truck has the optional heavy rear spring and the iron spoke rims. One can only imagine what it was put thru in it previous life.

Well I guess it will ride like a heavy duty truck.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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[stakeside]

When I removed my front springs I failed to note how wedged slim plate was oriented.

Does the thin edge go toward the front?

[m-mman]

I worked at a Chevrolet dealer in 1978-80. The Four wheel drive pickups especially never sat level. 

 

When an owner complained, the factory authorized warranty repair was to order ONE new leaf (pack) for the front and rear. and remove both leaves from each end of the truck. 

Then you placed all 3 on the floor and picked the two that matched the closest arch. The two closest matching were re-installed and the remaining spring was returned as a warranty claim.

We were advised to not measure ride height after repair, just return the truck to the customer. . . . . 

[Mark Shaw]

On 6/15/2020 at 10:32 AM, Bimus said:

I think new springs would be best  and would avoid putting money in old springs

I agree...  Find a shop to make new springs and you will never need to rework them again.

[ArticiferTom]

The wedges are the "caster wedges" On trucks they may go either way . The objective is to have the spec'ed caster when operating the most . Usually 1-3 degrees . positive ( leaning back at top) . Easy to measure with cheap inclinometer from Habor or tool shop store . The springs them self cause caster by the height of shackles and arch . On trucks that hauling heavy loads the caster empty, maybe set negative with a wedge and when loaded go positive . When handling needs to be it's best .

    I would measure an decide based on that and weight your not going to be carrying . You probably do not need them ,but may compensate for sagging springs . You know the arch ,so that can be measured . Note a negative or over positive will contribute to a shimmy in front end . google caster ,camber ,toe for more info .

[edinmass]

Don't buy the cheap Harbor Fright tool, buy one like this, it actually works well.........thats a Duesenberg wheel you see it on. 

[ArticiferTom]

Ed is not that for camber . Our does it do both . I thought you measure it on the king pin ? i only ever checked toe on my old truck and when rough aligning repair work . Did that with tape measure front and back of tires .

[FLYER15015]

Ed,

Where did those tires come from ?

I've never seen Firestones with a colored logo before.

Saw that they are 7:50 x 17's .

Just the right size for my '31 imperial, so I'm quite curious.

Might be just the ticket, if my Denman's ever wear out.

 

Mike in Colorado

[edinmass]

21 minutes ago, ArticiferTom said:

Ed is not that for camber . Our does it do both . I thought you measure it on the king pin ? i only ever checked toe on my old truck and when rough aligning repair work . Did that with tape measure front and back of tires .

 
It does camber, castor, and toe. Very simple. I think the kit was 180.00. I made the extenders to fit all our cars. It’s very accurate.........I have been using it for about five years. I like it better than the computer machines. It’s surprisingly simple.......I had the car out today and at all speeds it was tracking perfectly.

[edinmass]

13 minutes ago, FLYER15015 said:

Ed,

Where did those tires come from ?

I've never seen Firestones with a colored logo before.

Saw that they are 7:50 x 17's .

Just the right size for my '31 imperial, so I'm quite curious.

Might be just the ticket, if my Denman's ever wear out.

 

Mike in Colorado

 

They were made new that way back in the 30’s. If you look at photos of new cars you can clearly see it. We in paint them by hand.......big pain in the axx. But they add a very nice touch, and the judges love to see them...........

[edinmass]

I bought the old turn plates at a garage sale for ten bucks. Cleaned them up and they work great, but they weigh about fifty pounds each. For occasional use, you can use plastic with grease between the layers. It’s won’t effect accuracy on pre war cars.........wouldn’t do it with modern stuff. I like this set up because many of our cars have wheel disks, and I can align the car without taking the disks off.......which is a LOT of work. I aligned my 3500 series dually with it also.

Edited June 17, 2020 by edinmass (see edit history)

[FLYER15015]

Yup, poor man's version with chalk.

 

Mike in Colorado

[Frank DuVal]

On 6/17/2020 at 4:46 PM, edinmass said:

Don't buy the cheap Harbor Fright tool, buy one like this, it actually works well.........thats a Duesenberg wheel you see it on. 

 

If you understand caster and camber, the cheap level will work. I've used a typical framing square before... I do agree the purpose built unit you show is easier to use. And that's a good price too!

 

Are those threaded rod extensions?

 

My friends have used foot square vinyl tiles with grease between the tiles for turntable substitute. Just hold the other two tires up with more tile/grease, or shim of the same thickness if just doing two wheel alignment.