Why do leaf springs break

If you take the hanger in both hands and bend it back and forth repeatedly, after a few moments the metal will break. Leaf springs operate on a similar principle, they just take a lot longer to reach that breaking point. Even if your vehicle sat from the time it was brand new for the next 30 years, and was never driven, it would still slowly be stretching the steel just under the vehicles own weight.

This would of course take a lot longer to wear the springs out as opposed to normal usage, but over time you would find that the vehicles height would sag down. Once we add mileage to the equation, it greatly accelerates the steel wearing out. As you drive your vehicle, the springs articulate and bend as they absorb the bumps on the road. The rougher the roads, the harder the wear is on your springs.

A truck that drives only on smooth paved highways will put a lot less wear on its springs as opposed to one which drives off road or over streets that are full of potholes. The more the spring flexes, the more it stretches and the faster it breaks down. Now if we add additional weight onto a truck, the springs will be under greater pressure than normal, accelerating the stretching of the steel. Added weight can also cause greater articulation in the springs over bumpy roads, which again, breaks down the steel faster.

Springs have capacity ratings which dictate the weight limit for which springs can carry. If there is dirt between the leaves of the leaf springs , this can also cause wear as well as rust, which can eventually lead to cracking or breaking.

After cleaning off the springs with a wire brush it is possible to look for cracking and damage on the leaf springs. Also Know, how do you know if your trailer leaf springs are bad? Trailer springs should always be inspected for cracks and breakage to avoid failure of the trailer spring. Cracks typically appear near the philister bolt and near the eye of the bolt that connects your spring to your hanger.

Anytime you see a crack or break in the spring it is time to replace them. A leaf spring should be replaced if it is badly rusted, has cracks or breaks in its leaves or if it is sagging. A year-old travel trailer could certainly be in need of new leaf springs. If the car is out of level in the back of the vehicle, then the leaf springs may be bad.

To test this, push down on the rear of the car. If it goes down easily, then the leaf springs may be bad. If it comes up slowly, the shocks are still good, so you will need to look deeper into the problem. Leaf springs are subject to wear and tear over the course of several years, largely because of the various moving parts that comprise the springs. Leaf springs can also start to lag from prolonged periods of uneven weight distributions from within a vehicle.

A used leaf spring is generally interchangeable with a new one as long as both are the exact same size. Therefore, when you replace an old leaf spring with a duplicate, it will restore the performance of the truck to its earlier driving condition. If your leaf spring bolts are rusted, or you break a weld nut inside the uni-body, it can take anywhere from one hour to one day to change a leaf spring, depending on your available tools, mechanic skills, and previous experience changing Cherokee leaf springs.

At worst, a broken leaf spring could turn your truck into a roadside danger. Call us today at or schedule an appointment online. We are remaining open during the COVID pandemic as we service a wide variety of vehicles in which our community relies on including emergency and delivery vehicles. Call us today at or click the link below to schedule your vehicle!

Here are a few reasons why they fail: Overloading Your Truck Springs Everyone says they never do it, but we see it all the time. Loose U-Bolts U-bolts, especially on newly installed truck springs should be checked periodically to verify they are tight. Corrosion and Fatigue Usually, corrosion and fatigue are caused by a combination of time, use, and the elements. Why is the service life of leaf springs usually lower compared with coil springs?

The annual mileage of a truck is often over , km and therefore higher than that of a car. Moreover, trucks are frequently overloaded. How large is the weight difference between standard steel and composite leaf springs?

A standard front spring on a Sprinter weighs approx. Do leaf springs come with bushes? Can leaf or parabolic leaf springs be reinforced? We have developed a large number of reinforcement kits specifically for vans such as the Sprinter, the Crafter, the Transit or the Ducato. In most cases they are easy to fit and do not require removal of the springs. The kits come with all the necessary accessories. Why does the central hole of a new spring break after just a few weeks? A spring can only break in the clamping area if the axle plate is insufficiently clamped.