install or rebuild leaf springs

[swisherred]

I removed a set of good HD leaf springs from a car to install in mine (and torsion bars), should I go through the trouble of tearing them apart and repainting them and replacing the retainer clamps or just install them with new bushings? basically is there a benefit to rebuilding them? I believe these are the ones with the zinc plates in between the leaves, but I may be wrong.

 

[70bigblockdodge]

I built a set from a few I had. They work okay. I removed any bad rust from contact area and used thick fifth wheel grease in those areas upon reassembly, I had plastic wear pads.

 

[Badvert65]

It isn't easy to get any of the individual parts used to assemble the leaf springs so, if they are in good shape, I would simply paint and install.
jus sayin.....

 

[Ross Wooldridge]

If the clamps are in good shape, I'd just wire wheel them as a unit, paint them and install new bushings.

 

[CBODY67]

Personally, I'd be more concerned with the "arch" of the springs, plus the number of leaves (different "right" from "left", usually). If the arch is too flat, then that needs to be addressed first. Not so much that they were from a "HD Suspension": car, but what condition they are in. As I recall, the HD suspension cars had the zinc interliners with no "fiber" inserts on the leaf ends?

You can always try them and see, after the wire wheel/paint action.

CBODY67

 

[65sporty]

I am voting for the wire wheel, paint, bushing and install. If it's sagging to much after install I would be looking for new ones, I have had mixed results with rearching.

 

[3C's & a D?]

Freshly painted leaf springs look great! I just can't paint anything that hasn't been properly prepared, and with a pair of rusty old springs, that's alot of work! The last set I did, I broke them down, gave 'em a good scrape, slathered grease on one side of each leaf, reassemble, grease oozes out, rag over entire assembly, wipe dry, install, wipe away more oozed grease. Enjoy! It seemed like a good idea at the time, and has been good for a couple of years now. My theory is that the paint is eventually going to chip/crack off, then you have exposed metal, which will rust. By thoroughly coating it in grease, the grease is your (soft, non hardening) "paint". And yes, it's a bit messy. Obviously, you wouldn't do this on a restoration, this car gets driven.

 

[Ross Wooldridge]

I think that for a driver one can simply clean the assembled spring pack up, paint them as an assembly, and put in new bushings and possibly pack clamps, and they'll look and perform great, provided they're not worn out in the first place.

Because I'm doing a full resto, I took mine all apart. I had them all inspected by a competent shop (he carefully re-arched only a couple), and then I scraped and cleaned up each leaf, sprayed each leaf with cast-blast (closest thing I could get that looked like fresh metal springs), put in new tip liners (plastic parts with alignment nubs for the holes in the spring tips), new clamps with rubber gaskets, new bushings, new centre pins and nuts, and instead of the zinc alloy interliners, I used (on the advice of a couple of high end spring shops) graphite spray. Topped it off with new shackles.

Here's some pics:

 

[MoparJim]

Very nice, Ross. I should do the same thing as mine are a bit soft and sag an inch or so more than I would like. I guess we all do after 50 plus years, right?