TR2/3/3A Leaf Spring "rebound clip" thickness ....

[karls59tr]

Anyone know what the thickness of the "rebound clips",that hold the leaves together, is supposed to be? The ones on the springs I bought are made from the same material as the leaves themselves which is approx. 1/4". That dosn't seem right to me.:grumpy:

 

[PeterK]

Here's my original spring on my 58 for comparison. Rebound clips are thick.

 

[M_Pied_Lourd]

Karl,

If you like, I can measure them when I get home from work tonight. I have two sets of springs off the car right now that I can measure.

Let me know.

Cheers
Tush

 

[karls59tr]

That's OK Tush,I see from Peter's picture that the clips I have seem to be of the same thickness as his. On the sets of springs you mentioned do you see a substantial gap between the top of the clip and and the leaf itself? On my springs only one of the clips sits flush with the leaf and the the others have a gap of over 1/4 inch. I just find that odd and wonder why this gap wasn't compessed when these springs were assembled. I believe the clips were bent over the leaf at too high a point and left that way. If they were to be hammered down now with a bfh hammer only the center part of the clip would contact the leaf and the sides would get bulged out to the point that they would not be contacting the sides of the spring?....or perhaps even knocking the mounting pin right out? You could slide a piece of 1/4 leaf inside this existing gap. Dosn't seem right to me.

 

[M_Pied_Lourd]

Hi Karl,

No, there isn't a gap on mine. They fit flush to the top and bottom of the springs.

Cheers
Tush

 

[M_Pied_Lourd]

Hi Karl,

Have a look at this video. You can get a pretty good shot of my Springs in it for reference.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=usH90g0NBno

Cheers
Tush

 

[TR3driver]

Just for kicks, I measured some of mine. On the original spring, I get .180"; the replacement measures .175". Not the most accurate measurement though, so maybe they are really the same.

Shouldn't matter at all, though, as long as they are stiff enough to hold their shape. As I mentioned before, in both cases the clips are dead soft and bend relatively easily compared to the hardened spring leaves. I opened them up with just a big pry bar and closed them with a BFH.

 

[karls59tr]

Randall...the point I'm trying to make is that the clips I am looking at on these springs "ARE made from the same material as the leaf springs!"... so it seems that mine are different than the ones you have.

 

[TR3driver]

Have you actually tried to bend them? My point is that they may look the same (same thickness), but are definitely not the same. The hardened steel in the leaves would break long before it could be bent that sharply. The clips have to be soft or there would be no way to assemble the spring.

 

[karls59tr]

I see your point. Does it makes any difference to the functioning of the spring if that "gap" is left there and the spring installed? One or two of the clips are flush but the rest are not. I would have to hammer the"top sides"of the clip and then hammer down from the top at which point the two ends would be touching in the middle! Shouldn't this have been done properly at the factory without me having to wail on each clip with bhf? I'll try and send a pic so you can see how far they are out.

 

[CJD]

I've had to reform many new parts, so I'd rather do that than wait for, and pay for shipping. Start at the corner closest to the rivets and form them around the springs with a body hammer. Don't start at the middle of the side, or it'll make a mess. Just work your way around from the rivet...that way you also won't have to worry about loosening the rivets.

I have had to tighten every TR3 /2 clip I have worked on.

 

[karls59tr]

I agree with you. Hope I'm not coming across as a whiner but it just seems that the parts I buy nowadays just don't seem to be made properly. I don't mind doing a little fabricating to avoid shipping cost and wait time but I'm going to have file off 1/4" off eqch side of the clip end so the clip ends won't overlap before I start the hammering process!
These clips should have been cut to the right length and folded over at the factory with a proper Press. Pisses me off!

 

[TR3driver]

Given my recent experiences, I would sure check out the spring rate before doing anything with the clips! Even worse than new parts that aren't made correctly is putting a lot of time into them trying to fix them, only to learn that they are useless anyway.

I don't really know whether it's important or not that the clips be tight. The new springs I got had some clearance there too, although not as much as yours. I only closed them up because I had the one spring apart to put UHMW between the leaves. Sure wish I could find that article about rebuilding heavy truck springs, but I can't.

 

[WiscTR]

Bashing with a hammer works, but using a big vise to squeeze them together works better. You may need to start the bend with a few hammer blows before using the vise.

 

[karls59tr]

I hear you. You mentioned that the original leaves are tapered. These leaves aren't.... they are blunt ended. I'm sure Triumph engineers that designed the car had a good reason for decreasing the leaves to a taper towards the end? Too much trouble to do now apparently.

 

[CJD]

My hammering recommendation aside...I have sent a lot of parts back just because I didn't like the way they looked. I'd sleep on it a day or two and decide if it's going to bother you knowing it's not quite right, even after you do bend the tabs. I've also got a set of springs on my donor car...'56 I'd be happy to send your way for just my shipping costs. I have not looked at them closely, and I imagine they need some cleaning and paint...but they are original rear springs...

 

[karls59tr]

Thanks for the offer CJD but I'll probably just use a vice and hammer and whatever else is needed to make them right.
glad for all the helpful advice on this forum and for giving me a place to vent.