TR2/3/3A Average life span of a TR3 Coil Spring?

[TEXAS_TR3A]

Tired of the front end creaking like an old wooden boat, so I'll be undertaking a complete front suspension rebuild in the next few weeks. Question is should I replace front springs while I'm there? The factory originals are on the car right now. How can I determine if they are shot?

 

[TR3driver]

Here's the specs from the workshop manual.

 

[TEXAS_TR3A]

Here's the specs from the workshop manual.

Thanks for the specs. Any idea how to tell if the ones I have are worn out, or how many years/ miles the average spring lasts?

 

[TR3driver]

If the free length is reasonably close, almost certainly they are fine. They don't commonly fail, but sagging is the most common problem when they do.

I'm still running what I believe were the original front springs for my 59 TR3A. (They were nicely painted, so I moved them over to the TR3 along with many other front suspension components). Not sure how many miles they've gone, but I put perhaps 200,000 on the 3A before it got wrecked, and it likely had over 100,000 (or maybe even 200,000) when it came to me.

 

[TEXAS_TR3A]

Thanks Randall. I'll measure once they are out but based on your thoughts above I'd bet they are probably fine. Car has just over 72,000 miles on it.

 

[Adrio]

Randall, any tips on how to tell where to start and stop counting for the number of "working coils". I have two sets of springs that came with a bunch of TR3 and TR4 parts I picked up. Both sets have not been used ever and I would like to know what they are for before I decide which to keep and use.