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Is my leaf spring broken?

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spit71

spit71

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With the 1971 Spitfire up on jack stands and all wheels removed for other work, I noticed that my rear suspension is suspect. Or maybe it's normal.

I must apologize in advance for not knowing the proper terms for these parts of my car.

If I lift the rear suspension by the brake drum, the top of the upright that connects to the leaf spring by a bolt through a bushing moves within the outer circular leaf of the spring end completely loosely. Doesn't this bushing fit within an inner leaf that is itself bent into a circular end only smaller than the outer one?

On my car this seems to be connected to nothing. In addition when I lift this with enough force to deflect the spring upward and then release it, the spring sticks in the deflected position for a second or two, then pops back to rest. It looks like the individual leaves bind against each other in the area of the "shackle" that holds the spring together.

The car has other problems, but the ride height and rear camber seemed within normal limits to me. It does make ridiculous banging and metal on metal noises in the rear when hitting bumps however. It sounds like there are big engine parts in the trunk bouncing on the sheet metal while driving, so I know something is up.
 
I hope that is the case. I didn't look forward to changing that spring. I will disassemble and see if that is the problem. I guess I need to check the rear bearings and u-joints anyway.

Thanks for the reply.
 
Changing the spring really isn't very difficult. The axles can stay in place on the differential. Undo the spring eyes from the vertical links, remove the bottom shock nuts and pull the shocks off the vertical links. Then you can undo the four nuts (studs may come with them) holding the spring to the top of the differential, and it should come out from either side.
 
I'd suggest lubricating the leaves of the spring as well. It's really not uncommon to see leaf springs binding from rust and dirt between the leaves.
 
/bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/iagree.gif I don't think this was emphasized as a maintenance procedure as much with the swing-spring cars, but it was required maintenance on the "fixed" springs on Spitfires, Heralds, etc. As simple as using up some of your recently drained engine or gear oil, and it really does make a difference on the older cars!
 
Leaf spring lubrication is hardly ever mentioned in the manual of any car or truck having them. None the less, lubricating them works very well. The rustier the spring, the more dramatic the improvement achieved by lubrication.

Many a rough riding pickup truck suffers from nothing more than rusty non-flexing springs.
 
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