Lift springs spreading and seperating... help.

[mr.smartass]

my 4" inch lift springs spread out and i have to hammer them back together every 2 weeks or so, it's kinda scary and can't be safe... after i do it i always tighten down the ubolts again, but the rears don't have anytime of clamp on them to stop them from moving around, is there any easy fix or should i just fab up some type of clamp?

 

[diesel4me]

make one..

Most leaf springs have a hole drilled in one of the bottom leafs near the rear end of it,and a flat metal strap is riveted to it--it goes up alongside of the leafs,and has a bolt about 1" above the main leaf,with a pipe spacer thing so the bolt can be tightened without crushing against the leafs..you need that inch of space between the pipe and top leaf for flex,so it wont just twist the clamp off..this keeps the leafs lined up..

I've used the square "U" bolts from an add on helper spring kit to clamp the leafs together on my 74 K20..it stiffened the ride up considerably..but was better than having the leafs "fan out" ...

 

[mr.smartass]

yeah fan out is a great way of putting it... so what if i just bent a medal band around them that has a hole drilled through it and tack welded it to the bottom leaf? leaving that 1" for flex of course. would this cause any problems?

 

[gmc4cw]

wrap em in lots of duck tape.

welding on spring steel is not ideal. the trick way to do it would be to take your spring pack apart, drill a countersunk hole in the end of one of your lower leaves. make a metal U out of something thick that won't give if the spring tries to fan out. drill a hole in it and bolt it to the spring. use a countersunk bolt that goes through the spring, then the bracket and has a nut on the outside of it all. countersunk so that it does not interfere with the springs sliding on each other. you only need one per pack. if the back of the spring can't fan then the front can't fan. I hope I described it so you can visualize it.

 

[sandawgk5]

Is your center pin still in one piece? It sounds like it is broken or loose.

Ira

 

[gmc4cw]

you could also drill in a second center pin an inch or two away form the other one.

 

[ntsqd]

You could, but I wouldn't.
The keepers are the way to go. I've seen hose clamps get a guy home from waaayyyy south in Baja.

 

[diesel4me]

idea..

I saw those square clamps I used on my springs at Pep Boys yesterday--for 7.99 each...same ones that come with those add on leaf helper springs..It does stiffen the ride up some,but not that bad..

The advice to check the center bolt is good--it can cause the springs to fan out if they are loose or sheared..but I would never drill another hole in a spring,or weld on one(except in dire emergencey,and even then I wouldn't trust it!)...the center bolt holes are punched while the springs are still being forged,and drilling a hole in one would likely cause it to crack!..

If you look at stock leafs,(rear),you'll see the flat strap riveted to the rear portion of the leafs I spoke of in my first post..most leaf springs already have the rivet hole in them from the factory..yours may have just fallen off,or maybe some lift kit springs don't come that way?...