what should be the expected life expectancy for leaf springs?
CK5
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what should be the expected life expectancy for leaf springs?
- Thread starter wazzabie
- Start date
If you drive like your avatar, not long
But in context really, all over the map depending on usage. I used the K10 to haul campers and tow racecars for 120k miles, then daily another 45k. Put the original rear springs under the front
But in context really, all over the map depending on usage. I used the K10 to haul campers and tow racecars for 120k miles, then daily another 45k. Put the original rear springs under the front
Stock negative arched front springs...1 jump
Agreed its based on type of usage/abuse. Are you talking stock or lift springs? Over time all will sag, but you can put a bandaid on it with a helper leaf or similar (which would impact ride quality).
Leaf spring life's are like humans..some last a long long time,others die young..
One good pothole or "jump" can crack a leaf ,then the rest of the leaves soon follow..due to the hardening process ,the steel can be brittle in one spot and fail,on the other hand I've seen springs bend and stay bent too..
I've had probably a dozen GM trucks of various vintage and most all had their original leaf springs..or were already replaced with ones from a 3/4 or 1 ton on the 1/2 tons I had..
Only truck I remember having a rear leaf spring fail on,was a '75 K5 2WD I had..one day cruising down the highway I hit a "patch" in the road where a trench had been dug and filled with gravel and cold patch,and I heard a "whack" and the truck suddenly leaned over to the drivers side..
I pulled over and found the drivers side rear main leaf had busted off near the U-bolt clamp plate...
...
I had a pair of those cheesy bolt on leaf helper springs in the back of the truck I planned to put on the rear,the truck only had 4 leaves in the rear and they were squatting,I hastily clamped one on the two halves of the busted main leaf so I could limp the remaining 35 miles home..
The springs were not crusty or rusted either..it looked like a clean break ,there must have been a hard spot in the leaf there..
I came across a guy who was a customer at the parts store I worked at that had just installed a lift kit on a 4x4 K5,and he said I was welcome to come get the original springs he took off it--they were like new,and had 6 leafs...truck rode very nice with those installed..
I've never had stock front 4x4 leaf springs break,but I admit every time I hit a bump with the plow on ,I'd cringe...I put 3 leaf stock front ones in a few trucks that had only 2 leafs ,that only seemed to make it ride harsher,but at least I had a bit more confidence with 3 leafs..
That said I hate the negative arch up front..
One good pothole or "jump" can crack a leaf ,then the rest of the leaves soon follow..due to the hardening process ,the steel can be brittle in one spot and fail,on the other hand I've seen springs bend and stay bent too..
I've had probably a dozen GM trucks of various vintage and most all had their original leaf springs..or were already replaced with ones from a 3/4 or 1 ton on the 1/2 tons I had..
Only truck I remember having a rear leaf spring fail on,was a '75 K5 2WD I had..one day cruising down the highway I hit a "patch" in the road where a trench had been dug and filled with gravel and cold patch,and I heard a "whack" and the truck suddenly leaned over to the drivers side..
I pulled over and found the drivers side rear main leaf had busted off near the U-bolt clamp plate...
...I had a pair of those cheesy bolt on leaf helper springs in the back of the truck I planned to put on the rear,the truck only had 4 leaves in the rear and they were squatting,I hastily clamped one on the two halves of the busted main leaf so I could limp the remaining 35 miles home..
The springs were not crusty or rusted either..it looked like a clean break ,there must have been a hard spot in the leaf there..
I came across a guy who was a customer at the parts store I worked at that had just installed a lift kit on a 4x4 K5,and he said I was welcome to come get the original springs he took off it--they were like new,and had 6 leafs...truck rode very nice with those installed..
I've never had stock front 4x4 leaf springs break,but I admit every time I hit a bump with the plow on ,I'd cringe...I put 3 leaf stock front ones in a few trucks that had only 2 leafs ,that only seemed to make it ride harsher,but at least I had a bit more confidence with 3 leafs..
That said I hate the negative arch up front..
my front has about negative arch to it
That's how it is stock.
How much will determine if they are shot or not
I did have a few front leaf springs that had the "eye" up front where they wrap around the bushing,break off right where the spring starts to wrap around the bushing..front springs had both the main leaf and the next leaf under it with the loop or eye made into them and that seems to be the most common failure point on them..
And yeah,front stock leafs are negative arch on purpose--they do look like they are beat to death from day one & sagging..they are also not a straight piece of flat spring stock like rear ones ,they are wider at each end than in the middle..
And yeah,front stock leafs are negative arch on purpose--they do look like they are beat to death from day one & sagging..they are also not a straight piece of flat spring stock like rear ones ,they are wider at each end than in the middle..
