my 40 Ford pu has chassis eng. springs they have sagged , they have flat lined ...... need suggestions .
You want to raise the rear ? flip the diff get the springs re arched new springs Lower the front to level it out sit in the corner with your shirt off and cry ? What are you trying to accomplish? what’s the end goal ? what’s the score ?
Leaf springs can easily be re-arched by a spring specialist company. But sounds like a heat treatment problem if they have not lasted long.
You said "springs" and that makes me thing that it has the parallel leaf kit on it. That would most likely be this kit when the company was owned by the original owner. Chassis Engineering » Blog Archive AS-2016CGHD Complete Leaf Spring Rear End Mounting Kit for 1935-1941 Ford - Chassis Engineering Inc 1. you can re-arch or have the springs re-arched by a spring shop. They could possibly add a leaf at the same time if needed. Personally I'd drive the car to the spring shop of choice within a reasonable distance, show them the car tell them what you want to do and ask what they believe is the best solution. A thousand and ten bucks for a new pair is too rich for my blood Chassis Engineering » Blog Archive RS-4148 Rear Leaf Springs for 1935-1954 Car and Pickup Truck - Chassis Engineering Inc Even if you go home and pull the springs out, having them look at the car and make notes on the springs will help a lot in getting it right. The owner's family sold the company to Heidts after the owner passed away a few years ago, He might be hard to contact.
"Specialist company" means charging too much $$$$ for something simple to do yourself. Re-arching springs is not a "black art" Spring steel never loses it's rating throughout it's life unless some self proclaimed expert tries to heat them. Normally a spring will slowly lose it's "set" through 1000's of oscillations. All the spring needs, is to be re-arched in a press [cold] or cold forged with a BFH if you have deaf neighbors. Here is DIY spring arching tool I made out of scrap steel [I've posted this here before] The most difficult part of the whole job is removing the springs from the vehicle [which you will need do anyway when replacing them] Then you need to measure [or chalk on the floor] the arch . This method gets the exact height you desire, whereas buying a replacement leaves you at the mercy of the seller's range [they never ask questions about spring load] one caveat though @putz many hotrod builders make the mistake of building a vehicle with it too high with new springs, so they simply remove a few leaves to correct this. This will speed up the process of the springs sagging due to the stiffness being reduced and the springs will yield.
Another suggestion: I think that some big rig shops fix leaf springs. Any idea why yours aren't working well? It seems like leaf springs should not have problems for several decades, unless they were abused or low-quality.
I think this is the first time I’ve ever heard that a CE parallel spring kit made the car sit too low.
i have had these springs on 40 pick up for close to 15 years , they have never had any road miles , pick up has been on my lift just sitting ....... these springs were new when installed .
Interesting. The springs were working well for some years? Then you noticed a significant difference? I still suggest contacting the manufacturer. Maybe they'll give you ideas about what's wrong. Maybe they'll exchange them for new ones and try to determine what's wrong with them.
Here's what Wikipedia says about how leaf springs are manufactured: Manufacturing process Multi-leaf springs are made as follows Pre heat treatment process: Shearing Taper Rolling Trimming End cutting & pressing Second Warping Scarfing and Eye rolling Nipping C’SKG punching Center hole drilling. Heat treatment processes: Heating for hardening Cambering Quenching Tempering Post- heat treatment processes: Rectification Side bend removing Bushing Reaming Clamp riveting Assembly and surface finishes: Shot peening Painting Assembling Scragging Marking and packing https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leaf_spring
Sorry if this reply of mine seems like too much, but your point is just not true. Chassis Engineering still exists as a brand name and manufactured parts look to be available under that brand name with a new owner of the brand, Heidts. The former owner is deceased, but even if CE were still under his ownership, the owner of a business organization doesn't typically answer the phones and other communications such as technical and warranty assistance and questions. The links in @Mr48chev's #15 comment are CE brand products, and the contact information is for Heidts: If @putz bought the leaf springs for anywhere near the $1010 advertised price, and they failed to properly suspend the car after the car set (on its wheels or not) with zero miles put on the leaf springs, then that suggests to me that the leaf springs were not manufactured properly. I wouldn't pay over $1000 for a set of leaf springs. But if I did, and if they failed like these seem to have failed, I'd contact the business organization that owns the brand name and see what they have to say. They may or may not do anything to help, but we'll never know if they're never contacted. Since I wouldn't spend that much money on leaf springs, and if good used ones aren't available for that particular car, then I would go to the DIY junkyard and try to find leaf springs from another car that'd work with the '40 Ford pickup as bolt-in replacements. It doesn't seem like it would be that difficult to find suitable replacements. A set of leaf springs would cost ~$110 versus $1010:
Hello, The factories gave the new 1964-65 El Camino car/trucks air shocks for the empty rear bed. It was a compromise of the possibilities of loading weight in the back without proper spring support. If planned as extra support for earlier trucks, the springs were so stiff that the ride was hampered. Or, the shocks were normal “heavy duty” and kept normal driving on track, but the first time something heavy was placed in the back, it became a low rider. Everyone saw that concept happen in their own sedans and station wagons. Load several suitcases in the trunk, pack in the kids and now the normal sedan/station wagon was a lowered car with ill handling situations. So, an empty pickup bed created for a new clientele or in the work force needed something else to help out. Thus, creating those standard “air shocks” for the 1964-65 El Camino vehicles. But, they also had usage problems of their own. No one was prepared for the new “air shocks.” It was a great idea and helped level the loads going into the back of the open bed. But, not all folks had home air compressors as most do today. So, an extra trip to the gas station air hose was a necessity. The problem was that loading up the bed with the products made the stock set up sag in the back. Now, when driven to the gas station, it was slow going and deep intersection ruts and drain channels had to be done in slow motion. Once there at the gas station, entry into the sloped driveway was a tense situation. but now, problem 2. When filling the “air shocks” with air in an empty bed was preferrable, but the tail is not sticking high up in the air. Handling problems existed for most. As the stuff was now loaded into the empty, but high bed, the bed started to level off until the whole El Camino was stock height, ready for the drive. Too much pressure for two air shocks and heavy rear weight was evident for most. Others just filled up the air despite the shock limits. This caused blown out seals and no air at all. Other companies saw their chance to get in on the problem and built their own heavy duty air shocks to compensate with directions on how to load the bed with air, etc. Jnaki I installed this handy custom air pressure gauge, especially made for El Camino air shocks. This 58 year old device still works if hooked up correctly with tape for the threads and does not leak. But, it is waiting its turn to do something, while sitting in a automotive drawer of our garage cabinets. When it was installed where the yellow arrow is pointing, no one could see it from the outside and it was handy when stopping at a gas station for reliable readings. We did not have to rely on inconclusive damaged air hose gauges. When I sold the El Camino to a young kid, he did not want the air gauge, so it sits in my auto parts drawer. The kid must have had something else in mind for the rear of the El Camino, like a small hydraulic air pressure motor with its own gauge for instant, anywhere, air filling of the shocks… Note: Today, there are different manufacturers of strictly air shocks that fit most cars. The air hose leads to where you want to have access. But, with some planning, the newish idea is to put in a system of self inflating small compressor to fill the air shocks without having to go to the gas station at every need. There are other forms of rubber bladders and compressor motors as kits, but that is an option. YRMV
The Jalopy Journal
