revitup

I agree that those are just shipping bands and can and should be removed but I'm not seeing where the spring would not retain it's 'progressive' spring rate with them on. The bands don't look like they'd prevent the leaves from sliding relative to one another.

~Stingray

I spoke to a mechanic and he thought the reason my leafs spread was because they didn't have "c" hooks on them. Basically a bracket that goes almost all the way around that prevents them from separating.

I am surprise that this is such an open discussion. I would have thought this would have been a open and close case.

Jim71Vette

What is the proper torque?

Alan 71

Hi Jim,
I wrote that with a specific torque value in mind.

I tighten the nut enough to pull all the arched leafs tight against each other and against the 3 flat leafs.
Tight enough so the spring can be put in place without the individual leafs moving around while I'm doing that.

I'm thinking it's the torque on the 4 bolts that mount the spring to the differential housing (70 ft.lb.) that determines how tight against each other the leafs are.
Regards,
Alan

SGMP

I have a 79 with 2 1/2" 10-leaf. I took a sample of original metal liner, with lengths I needed for each liner, to an HVAC shop. The tech cut strips of similar gauge sheet metal 2 1/2 inches wide, and to the lengths I needed. Did not charge much. Galvanized sheet metal contains zinc, and I painted springs with light gray, cold galvanizing spray.

Another option might be 2 1/2" zinc metal flashing used in roofing near the peaks, to prevent moss growth on the roof. I have not looked at any of that flashing, so I have no idea how thin and how soft it is. I went with the sheet metal because it was similar to the original material, rust resistant, and will allow the leaves to slide when flexing.

vettebuyer6369

You are responding to a post from 2 years ago.