Broken spring
Thread Starter
Le Mans Master
Joined: Sep 2000
Posts: 5,635
Likes: 4
From: Orlando Floriduh
Broken spring
I am in the process(yes still) of replacing the differential side yokes. When I got everthing apart and was cleaning up the mess, I moved the spring and a piece of one leaf fell out. It is the third from the smallest or actually the first one that has any curve to it. It looks like it has been broken for a while. Can I get one leaf? The spring is in excellent shape and I never noticed any thing wrong with the way the car sat or drove. Would you just put it back like it is or fix it? :confused: Running out of $$$ :(
Race Director
Joined: Apr 1999
Posts: 10,866
Likes: 717
From: Beverly Hills/Pine Ridge Florida
Re: Broken spring (silvervetteman)
Best bet would be to see if you can find a used spring and steal a leaf from it to rebuild/repair yours. Check the local Corvette shops. Chuck
Le Mans Master
Joined: Jul 1999
Posts: 9,206
Likes: 17
From: Sewell NJ
Re: Broken spring (silvervetteman)
If one part of the spring is bad there's a good possibility that others are ready to go. Remember that this spring holds up the entire back of your car and if it breaks you're gonna have a real bad and possibly expensive day. Metal springs will fatigue over time due to flexing and when they reach their breaking point the result is instant. If you're lucky the tire will tilt in and not do too much damage to the wheel well or the body. If you're unlucky it can take out a fender. I know this from experience.I would recommend replacing the spring either with a new steel spring or go to the fiberglass one's I've had a TRW style 340 lb. spring on mine for 10 years and never had a problem with it. My steel spring broke near the end of the main leaf and dropped the car on it's butt. Luckily I was only a few blocks from home and the tire tilted in not damaging the fender.
Race Director
Joined: Nov 2000
Posts: 11,872
Likes: 12
From: Waterloo ontario Canada
Re: Broken spring (silvervetteman)
Don't install it like that. You can either replace it with a new one or take it to the spring shop where they can dismantle the spring, check the condition of the other leaves, add a missing leaf, re-arch if you want, install new plastic friction pads and reassemble. It only take them a few minutes.
Team Owner
Joined: Jul 1999
Posts: 65,492
Likes: 230
From: Orange Park Florida
Re: Broken spring (silvervetteman)
Buy yourself a new plastic rear spring from Vette Brakes....330 or 380?? I forget which one I have...rides great, much more responsive, far superior design...I wasted the effort in switching back and forth to just prove the point to myself since the initial install took some weeks with rebuilding and all....it's a HUGE improvement....don't waste the time and money on that old steel junk....
GENE
GENE
Former Vendor
Joined: Apr 1999
Posts: 7,607
Likes: 1
From: ECS Sales & Service Advisor
Cruise-In III Veteran
Cruise-In V Veteran
Re: Broken spring (mrvette)
Careful with the fiberglas springs from VB&P. Many people have had great sucess with them but my experience was bad to say the least. 
This was a 380 lb spring, which was installed by a VB&P distributor. The spring had less that 500 miles on it and broke under normal driving conditions. (i.e. no speed bumps or pot holes were hit nor was the car being raced at the time.) I have heard of other springs breaking, but I have also heard others have had great sucess with them. I was not as lucky.
Just a word of warning....
:cheers:
This was a 380 lb spring, which was installed by a VB&P distributor. The spring had less that 500 miles on it and broke under normal driving conditions. (i.e. no speed bumps or pot holes were hit nor was the car being raced at the time.) I have heard of other springs breaking, but I have also heard others have had great sucess with them. I was not as lucky.
Just a word of warning....
:cheers:
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Pro
Joined: Feb 2002
Posts: 536
Likes: 0
From: Lutz FL
Re: Broken spring (silvervetteman)
Get the dual mount fiberglass spring for sure as a replacement.. around $400, but it is adjustable.. so since it is your daily driver, you can set it soft for normal driving, but if you want to do some hard driving, its jack it up and move 2 bolts to stiffen it up.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Jul 1999
Posts: 9,206
Likes: 17
From: Sewell NJ
Re: Broken spring (Mike69)
Hi Mike. Boy that's a scary picture. I don't know whether the problems are specific to the Vette Brakes spring or not but I can tell you that my TRW spring has given me no problem. I looked in the Mid America catalog and they list both types but they say the TRW spring is the "premium" replacement. When I bought mine VB&P didn't make their own springs so I had no choice. If I had to do it again I think I would still pay the few dollars extra to go with a TRW especially since seeing pictures like yours. One other nice thing about the fiberglass spring is that it's adjustable for height.