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There's a brittle, crumbling material at the center of my rear composite spring. It's on both the top and bottom sides. It appears to be about an 1/8 to 3/16 inch thick.
What is that material? Is the spring shot or is that material replaceable?
spring looks ok from here , There are normally 2 spacers that are taped above and below the spring to compensate for the lack of 7 or 9 steel leafs. Looks like your spacers have crumbled up , this happened to another guy on here a few months back .He sourced new spacers and re-used his spring .
Having said that you would be wise to clean up the mono spring and look for any cracks or damage before you try to re-use yours.
The metal brackets on the end seem to match VBP. The isolator pads you linked also have forming holes that match what came off my spring.
Unfortunately, after cleaning the springs it looks like a large splinter has come off the edge of the spring.
Is this bad enough to affect its performance or safety?
I would replace that spring if it has any damage at all. It is not worth having a major accident with the spring, possibly hurting you and the Vette. Who knows what is going on inside of the spring, plus the uneven arch in the spring in one of the photos. My .03 cents
The spring is is made of fiberglass
Last edited by midigike; Oct 14, 2017 at 10:18 AM.
yes unfortunately although it looks OK , its place now is to hang on your shed wall as a conversation piece. Or possibly thrown into the rubbish bin just before its collected so as to leave no evidence for your wife.
For confirmation you could get in contact with VBP and ask
It really depends on how deeply the damage goes. If it is just surface damage, you might be able to knock off any 'bad' material and then smooth/blend any imperfections that could become stress-risers and the spring would be fine. But, if the brittle stuff has any depth to it, you need to replace the spring.
These glass springs NEED to have metal heat shields between them and the exhaust pipes. If yours did not have any heat shielding, that's how the spring material got damaged (brittle). Do some research on the net (Google is your friend) regarding proper installation methods and heat shielding requirements.
...because I have seen what happens in time to those springs that I advised people to get a new one and did not.
Installing any type of heat shield should be very carefully thought out. IF that is the method of choice. Because...just because person installs a steel plate in between the exhaust and the spring DOES NOT mean that it is doing what is intended to do....because...I have seen that at the edge of that steel plate...heat comes off of it and then cooks that portion of the spring right above the edge of the steel plate where it stops.
So make sure that you stop and think about it and then verify that it is working by taking temperature reading. There are many options of how to directly protect the spring or wrap the exhaust. I an NOT saying that a metal plate will not work...but you better check your idea and make sure that it is working and meets the protection needs of the spring as what the manufacture wants to see.
Thanks guys. I'm spending a lot of money for a frame off resto and on further reflection with y'alls input it would be stupid to risk it on a 20+ year old questionable spring.
Actually, with the list of things that I am replacing, something like a Ridetech rear-end might be in my future.
1) this spring is questionable
2) the spring mounts are worn
3) my differential cross member was damaged from a prior owners half shaft break
4) the cross member bushings are surely worn
5) my trailing arms need to be rebuilt
6) I want the parking brake bracket moved to accommodate a larger tire
7) the strut rod bushings are wallered out
8) The shocks are 20+ years old
Last edited by Black04Vert; Oct 14, 2017 at 07:42 PM.
Is this composite spring bad?
...because I have seen what happens in time to those springs that I advised people to get a new one and did not.