Leaf Spring Re-Arch

[J10stang]

Has anyone had their front or rear leaf spring re-arched. I have a local reputable shop that does them right around the corner. My springs are currently pretty flat. It is definitely the cheaper route (about half the price of new), but wondering how they would hold up on my J10.

[serehill]

well

Part of the reason springs sag is because they lose there resilience over the years I've anway heard that a re arch of old springs don't last long.

[babywag]

Re-arch=waste of money....you get what you pay for.
Half the price, but won't last nearly as long as replacing them with new.

If money is an issue consider add-a-leafs. The ride quality is not as bad as most people make it out to be.

The '90 GW I bought a few months ago has them, and it sit's about 2-3" higher than stock. Ride quality is actually pretty good.

[joe]

Re-arch=waste of money....you get what you pay for.
Half the price, but won't last nearly as long as replacing them with new.

I

Agreed waste of money. Had a set done on a 50 Chev PU. With just normal use(some dirt road use but no serious heavy loads) they were flat again by the end of summer.

[Rod2]

Disagree with "waste of money". Had mine re-arched over 20 yrs ago and they are standing proud. I guess it depends on the shop and the quality of their work.

[newtojeeps]

Mine were re-arched and then heat treated. lost a 1/4" out of the 2"s I got back in 12 years.

[J20 project]

heat treated

There's the key to it.

rearched just means bent back..bent back and heat treated is a completely different animal.
J20 project

[serehill]

Very true

There's the key to it.

rearched just means bent back..bent back and heat treated is a completely different animal.
J20 project

Unless it is heat treated to the point that it will change the molecular structure then all the shims & verything else has to be replaced. Not that this is good. Your right this is an entirely different animal than a re arch. Because heat & re heated means more brittle. Things wear out that is why there is a thriving spring business out there. You can't put the chemicals back in there that cause them to be springs. A Knife a sword are the end product of heating bend them & see what happens. How ever it is your money I think I would have to look at this democratically. check the votes.

[J20 project]

Because heat & re heated means more brittle

Perhaps you will enlighten us as to how a spring gets its' original tension if not from heat treatment/temper? The above statement can,, or cannot be true. If one anneals the metal first(softening) and then re heat-treats then one can have an essentially new spring. It is still steel and will respond accordingly to the treatment it receives.

the shims & verything else has to be replaced.

I would think this to be obvious if heating a spring into the hundreds of degrees range.
J20 project

[HellCreek]

Springs, whether leaf or coil, usually lose their arch over time from fatigue ( the constant bending and flexing of the spring), not from loss of the chemistry of the steel itself. Off-road use accelerates this process, and severe off-road use even more.

Re-arching usually involves re-bending the steel to its factory shape. As stated, this usually lasts only a short while. When we re-arch a customer's springs, we usually add another leaf to the pack to help the spring maintain its shape longer.

Re-heat treating restores the steel, and thus the spring, to like new condition, provided the steel is not pitted from rust or worn thin from abrasion. Done properly, the springs should last as long as they did originally. Unfortunately, re-heat treating a spring involves the same processes as making one from scratch, except for cutting the steel, punching the holes and rolling the eyes, but you have to add the dis-assembly process to the mix. Because of this, re-heat treating usually costs about the same as a new spring, so you would be better off buying a new spring.

[mdill]

I think the proper method is to anneal (make them soft) bend (re-arch) heat treat (make them hard) temper (make them tough).
If the springs are not damaged (i.e. worn from rubbing together, not cracked ....most likley would need to have the old spring leafs magnafluxed or at least dye checked to be sure) it should work fine. But I don't see it being much if any cheaper, as the labor to do them right would be ~ the same or more, all the other stuff (wear pads, center bolt, bushings .. would be the same)

[serehill]

Wow

Interesting that it would renew the molecular structure. That's cool. I always thought there was a pressure requirement too in the manufacturing process. I agree X3 though that you'll spend as much money on new because of the process.

J20
My reference must have been a one time experience years ago when I had some 53 truck springs re arched & heat treated the left spring broke & about 2 months later the right spring broke. I did almost pay what new ones cost & in less than a year bought new ones to replace them with.
They didn't add a leaf but they did replace one with new. They both broke right past where the new leaf ended. 0ne other thing they won't warantee a tempered & re arched as long as they do new either. But again maybe that's just them.
I agree with your statement of how it's done is the key. Dallas Spring & Axle did these for me 20 years ago & are still around & very popular. They are the ones that told me that about the springs becoming more brittle from the process. Maybe they were BS ing me. I do understand how the annealing process & temper work. The temper process can be over or under done. That happens all the time. There's ton of over & under processed steel out there. (Titanic/ World trade center) Yes even new springs could be.
Quote:
the shims & verything else has to be replaced. I would think this to be obvious if heating a spring into the hundreds of degrees range.
J20 project
It is obvious you would have to replace this stuff during heating but we were discussing cost & process right? This is part of it. Maybe everyone doesn't know that. I didn't until I had it done.
I wasn't trying to insult anyone's intelligence or visa versa.
I'm no rocket scientist.

[J10stang]

save for new

Thanks for all of the responses. With all of this insight, I am going to save for some new leaf springs. As with all of these projects, why go stock when I can spend more money and get bigger and better ones. Spend more money now so I don't have to spend even more later, funny how that theory works.

[serehill]

You have to admit

You can do this & move on to the next project! It's great to fix something right. Sorry we won't see any sad post about the sagging spring delima.
Just to be sure here I took a set of Bj's springs front & block's rear off my Cherk because the blocks were on 30+ year old stock springs. PO's idea of economic fesability. It may work great for some. I bought a set of Rusty's 4" springs. No it doesn't ride like a Cadillac. It rides like a jeep with 4" lift. I have never looked back. Not happy for spending so much BUT I'm tickled with the results.