I was putting new shocks on the rear of my 91 F150 today (still had the factory shocks on it!)

I noticed that the driver's side rear leaf spring has one broken/cracked spring in it. It's in the middle of the pack, and I'm wondering if I should be finding a new set of rear leafs, or if it will be ok. It's attached to the rest of the pack and hasn't shifted or anything (probably rusted to the others!) The truck doesn't lean or anything, and all of the others are ok.

Should I be in a hurry to replace this, or will it be ok for awhile?

 

if it's not bothering you now, i wouldn't worry about it, but definitely tie it in with some safety wire or something. This is important, because if it should fall out while on the highway it may cause an accident, or even serious injury should it skip across the hot top and hit someone.

Changing them how ever can be quite the undertaking. Be sure to take a good look at the spring hangers. They are known to rust away to nothing. If this is the case you should repalce them all together. The springs, hangers (both front and rear), and all bolts are around $500.

The biggest problem for me is always getting the bolts to spin in the hangers. Depending on the climate you're in (I'm in New England) All the hardware will be rusted in place and require cutting off, but if you're replacing the hangers and shackles together, you'll have the hardware anyway.

I drove my truck for 6 months with what i thought was just one broken leaf. When I found a second hand lift kit on craigslist which included a set of leafs I decided to change everything. Only then did i actually find out i had a leaf on each side broken. Now with the new springs, the ride is alot stiffer, but the truck doesn't float around in the rear anylonger.

Ofcourse if times are tough, you may be able to find a local spring shop and replace just the broken leaf. It's your call.

 

I would replace them ASAP. Mine did the same thing....It could have potentially shredded my new tire, causing a blowout or any other scenario. It's not a fun job....but it has to be done.

 

With the flexing that the rear springs go through it is unlikely that it will be rusted to the other leafs. You should replace it ASAP along with the other spring to keep a consistent spring rate in the rear, used springs even with the same code could be worn more or less than what you have on the other side.

 

Yes, springs should be replaced in pairs. Although I'm cheap and would most likely only change the broken one.

 

You can probably get away with replacing only 1 side, but you will probably notice that your truck will handle funny and may lean toward the older side. The new springs will be stronger and will set higher than the old springs will. That's if you get new springs rather than a junkyard set.

 

Any suggestions for a rear spring that is out of alignment? one leaf has spipped abut an inch. wont budge with a hammer

 

I dont know if its the right way to do it, but i jacked my truck up and dropped the rear frame rails onto tall jackstands then loosened the clamps that clamp the packs to the axle, then smaked it with a hammer to straighten them back out, then installed 2 packs of leaf spring clamps per side that you can get at autozone or where ever for like 12 bucks a pack. Pulls the bottom leaf up to the rest of the pack, so-so eliminates axle wrap, and keeps em all in line. Just seems to ride a little stiffer but other than that it seems good.

 

Humor me this - I have the 5-spring pack and a hiked-up rear end. I noticed on RockAuto that they have 4-spring and 5-spring packs available. Since the cracked one is on the bottom of the pack (right above the helper spring), could I just remove that one from each side? Or are the 4-packs designed differently?

I'm just thinking that it could be a cheap way to resolve this issue and get the rear end down a bit too.

 

didn't know that, but makes sense. Mine was a 4 pack from the factory and i removed the 3rd one from the top to lower mine, but now my springs are long gone!