Extremely squeaky leaf springs
Submitted: Sunday, Jun 01, 2008 at 05:28
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foggy
Has anybody out there in
BOG land experienced sqeaky leaf springs they make a lot of noise even when going over speed humps very slowly how do we fix this problem or can we.
Regards Paul & Brenda
Reply By: Keith & Joan - Sunday, Jun 01, 2008 at 19:32
Sunday, Jun 01, 2008 at 19:32
Hi Paul and Brenda, usually leaf springs do not sqeak because they get wet every so often, but if you have been in dry country for a while they can dry out and be most annoying. I have seen this fixed by jacking up the one side of the BT and taking all the weight off the spring on that side. Then when the leaves of the spring are uncompressed, it is possible to spray a light oil into the springs and penetrate through the gaps between each spring leaf to lubricate the spring and stop it from sqeaking. However this does not last forever, as the rain washes it out over time, but it is lovely and quiet for a fairly long time. Take care when jacking up the BT, ALWAYS use the correct axle stand for the weight you are lifting. DO NOT RELY ON THE JACK ALONE TO HOLD IT UP WHILE YOU SPRAY THE SPRINGS.
If you know someone with a compressed air spray gun, this will do the job very well, using a light engine oil, but if not you will have to resort to the aerosol cans like WD 40, or RP7.
I have known people that pack the entire spring with heavy duty grease and then wrap the spring with a leather bandage to keep the grease in and the water out. Works well for years, but a lot of trouble to go to to eliminate a sqeak.
Hope this helps, Kind regards, Keith & Joan.
AnswerID:
575225
Follow Up By: Mobi Condo - Sunday, Jun 01, 2008 at 22:40
Sunday, Jun 01, 2008 at 22:40
Got to agree with Keith & Joan here,
We had squeaky "springs" after we emerged from our WET & muddy GRR experience 2007 - most embarrassing at times.
Turns out the squeak was from two sources - the hand brake was badly needing adjustment and one cause was the pads not holding/pressing secure against the drums when used. They were instead just brushing the drums and thus any movement in van would result in a squeek!
The other was the dry springs and grit between the leaves which was duly fixed as per jack up and let wheels hang "free" to allow a decent and liberal dose of Lanotec spray lube get sprayed between the leaves. I gave them a good spray of diesel as well before the Lanotec.
Squeak now gone for 12 months!
Cheers - Ian & Sally
FollowupID:
849783
Reply By: foggy - Monday, Jun 02, 2008 at 01:02
Monday, Jun 02, 2008 at 01:02
Thanks to all who gave us some info for our squeaky problem will do it asap
Kind Regards Paul & Brenda
AnswerID:
575226
Follow Up By: Turist - Monday, Jun 02, 2008 at 01:45
Monday, Jun 02, 2008 at 01:45
Try a product called Tac2
From Repco and similar auto shops.
Tac2 is a high pressure grease in a spray can, very high quality, penetrates and leaves a grease residue, not oil.
Bob
FollowupID:
849784
Reply By: Silver Fox - Monday, Jun 02, 2008 at 07:54
Monday, Jun 02, 2008 at 07:54
Just a note on the safety angle. I used the 'Tac' product and quickly found out one needs goggles. Good pressure and very sticky stuff indeed. Probably be similar experience with the other ideas... cheers
AnswerID:
575227
Reply By: Uncle Dodgy - Monday, Jun 02, 2008 at 20:41
Monday, Jun 02, 2008 at 20:41
Greetings Foggy
I note the various suggestions on this post which have obviously worked for those posting same.
I was always taught that in a dusty / gritty environment, a wet/moist lubricant should not be used as the next layer of dust / grit after treatment created a grinding paste between the surfaces.
My suggestion would be to temporarily take the load off the springs as previously suggested, give the surfaces between the spring leaves as good a clean out as you can, probably with compressed air so as to keep the areas dry, and apply graphite powder between the surfaces before lowering the van and putting the weight back on the springs.
Graphite powder can be obtained from most hardware shops in a puffer pack ready for use, and is also handy for spraying into locks that are subject to dusty environments, e.g. Locks on the spare wheels, B T door lock etc. etc.
Don't forget to used protective goggles while using compressed air.
Hope this helps
Regards
John
AnswerID:
575228
Reply By: adams44 - Thursday, Jun 05, 2008 at 21:07
Thursday, Jun 05, 2008 at 21:07
Best way to solve sqeaky springs is not to have any
AnswerID:
575229