Extremely squeaky leaf springs

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.

Thanks to all who gave us some info for our squeaky problem will do it asap
Kind Regards Paul & Brenda

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

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

Best way to solve sqeaky springs is not to have any