New Leaf Spring – When Is The Right Time And How To Diagnose Properly

When you are carrying a lot of load, chances are high that the spring would break or wear out. It can cause serious trouble for you later. Hence you need to know what is a leaf spring and the right time to change them.

Leaf Spring

Originally called laminated springs or carriage spring, leaf spring in your vehicle is a suspension system. They play a major role for the trucks and vehicles that carry heavy load. It is an arch-shaped steel piece that is bolted with other things of steel that forms a bow-like shape. When there are lot of potholes on the road, these springs help the vehicle to move smoothly.


Applications

There are many benefits of this tool and hence leaf springs are demanded in various fields.

• Farming: Since the mediaeval times, these springs were used in the farm equipment to support farming. It proved to be very important in tractors and trucks as it helped farmers to carry and transport their goods to larger distances.
  
  
• Industrial Equipment: These springs have been very significant part in the manufacturing of construction vehicles. They help these vehicles to load heavy materials and carry them to the construction sites and factory.
  
  
• Transport and Business: to build transport vehicles that carry a lot of load, spring is one of the essential components. Though, several times due to overload and overstress the spring may stop working and break.
  
  

How to diagnose

Leaf spring is found on the vehicle’s rear end or front attached to bottom axle of trucks, vans and cars or sometimes, at the top. They typically have a black shiny coat of paint as it goes through a lot of roughness, dirt and rust. When your spring goes through a lot of overload and stops functioning, here are some ways in which you can find out that something is wrong:

• Look for Cracks: You need to check frequently if there is any problem with your spring. Many times they may break and the pieces may go missing. In this case, you will have to replace the spring at the earliest.
  
  
• Swaying: When your truck’s rear end is bumping too much on the road, you need to check immediately whether your spring is working or not. Most of the times, the spring begins to wear out and your vehicle starts to sway or bounce.
  
  
• Amount of Overload: Before you start your vehicle after loading, you need to check the vehicle’s rear end. If the rear end of the truck sags, it is a clear sign that your spring needs to be replaced.
  
  

Add a Leaf Kit

One of the easiest and most convenient solutions to avoid the wear and tear of your spring is “Add a Leaf” kit. It can be easily installed in your truck, car or van and is also very economical. They are attached to existing leaf spring raising the vehicle up to certain height. They increase the capacity of you existing spring and makes your vehicle more efficient.

Also regular maintenance and inspection of your vehicle will avoid the wearing out of your spring. An automobile’s parts go through a lot of labour and roughness. Whether they are rear springs or leaf spring, for smooth functioning of your vehicle you need to take care of these small yet important parts.

Some Useful Tips to Help You Purchase the Right Leaf Spring

Leaf Spring and its Purpose

They are basically a suspension system of semi-elliptical shape painted in black. They were first invented in the medieval time for the farm equipment to help farmers carry goods to longer distances. In new vehicles, leaf spring is attached directly to drive axle of the vehicle. They absorb the gravity as the vehicle move and try to keep the vehicle on balance even on the bumpiest roads.

Leaf springs have been very popular and useful for heavy-duty vehicles that carry a lot of load every day. The leaf spring divides the entire load evenly throughout the vehicle rather than at one single intersection point. Thus the vehicle is able to withstand every kind of vibration without harming the passengers and loaded things on the vehicle.

Types of Leaf Spring

Before you purchase a new leaf spring you must know in detail about their types so that you can select the one as per your requirement and vehicle type:

• Steel or Fibreglass Spring: These are the most lightest of the leaf spring available as they are made of light plastic fibre and resins. Many car manufactures in order to reduce the car’s weight have started using fibreglass leaf springs. Most of the luxury cars use these springs.
  
  
• Multi-Leaf: These leaf springs are stacked up in bunch of flat bars of diminishing lengths connected by clips and bolts. Each of the leaf has selected length to support the above strip providing a good strength to whole system.
  
  
• Mono-Leaf: These springs have a single steel plate that is heat-treated at each end. They are quite lighter than the multi-leaf springs but not as protective like them. This eventually compelled the manufacturers to stop making mono-leaf springs.
  
  
• Parabolic: These are combination of both multi-leaf and mono-leaf springs in a parabolic curve. They have combination of more than two tapered steel plates put in a bundle. Parabolic springs are lighter than the multi-leaf springs and safer than the mono-leaf springs.

While Purchasing Leaf Spring

When you want to replace your vehicle’s leaf spring with a new one you need to know which one will be right for your vehicle. For this, you need to consider the type of vehicle you have. When it is a SUV, you will need a larger leaf spring and for a cargo van you would require Sprinter leaf springs. To know which leaf spring will be perfect for your vehicle, the best option is to ask your vehicle dealer or product provider. You can also ask them in advance about the leaf springs when you buy a new vehicle.

You can find every type of spring of various brands easily on the internet. But it is very important that you check the product personally before purchasing. So you will have to check it thoroughly when it is delivered to you.

A good and reputed company provides you a customer care number in case you have any query regarding the product. Also be sure, that the company provides a cash back guarantee in case the product is not satisfactory. Keep in mind all these things before making any deal.