Leaf spring overhaul: bushings, bolts, pads, coating, shackles

[A-man930]

Made some progress last night; first I marked the individual leaves per side to keep everything in order

 

 

Then I took them apart:

 

 

 

The rust:

 

 

Ready for a wire wheel cleanup!  

 

 

This is about the worst of the rust pitting.  I may sandblast them...

 

[Minuit]

Good to know that this has been done before. My springs are horrendously noisy and as soon as I drop the D35 I'll be doing what you are. Thanks for writing this up.

[A-man930]

Good to know that this has been done before. My springs are horrendously noisy and as soon as I drop the D35 I'll be doing what you are. Thanks for writing this up.

Well thanks, but remember this is my first go at it so take it all with a grain of salt  ;)

[A-man930]

So I bit the bullet and got out the el cheapo sandblaster and borrowed the neighbor's compressor.  Took over two 40lb bags of media and most of my Sunday (wife-less with the kiddos this weekend) but they're as ready as they'll ever be for coating!

 

 

 

[zomeizter]

nice work there bud, this is on my list of "upgrades" for my 'manche in the near future, keep up the great work...

[A-man930]

Thanks! I'll hopefully get to order the coating soon.

[A-man930]

Coating is in!

 

[A-man930]

Coated!

This stuff dries quick! 

 

[Crash]

If you have not already figured out your shackle situation, The JKS XJ 1" booms would only net about .25" on an MJ. I guess that could be considered a bit much on top of SOA and everything else. But, an option none the less. 

Replacement bushings (by catalog) should be MOOG #SB372 and SB371 or Napa #2747056 and 2747058.  

 

 

 

I hear that replacement plain rubber bushings for the stock shackles are pretty well non-existent, is that correct?  As much as I like the build quality of JKS products I don't want the additional lift their shackles will give; I'll try and find some stock shackles if replacement bushings can be found.

[HOrnbrod]

New OEM MJ shackles are still available at around $50/ea. Replacement bushings were never offered from the factory.........

[A-man930]

New OEM MJ shackles are still available at around $50/ea..........

I'll be looking into this.  I'm really afraid of having this lift put me too high in the rear.

[Crash]

I currently work at a Ford dealer, and could probably pass on a reasonable price for the Ford OEM shackles. Otherwise, the Dorman ones look almost identical to the Ford ones. 

One of my local XJ guy's works at a CJDR dealer, I could see what kind of price can be had on MJ shackles if they are available to him. 

[A-man930]

I'd be into that (the MJ shackles)!

[A-man930]

Got the two larger bushings as a birthday gift!

 

[A-man930]

Got the other bushings for Christmas and they're in!  Notice though that the moly coating doesn't make for a good rust inhibitor...  :fs1:

 

[A-man930]

Update: the lack of rust protection is an issue I just can't ignore.  I'm emailing back and forth with Zep to figure out if this spray will adhere to a painted surface.

 

Once I get an answer I'll have to decide:

a. blasting my nice new coating off, painting, then applying the coating to the friction surfaces

b.spraying a different lube product (one that will help with protecting the metal) over the top of this stuff and hope it sticks

c. painting over the top of what's there now and re-apply the coating to the "friction areas"

[ParadiseMJ]

FWIW I would do a and c, or a variation of the two.

 

A couple of good coats of a rust inhibiting paint, with the moly on the pads and their contact points.  Of course I don't have to deal with rust out here...as in any rust, anywhere.  Still, I'd paint just to avoid dirt/sand/snow/mud...makes everything easier to hose off.

 

Good thread, should be a sticky when all done.

[HOrnbrod]

Good thread, should be a sticky when all done.

 

It will be.  :thumbsup:

[A-man930]

Me:

Will this product adhere to painted surfaces?  I'm hoping to use this product between the individual leaves of some truck springs.  I was going to avoid painting at all but I've discovered that this stuff doesn't protect from rust at all.  

Thank you for the support;

Alan

 

ZEP's Reply:

I am a little confused about your application. This product isn’t normally used on painted surfaces because it is mainly used to lubricate two surfaces that are rubbing together (which would cause paint to rub off). If you just need a product to prevent corrosion I would recommend a traditional lubricant like our Zepreserve http://images.zep.com/zepcorporate/tds/psr_0095.pdf

 

Sincerely,

Zep Technical Services

 

Me:

Thanks for the quick response.

I'm looking to lubricate a leaf spring pack with something that won't collect dirt.  A dry film lubricant would be perfect for this but after sandblasting and completely coating the individual leaves with your product (0106) I've discovered that it won't protect the surface from rust like paint (not sure why I thought it would but hey).  The bulk of the surface area on these are exposed to the elements and even the parts that "rub together" won't be constantly moving so they need corrosion protection.

With all that said I'm planning on blasting the leaves clean again and painting them before applying some kind of lubricant; so my question is will your product adhere to a painted surface and "make it slippery"?  A particular kind of paint maybe?

 

ZEP's Reply:

We can’t find ANY (neither pro nor con) information regarding use of this or any other dry lubricant on paint. However, we think it will adhere and provide some lubrication, but no guarantees. Please test in a inconspicuous area for adherence and lubrication before general use.

 

Sincerely,

Zep Technical Services

[75sv1]

I looked at rebuilding a set of springs years ago. There was anti-friction tape for springs. Might look at it. Also, there is 'teflon' paint at Auto parts stores. I did sand blast those sets of springs. Not sure it is a good idea though. I do have some machinery, lathes, mills. Some who rebuild them use an electrolysis process to remove the rust, paint etc. Not as complicated as it sounds. The part come out clean and bare metal.

[A-man930]

Hate to bump the thread without any official progress to show, but I wanted to assure everybody that the project is not dead!  The SOA conversion is fast approaching and I'll be working on the springs again here soon..

 

I've decided to re-blast the leaves, apply a primer, coat this product on the friction surfaces, and then spray bomb black over it all: 

 

 

Tech support at this place was super helpful.  The product is supposed to repel water and apparently they've had a fair number of customers using it for leaf springs.  

 

Here goes  :crossfingers:

[Steve Gregory]

Great thread, I can't wait to see the results!

[A-man930]

Well I had a crappy time with the sandblaster, forgot to apply the primer, and decided to just slop the stuff all over them instead... but they're done!  Hopefully the stuff holds up.  

 

 

[A-man930]

I ended up buying a stick of this stuff from mcmaster carr for the rebound clips.  Time will tell if its hard enough, but it won't rust!

 

[8valvehero]

More!