Rear Springs

[Jeff]

I need some advise please.
My van bounces all over the place. I have overhauled the front suspension, and put new shocks all round. Things are a lot better now but the rear still takes some controlling  on a bumpy corner.
I dont remember this problem with my other vans, but they were LWB .
 Is there a difference?  All had single leaf springs.
I seems as though the springs are hardly bending.
I feel a couple of bags of sand in the back would help things, but that seems counter-productive, so I am thinking of grinding 10% to  20% off the sides of the springs.
As long as I do this smoothly and gradually I think it would soften things up without any problems as it will not carry heavy loads and has no rear doors.
 (No rear doors would lighten the back, but not critically I think)
Have others had this problem? and how did you overcome it?
Can anyone see a danger with trimming the springs?
Any other bright ideas?

PS................. I am running 25 lbs in the tyres 205x70x14 . I am going to experiment this weekend with different pressures and a bit of weight. But I feel the answer will lie in softening up the springs.

[Rogue Trooper]

I have this exact same problem with mine which is one of the primary reasons that I am putting a Jag diff in although that is a bit extreme. The problem is that the springs are designed to give a better ride when there is a heavy load in the back so your bags of sand idea isn't too far off. I actually used to get the back end of mine off the ground driving along the Judgford straight over the Haywards hill which is a little disconcerting.

Don't grind anything off the springs as this will be classed as a defect and you will probably get a nasty surprise the next time you go for a warrant. I would suggest you talk to a spring manufacturer and see what they say. They may be able to retemper them or suggest an alternative that is not too costly. I know Superior Springs used to operate in Petone although that was a number of years ago now and I think there might have been someone else in Gracefield as well. Might have to hit the Yellow Pages. I'd have a chat to a professional before plugging in the grinder.

[Warren]

As Rpouge say the springs are ment to preform best under load, and most recreational use does not load them enough - mine works better with a load of kids and towing a one tonne trailer

Not much you can do with the single leaf spring, if you have a set of the CF1 multi leaf spring you could remove a leaf or two.

maybe HQ holden wagon springs may fit


Talk to a spring specialist, they may be able to help.

Warren

[rossie]

Warren is right, talk to a spring place. here in Ballarat we have Henderson's. They retensioned springs for me a couple of times in the past, tell them your ride hight and the tension, hand them the springs and bingo. My old fairlane sits on its gut and still rides like a limo. we even got a single leaf made for a mates mustang

[Clappers]

Definately speak to a proper springworks as I had the springs on my LWB lowered, reset and then they reworked the front eye and it drives and handles better than my old WB ute. Here in W.A I used a company called Westralian Springs.

[Jeff]

Thanks for your replies.
I'm going to put some sandbags in the back as a temporary measure, while I look around for a set of multi leaved springs. I saw someone had Holden HD rears fitted, but I don't know whether the mounts were std.
I have new thoughts about  making the springs narrower; it may tend to make the rear end wobbly, as the width of the leaves provide lateral support. The tops of the leaves maybe could be ground down a bit, but they taper, and thats harder to control accurately with a disc grinder.
I think your advise about seeing a specialist is good advise, but it sounds expensive, and there is something in my make up that makes me want to do it myself.
I'm also thinking about thinning down the fronts a bit. Not hard to do neatly on a grinder, and it would never be noticed if i was careful.
An interesting side note: after driving the CF during the weekend I got back into my Nissan on monday, and immediately felt it had a low tyre. It didn't, its just sloppy compared to the Beddie. So I dont want the springs too soft.

[Rogue Trooper]

Hi Jeff

I think you'll be surprised. It's not really all that expensive. For me there is no way in hell I would ever take a grinder to the springs. You are going to create weak points that could quite possibly break the springs under load. If you want them softer or harder then get them retempered.

I'm up at Pick-A-Part reasonably frequently at the moment so I'll keep an eye out for a CF with multi-leaf springs for you. They've had a few through recently.

[LS120]

yes they do at Pick-A-Part but there prices are getting a bit high..

[Rogue Trooper]

yes they do at Pick-A-Part but there prices are getting a bit high..

I find the prices there are really good. Make sure you check out the prices on their website first and write them down before you go. The girls at the front shed have got the name of the part wrong several times I've been there and they've tried to charge me too much till I've pulled them up.

[Jeff]

Thanks Rogue, I watch them also , but in case you see one first a message would be very helpful. As  LS120 says their prices have recently gone up, which make them not as cheap as they were, but still cheap for most things, although there is no guarantee there.
Compare them with Motex and they are very cheap, in fact I've seen a Motex guy shopping at Pick-a-part.