Leaf spring pop

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Scottkcoop

Scottkcoop

10 Year
Joined
Sep 19, 2015
Threads
14
Messages
59
Location
Utah
Been driving me crazy. Finally figured out where the noise is coming from in my steering. Checked everything I could, turns out the 'pop' noise I am hearing in the front end is coming from my drivers side leaf. Barely visible, but when I put my hand over the leaf I can feel the middle leaf shift just a little bit.

Is there a fix for this? I suppose the bolt holding the leaves in place in the center of the pack could potentially be sheared off, but I figure it would be moving a lot more than that if it was.

What's the best way to quiet down leaves in the first place? Can I pull them apart and put grease between the leaves? I have been thinking about doing this anyways to try to quiet down the creaky metal noise anyways. What do the experts think? (I was born too late...outside the leaf spring era)

Thanks in advance
 
I had the same thing with mine until just recently when I went to replace my shocks and determined that it was a broken leaf. If yours is simply the leaf shifting there are isolator pads in-between the springs that I believe can be replaced as well as the center pin. I would tighten everything down and see if that helps. Putting grease between the leaves would only be a temporary solution as the grease would eventually move out and the leaves would begin to shift again.
 
If your leaf is shifting (and you can feel this while someone is turning the wheel back and forth), then I suspect your u-bolts might be a bit loose. You don't list your model, but FJ62s have plastic slipper tabs between the springs whereas FJ60s do not. If you want to hear a 'pop' - wait until you park it on a cold night with water on the springs and they ice up. You'll hear small racket when you drive away in the morning. I agree that grease between the leaves (or under the tips) won't last. Some noise is just inherent to leaf springs - you may have to live with it. At least you know what it is.
 
are these the stock springs? if so there could well have a broken leaf. i had three in my rear packs when i replaced them with OME. the OME however have a metal bushing in the eye that sometimes comes loose and can allow this clunking. it either needs to be restaked or even tack welded to stop it from slipping. i don't think I've heard of other brands doing this but i do know my OME did and i fixed it with a tack weld right at the very end of the metal so not to weaken it. also check your bushings. if they are really worn then you might have excess play in the spring.
 
It seems like it eventually happens to all aftermarket front leafs. I have SOR springs, my buddy has OMEs. The leafs bind & release with a clunk. On my cruiser and my friend's, it makes the most racket after they get wet.. Like when driving through a deep puddle.

I once tried prying up the leafs a tad when the fronts were unsprung, and injecting grease between the leafs where I could with a needle nozzle. It made the clunking worse as the springs slid around more easily.


Maybe the best answer is to soak them in salt water so they rust up and don't slide so much.

Although I haven't actually purposefully gone out of my way to soak them in salt water, they have been wetted by salt water and salt spray and mist on the beach.
They are rusty now... and no longer clunk.
 
I'm just going to throw this out there, but do you have a OME Dakkar spring setup? I had a similar loud clunk in the front end that felt like steering or a broken perch or something, but I couldn't find anything loose. I pinned it down to the poly bushings in the spring eyes were binding up and would pop loose when I'd hit a bump or turn. Bought new bushings, which now have grease grooves all over, so it was apparently an issue as the old ones just a few grooves. I even have greaseable shafts in the springs, so I thought it was all good. The grease just wasn't going anywhere.. Drives like new now, haven't had a clunk since.
 
As far as I know I am all stock. Started taking the spring packs off (attempting to) still have not been able to get the rear bolt out. Hammered with all my might but...to no avail. The bushings definitely could use an update. I don't see a broken leaf after having gotten the front disconnected. I think (if I ever get that rear bolt out) I am going to take the spring pack apart and remove the rust and then coat the leaves with a dry graphite lube (slip plate or similar) and see how that does, then paint them once I have the lead all tightened back up and together. Now to get that @$&!ing bolt out...
 
By the way I'm on an '88 62 that I bought a few weeks ago and since then wondered why haha. Thanks for all your help guys. Hate to be a mooch of the forum but I don't know enough generally to contribute!

By the way...it sounds like a lot of you guys have had pretty noisy OME leaves...is there an alternative if I decided just to go with new ones? I've seen the hell for stout ones...$$$$...anybody know an alternative leaf spring that would be cheaper?
 
If you plan to replace the bushings you can apply a little heat to the shackle pins to melt the bushing. I used a MAPP gas torch that I use for plumbing. When I did my lift I pounded on one for hours before learning you can torch them. The others came out MUCH faster.
 
Not a cruiser, but shows the idea. There may better examples out there if you look around. In your case it would probably be better to heat the pin (on the tear drop shaped end) rather than the spring eye.

 
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'88 62 here myself. Cheers. I love my OME suspension, but it sounds like the Dakkar bushings were a known problem. After replacement with the new design, I'm very happy so far. Took about 5 years for the original ones to get to that point, and it was sort of a gradual thing. It would happen more after it rained and it took a few years before I ever noticed it. I still need to do the rears, but the front end is super smooth.
 
Spring liners would fix this as long as it's not a broken leaf. I honestly wish there was a ready-to-install kit that would fit our springs perfectly, but unfortunately none exist. You can get the material to cut your own, but it's a lot of work. From what I've read it's worth it to those who've done it though.
 
gregnash said:
@Spook50 Got any links or other info to these spring liners?
Click to expand...
They're typically delrin or teflon strips that go between the individual leafs of the spring packs. Obviously you have to break down the pack to install them.

http://www.dieseltruckresource.com/...-topics-93/spring-liners-soother-ride-207334/ This dude really liked the results he got when he put liners in his spring packs. I plan on doing pretty much the same as him when I'm able to do it.

Eaton Detroit Spring sells 2.5" wide delrin strips by the foot, which is probably where I'll go through when I get around to doing mine. There are other retailers out there though. This was just the first one that came up in a Google search that sold it in the right width for our springs.
 
Scottkcoop said:
By the way...it sounds like a lot of you guys have had pretty noisy OME leaves...is there an alternative if I decided just to go with new ones? I've seen the hell for stout ones...$$$$...anybody know an alternative leaf spring that would be cheaper?
Click to expand...


Ironman 4x4
 
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