Learn About The Step By Step Process To Replace Your Rear Leaf Springs

By Author: Stewart Ralph
Total Articles: 5
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Each spring in your vehicle has its own life. With passing time, leaf springs tend to crack, break and sag. Eventually, you need to remove it and fix a new spring in place of them. The steel material present in the leaf springs begins to stretch and loosen up. This also results in issues with the suspension system.

If you are also experiencing the same problem in your springs and want to replace them, then read this article. You will get a detailed knowledge on the procedure involving replacement of your leaf springs.



Evaluate the condition of your springs

With the help of chocks stop the vehicle. Now loosen the lug nuts present on both the wheels located at the backside of your vehicle. Elevate the back end by the help of a hydraulic jack. Place the jack stand beneath the rear axle to keep your vehicle in the elevated state. Now remove the lug nuts and also both the wheels at the backend. You will now be able to see the condition of your rear leaf springs clearly.



Removing the base plate

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... Remove the locking nut and washer. When it is done, you remove the base plate too. After this, you need to elevate the lower end of your vehicle till the axle and leaf spring comes apart. To accomplish this step, you can also take the help of a pry bar.



Removal

There is a bolt present on the front mount of the spring. You need to remove it. Now put the front end of the spring on the floor. Remove the nuts and washers at the back end of the spring. Now, finally remove the outer plate. You will observe that the spring is resting on a shackle pin. You need to take off both the pin and the shackle. It is advisable to remove the pin prior removing the shackle.



Get ready for the installation

After successful removal of the spring, comes the installation part. You need to install a new spring at that place. To do this installation, you need to keep your installation kit ready with you. First, put the new shackle at the same place from where you have removed the worn shackle. Now place the leaf spring and ensure that it is properly aligned. Once it is done correctly and the rear leaf spring is aligned in the way it should be, slide it onto the shackle. Ensure that you don’t lighten the locking nuts at this stage.



Giving final touches to the Installation

Once you place the rear end of the spring correctly, you need to raise the front section of the rear leaf spring. Raise it such that it comes between the forward mounts. Now place the bolt in the right place and don’t fasten the locking nut. Reduce the level of the rear end to the point that it touches the spring and is at the level of the centre pin. Use the new U-shaped bolts from the installation kit.

Begin to install them. Tighten the locking nuts with the help of a torque wrench. If necessary, refer to the manual provided by the vehicle manufacturer. Attach the shock absorbers again and repeat the same procedure for the second wheel. Once done, fix both the wheels properly and remove the jack stands. Bring the vehicle to original position followed by tightening the lug nuts.

Rear leaf springs break and wear out with continuous usage for a long time. In such a situation, replacement of these springs is the only option left. Make sure you hire a specialized agency that offers genuine parts to get this job done for you.