The longer you allow this condition to persist, the costlier the repairs and maintenance. Damage to rear tires and axles: When you drive with a broken leaf spring, the most impacted parts of your truck will be the rear tires and axles.
The whole purpose of your rear suspension is to handle the balance of weight that would otherwise cause your vehicle to drag in back. Without a functioning suspension, the rear weight of the vehicle could press down on the axles and cause your truck to become misaligned.
Even worse, the back bumper could end up dragging along the pavement as you drive along roads and freeways. In the most severe circumstances, a bump on the road could cause the broken spring to slip off the mount and drop the fender onto the tire, which would make it practically impossible to drive the vehicle. Loss of vehicular balance: If your truck's suspension system becomes compromised, the vehicle itself will be harder to steer, turn and control accurately.
With one broken leaf, the spring on the affected side becomes less strong and stable than its counterpart on the other side of the vehicle. Consequently, the truck is liable to slouch on the affected side as you drive, especially if you drive with a heavy load. This imbalance of weight can make it incredibly difficult to drive your truck straight along a given route.
The situation is most dangerous when you try to turn the vehicle, especially along narrow corners. Raised headlights: A broken leaf spring and the effects it could have on your truck can put fellow motorists in danger. When you drive along city streets and boulevards, the slouching and swerving of your truck will undoubtedly put other drivers ill at ease.
As your truck slouches at the rear, the front will rise upward, sending your headlights beaming above their intended aim. You could subject oncoming motorists to momentary light blindness and leave them unable to steer their vehicles properly.
Accidents: The most significant consequence of a broken leaf spring is the higher probability of an accident along the roadway.
When you cannot properly control your vehicle, you won't be able to stop at a second's notice or swerve to safety amid an oncoming danger. Given the truck's compromised turning ability, you could easily stub a curb while making sharp turns. That could be especially dangerous on corners where trees, light poles or fire hydrants are present.
If you notice problems with your truck's rear suspension, perform an underside inspection for wear, cracks and damage along both of the leaf springs. With a flashlight in hand, take a close look at each of the springs. Do you notice cracks or chips in any of the leaves? When issues come up, such as suspension problems for instance, we dedicate our efforts to accurately assessing where the problem originated.
This approach keeps our clients out of the shop for regular repairs, and saves them money in the long run. Ongoing maintenance can keep your car out of the shop for problems like broken rear springs.
We want your car to perform optimally at all times; give us the opportunity to provide you with excellent, specialized automotive care at an affordable price. Pay Now. Follow Us on:. Shop Hours. How Broken Rear Springs Affect Your Car Your car is made up of many different systems of interworking parts and components that must all work together in order to allow your vehicle to function well as a whole. What Do Rear Springs Do? Even if you have a professional installer install springs on your truck, you should always inspect your u-bolts to make sure they haven't come loose.
Corrosion and fatigue are typically caused by a combination of time and the elements. Numerous variables will impact on how long your leaf springs will last before they suffer from corrosion or fatigue.
The amount of weight you haul, the part of the country you live in, the roads you drive on, etc will play a role in the life of your springs. In Michigan, drivers are well aware of the March-April thaw, and the impact pot holes have on their suspension - this is especially true for commercial trucks. If you use your truck on salted roads, or in environments where there are corrosives involved, spraying the corrosives off the springs will help prevent premature corrosion.
Everyone says they never do it , but we see it all the time. Overloading is pretty self-explanatory. You put more weight in the back of your truck or you are towing a load heavier than what your truck is rated for by the manufacturer. We all love to do it, but the negative effect on your truck springs is unavoidable.
The left image shows the radial shear marks from an overloaded spring. The image to the right shows distortion of the spring eye from overloading. How do you prevent overloading your truck springs?
Obviously you could carry less weight or purchase a truck with a higher weight rating. If buying a new truck or hauling less weight is not an option, you could add an overload kit like a suspension air bag kit , or adding a set of helper springs.
Overload kits are designed to take some of the weight off the leaf springs and place it onto the overload kit, however, they will not allow you to increase the GVWR of your vehicle.
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