[Spinnerr]

Hijacking!

But its related to Leaf Springs.. 'Search' didnt come up with a better thread. So here is a small query.

Recently I had my Bolero serviced, and the mechanic had used a spanner to put some space between the leaf and the clamp holding it in place. He said "otherwise the leaf would rub with these parts and you will hear a lot of squeak".



It kinda made sense, looked as if it was a preventive step, but now I am wondering, would that extra space be a problem when taking a tight curve with 5+ people on board, would the leafs shift, move around, cause permanent damage!


Another view:

[Spinnerr]

Now I am little concerned.

I have been looking at a couple of leaf spring setups (on the comp, ofcourse) and I see that none of the rebound clips are 'open ended' like the one I have on my Bolero.



Here is the real one



And when I checked Sabareesh's thread, in this particular post he had a pic of his Jeep's suspension. There again the rebound clips were closed, clamped down.



Now I have an open clip, that has been stretched out so as to not touch the leafs.
So now what? do I get it into its old form or shall i get them clamped down . Any inputs?

[Shashank.A]

what was the initial setup like ? Was the clamp closed or was just tighter or closer ?

[star_aqua]

Originally Posted by Spinnerr

Now I have an open clip, that has been stretched out so as to not touch the leafs.
So now what? do I get it into its old form or shall i get them clamped down . Any inputs?

Get them clamped asap. With the current setup, the chances are the leafs will spread sidewards. though they cant move forward or backward due to center bolt. since all the leafs are not held together, this could cause serious damage when you are off the road due to articulation.

[greatmana2000]

When the rebound clip is closed ,then the spring plates can take more load as the load is somewhat split btwn all the connected plates . The rebound rate is also higher

when the rebound clip is open , the suspension is a bit more soft and the load carrying capacity is also reduced .
The open clip is used for assembling the spring plates ,one on top of the another and to secure it to the axle . Even if there is a gap after assembly , it dosent matter any more as long as the U clamps are secure .

[Spinnerr]

Originally Posted by Shashank.A

what was the initial setup like ? Was the clamp closed or was just tighter or closer ?

Originally the clip was closer to the leaves, but not closed.

Originally Posted by greatmana2000

When the rebound clip is closed ,then the spring plates can take more load ......
When the rebound clip is open , the suspension is a bit more soft....

The open clip is used for assembling the spring plates ,one on top of the another and to secure it to the axle . Even if there is a gap after assembly , it dosent matter any more as long as the U clamps are secure .

Now, this make sense. I think I get the the clamps back into their original shape before I take the next long trip, for city driving I feel the clamp is secure enough.

Thanks for the tip greatman!

[Shashank.A]

Spinnerr, please note that greatman is talking about closed clamp and not closer clamp. The clamp in your car was originally open only, and the difference is gap between the clamp and leafs.

[Spinnerr]

Originally Posted by greatmana2000

.....it dosent matter any more as long as the U clamps are secure .

oh, is that so? Greatman had said, 'U' clamps, so I thought he was talking about the open ended ones.

[RedMM340]

Really bad idea spreading the clamps.

Bend them back to the original shape and apply some grease to prevent noise.

[greatmana2000]

Originally Posted by Shashank.A

Spinnerr, please note that greatman is talking about closed clamp and not closer clamp. The clamp in your car was originally open only, and the difference is gap between the clamp and leafs.

Thank you for correcting .
U clamp = closed clamp in truckers speak .