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Has anyone done it? i've got access to a press and figured it can't be much more complicated than bending a strip of metal. Any tips much appreciated.
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1970 Porsche 911E
2002 Porsche Boxster S
2002 Peugeot Partner 1.9sdi
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I had been wondering this too. It was one of my plans for the front end of the atlas van....
I was contemplating just removing some leaves and fitting coilover sprung shocks to assist it.....
Would be interesting to find out tho for when i innevitably end up with an atlas van ;D
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Dez
Club Retro Rides Member
And I won't sit down. And I won't shut up. And most of all I will not grow up.
Posts: 11,712
Club RR Member Number: 34
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you can do it with a big hammer and a gap-anvil. indeed, its how most decambering and reverse eye springs were done back in the day. there was a post about it on the HAMB a while ago, but i cant find it now.
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If you have a multi-spring leaf spring you can turn one leaf over. I've just done it on a Mazda for a 2" (approx) drop. Just needed some clamps and a hammer.
Charlie
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Copey
Posted a lot
Posts: 2,845
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leave them on the car, put axle stands an inch under chassie rails infront of the rear wheels appropriate for the drop (say you want in 1" lower leave a 1" gap, 2" drop 2" gap etc etc) and heat up the springs, the weight of the car will bend them down onto the stands, the stands make the drop accurate and even
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1990 Ford Sierra Sapphire GLSi with 2.0 Zetec
1985 Ford Capri 3.0 (was a 2.0 Laser originally)
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Won't heating it affect it? It does seem the easy option for me but with an LPG tank and a fuel tank very close to both ends it may not be the safest. the jig in the link looks good but is there any advantage over just relaxing the camber/ a full reverse of the camber or just doing the ends like in this pic -  |
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1970 Porsche 911E
2002 Porsche Boxster S
2002 Peugeot Partner 1.9sdi
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Dez
Club Retro Rides Member
And I won't sit down. And I won't shut up. And most of all I will not grow up.
Posts: 11,712
Club RR Member Number: 34
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do not heat a spring.
its an incredibly stupid thing to do.
as soon as you get it hot, its no longer a spring- spring steel is made by tempering normal steel.
spring steel is just steel that is resistant to work hardening, so can be constantly deflected and return without snapping.
by heating it, youve just undone the tempering process, and it WILL snap eventually.
ash, generally speaking, the flatter a spring, the lower its spring rate.(for a given thickness/width/temper anyway)
just kinking the end lowers it without removing the 'stiffness' of the spring, in other words it doesnt lower the spring rate.
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If you have a multi-spring leaf spring you can turn one leaf over. I've just done it on a Mazda for a 2" (approx) drop. Just needed some clamps and a hammer. Charlie when you say turn over do u mean remove then flip and put on top of the main spring? |
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Make a clamp up like the one in that link. The mini bottle jack in my one cost about £5 delivered. Seth has it at the moment I think.
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i did a similar think to a set of Suzuki SJ leaf springs.. but rather than December them,i gave them more camber!! as i want to get some more lift out of them.. i did similar to how it was done in the link above. but i had a pipe bender, so used that. and i was pleased that it worked very well.. well for about a year anyway.. after LOTS!! of hard use off road one of the rear springs had had enough! and went flat, but it never snapped! so if it worked for me(to get lift) i can't see why it shouldn't work for you(to loss some height!  ) |
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I'm really interested in this for the rear of my commer I want to come down about 3" and I've been told to remove my full load springs but to be honest its to soft now so any way I can de camber them and keep the strength would be wicked .
I'm an engineer by trade so have a press at work I could use
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What about trying a professional spring manufacturer and asking them to change the shape and re-heat treat them.
I have been talking to South Yorkshire Springs about making some rear springs for my Carlton (not leaf of course) and they offered to make adjustments after manufacture as I need and the cost is very reasonable.
Dez is quite right to say not to heat the springs, they aren't made from ordinary steel, it is specific grades that I cant remember but it can be shaped like other steel until the heat treatment process after which it is incredibly difficult to make permanent changes. I made a few simple spring steel tools at work many years ago, very interesting to do.
Undoing the heat treatment by heating and cooling just makes it a length of bar that can be bent.
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I was just talking to SYS and asked the question, for leaf spring work they said the expert to go to is -
Joe Clegg
Owen Springs
Rotherham
01709710700
Sorry, I know the thread title says DIY but I thought it might be of interest.
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Pid363!
Posted a lot
Madness is all in the mind!
Posts: 1,039
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I did a set of singal leaf springs in a press many years ago. I also had springs retempered at a forge and they heated them but is it the way they heat that means they don't snap?
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Stupid is as stupid does!
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I know gartrac December escort leafs weather on not the would do any others you'd have to ask but the only charge £20 a spring so might be worth a thought
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1978 mk2 escort mexico
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I did a set of singal leaf springs in a press many years ago. I also had springs retempered at a forge and they heated them but is it the way they heat that means they don't snap? Quite right, its about how hot (colour is a guide) and how quickly you cool it there is a sequence.
The small ones I made years ago (not for a car) were made of the correct grade of steel, cant remember what though EN??, first shaped as required, then heated to cherry red and quenched in water, after that they were extremely hard but very brittle, could be snapped by hand. Next they were heated gently to either brown or blue and cooled again, (cant remember which colour) tempering them making them extremely tough and almost indestructible strong springs. I think there will be a lot more precision to it than that for someone making car springs.
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