SFA Leaf Spring Noise. Any Ideas?

[patrickr]

Morning chaps,

On a recent "off-roading" adventure at the farm, I heard some rather disturbing noises. It sounded like a large rock was hitting the chassis... Like a dull thud almost.

It only occurred at low speeds (well that was when I heard it), and when going over some testing axle twisters.

This led me to the conclusion that it must have something to do with the suspension because of the extreme articulation experienced over the axle twisters.

I think it may be that the pins connecting the leaf springs to the chassis are worn out. From a simple inspection, they look very old and worn.

(1) Am I right?
(2) What else could it be?
(3) What needs to be replaced/fixed?
(4) where would I take it to get such a repair done?
(5) Perhaps someone could post a peektcha of these "Pins" when they are new??

Kind Regards,
Patrick

[Stubs]

Hi Patrick,

what shocks do you have on ??? are the leafs sagging ?? could be a few different things like the leaf rubber stopper hitting the chassis under extreme articulation, i doubt its the pins/bolts these would just be squeaky.....I had the same problems and got rid of mine and now run OME leafs with TJM shocks, if you have standard shocks these can be too short in some cases.......

cheers stubs.

[Mud Dog]

Firstly it's nothing to be alarmed about .... the problem is most likely those hanger pins and shackle pins that you mention as well as their bushes .... all are replaceable, but try get the greaseable ones (not available from Toyota), Mikem keeps them. The other things that you should just check on is the shock mounts and that the U-bolts are still tight.

It's quite common on SFA's and sometimes it's just the leaves shifting in the packs .... mostly heard when you are turning sharply. You could also pry the leaves apart individually at the ends and spray some 'Copperslip' in between each leaf (will also improve the ride comfort if they were dry). If you don't have 'Copperslip' even grease will do, but it tends to collect dirt on the outside and looks a bit messy after time.

[Mr_B]

Andy beat me to it...

Sounds to me like the shackle bushes are worn and are binding. Depending on the condition/age of the suspension it could well be time for an overhaul or complete replacement. Whichever way you decide to go speak to Darryl from Mikem Suspensions, they sell and install excellent quality components that cost alot less than the likes of OME or TJM. That said, if you can afford OME you can't go wrong, but it is expensive!

[patrickr]

@ Stubs,

I'm not sure of the shocks. One has an "FMF" sticker on it, but other than that, all I can tell you is that they are yellow (they were on the bakkie when I bought it).

The front springs do seem to be a bit tired. They are horizontal in shape, rather than the normal "bow".

The sound was more of a metal on metal sound..... Similar to the "crack" a tight nut makes when you first loosen it. It didn't sound like the rubber stopper.

@Mud Dog

That's what my old man said - the bushings around the pins are probably worn.

Mine, and his, reasoning was that as one side of the axle dropped, at may pass from having the axle pushing into the leaf spring to a state where the axle may actually hang from it. We thought that that above normal movement caused the noise.

Here are a few pics I just snapped. Take a look guys, and tell me what you think:

DSC_0065 (648 x 486).jpg

(85.32 KiB) Downloaded 551 times

[Mountain Man]

Pressure wash the dirt out of the blades and spray a can of Q20 or whatever all over the leaf pack, hangers and pins. 10:1 says that stops the problem...however this may also as discussed above be a result of worn components. I would do the lube first then, if it persists, a suspension service/overhaul.

[Foksie]

Had the same problem, replaced buses and pins.

[LouisZ]

Almost look if there is no side shoulders on the bushes. Then it is metal against metal, especially if you turn or articulate.

[Rooies]

Andy i would stay away from the grease and copperslip, when i installed my Mikems i asked Darrel what maintenance should be done on the blades to prolong its life and he said clean with a high pressure and DO NOT USE GREASE OR COPPERSLIP as it collects sand and dust and that grind between the blades and then leads to a whole lot of new problems. Yes it will drive softer but not good in the long run.

[Mud Dog]

Yeah well , the dry lubicants only work for a short while, but IMO it's still better than nothing at all because whether you like it or not, the dirt and grit is still going to get in there, wet or dry. With grease I believe that at least there is something to ease it and I also think it helps to prevent it getting in so easily in the first place ..... any that does get in, the grease might work it out to the sides more esaily.

So, not saying that Darryl is right or wrong .... just that maybe the jury's still out on the wet or dry issue in my mind.

[Mr_B]

I went the greasing route when I overhauled Bolt's leaf packs, definitely made the ride more supple and quieter. But after a good high pressure clean alot of the grease is forced out. What I found worked really well was to spray the leaf packs with power parrafin once they'd dried after the clean, and then every so often I'd spray them with some castrol chain lube, which seemed to penerate the noisy bits well.

[Mountain Man]

I went the greasing route when I overhauled Bolt's leaf packs, definitely made the ride more supple and quieter. But after a good high pressure clean alot of the grease is forced out. What I found worked really well was to spray the leaf packs with power parrafin once they'd dried after the clean, and then every so often I'd spray them with some castrol chain lube, which seemed to penerate the noisy bits well.

That's exactly what I do. Works like a bomb. However the issue between graesed and ungreased really can be argued that the best solution is to always try and clean the leaf pack after a lot of muddy offroad work. So if one decides to lube of keep it dry the key is still to keep it clean. The dirt is going to become grinding paste/dust no matter if it is wet or dry so keeping it clean is first prize.

[sneethling]

Hoë druk water spuit tussen die veerblaai in het vir my gewerk. Dit neem die lawaai op die veerblaaie weg. Dankie.

[Mud Dog]

An old post revived.

But now that it is, let me add something that I have come across since the time of first postings. A friend and long time off road enthusiast were chatting about exactly this issue a couple years back and he shared an idea that makes sense. His solution was to clean the leaf packs properly and pack them full of grease. After that he pulled old motor cycle inner tubes over the packs and secure the ends at the hoops with zip ties so as to create a boot over the full length of the pack.

A great idea and probably ideal for over-landers where the 'boots' aren't likely to get damaged, but probably not so great if you're rock crawling in riverbeds and the like where they're going to get torn. Either way, the greased packs are going to have some protection from dirt and dust.

You would also need to have a small hole in the boots at the lowest points on both side of the pedestals for water drainage - zip ties are not going to give a water tight seal.

[Scott]

Front leaf springs are straight and that is normal back does look a bit tired but would not worry.New pins bushes and copper slip the packs you have got nothing to loose.