Leaf pack rebuild

Hi

I've yet to bust up the pack so not sure.

Cheers

Lyndon

I noticed new springs from ARB have been treated with some sort of lube. They even have lube holes in the bottom. Trailer has shocks to help deal with the rebound.

Cheers

Lyndon

Don't know about the ARBs, but parabolics have no interleaf friction but the leaves are a totally different design and they will be "out of control" without dampers, as are coils which also have no friction. They both need good dampers and are typically much harder on dampers than conventional leaves which, at a pinch, can be used without dampers (but are much better with them)..
Cheers,
PeterOKA196 motorhome

Are they parabolic? If it has more than one leaf then there is interleaf friction.
The nylon pads reduce the interleaf friction so the ride is better. Doesn’t hammer the boat so much.
Coil springs are torsion bars and so require dampening.

If the interleaf friction needs to be reduce to give a decent ride, then I suggest that the leaf pack is too short.
Cheers,
Peter
OKA196 motorhome

My HJ 61 Landcruiser benefitted greatly when the springs leaves were moly treated. Far more supple and comfortable and the shocks did the dampening. Worked that way for the 25 years I owned it.

Peter OKA 196. Re your comment: "they will be out of control without dampers". I've yet to see a box trailer or boat trailer fitted with dampers and for that matter, most caravans, when conventional leaf spring or parabolic suspension is incorporated. Its only in the last 10-15 years shock absorbers have been used on caravans and camper trailers and that is mainly as a result of independent suspension using coil springs.
On a load sharing tandem axle set up using leaf springs and rockers where would the dampers be placed?

My 79series ute has +800kg constant load springs from Arb and they have the nylon pads as in Hoyks picture. There are gaps between every leaf and they are just as comfortable as standard springs.

Cheers Greg.

Hi Lyndon.

Was talking to a fella at king ash bay a couple of years back with a brand spanking new Quintrex and very sexy off road trailer. The springs were a greasy dusty mess. He explained that he opened the spring leaves up and coated them with cotton picker grease. A very runny sticky type of grease. He swore by it.

This was his first trip with the new boat but had apparently been using it on his old one for years.

Cotton picker grease might be hard to find in Darwin though !!! It comes in 200 or 1000 litre containers.

Cheers Greg.

Cotton picker grease is a common, lithium-soap-based, "semi-fluid" grease, classified as "NLGI - 00" viscosity.

This semi-fluid grease is commonly used in the old "greased" track rollers of antique crawler tractors, spur and helical gear cases where high temperatures aren't encountered, in centralised automatic lubrication systems on earthmovers and mining equipment - and even in bearing hubs where oil is recommended, but where oil leakage is a problem.

It's available from any reasonable-sized oil company grease retailing operation, in containers ranging from 500g bottles and 450g cartridges - but only in packs of 6.

Penrite - Semi-fluid grease

The problem with using grease on spring packs is fine dirt attaches itself to the grease, forming a grinding paste - and the grease dries out relatively rapidly.

For this reason, many vintage vehicles had leather boots covering their greased spring leaves.
After a while, manufacturers realised there was no real benefit to coating spring leaves in grease, and enclosing them, it was an unnecessary cost without major benefits.

Cheers, Ron.

Hi Folks

I'm going to try and bust up the pack, wire wheel,paint, grease and re assemble. I'll let you know how I go. They only rusted due to lack of maintenance many years ago.
I should have bought a replacement set from Industrial springs in Adelaide (this is where I originally got them from), before they closed down. R.I.P another great Aussie business.
I probably should have posted a few pic's.
This is an off-road boat trailer. I can sit on considerable speeds over rough dirt roads. In fact, check out my profile. There are some old pic's of the trailer in tow.
Goes almost anywhere.
Now where do I find a 200 Litre drum of cotton picker's grease :-)
Not saying it's not good stuff, but 200L :-)

Thanks for your thoughts and idea's

Lyndon

Northern Springs out at Gawler can make new springs to your spec.
https://www.northernspringworks.com.au/
Cheers,
Peter
OKA196 motorhome

Hi Peter

Thanks for the info. Good to see not all Aussie businesses have shut their doors.
A bit of a drive from Darwin though...... :-)

Pulled the leaf pack off yesterday and it's not in too bad a shape. Will rebuild.
Still not 100% sure what to stick in between the springs, maybe lanolin.

Cheers

Lyndon

They can make them by description of course and freight them.
Cheers,
Peter
OKA196 motorhome