Topic: bent leaf spring

[neale_rs]

How important is it to replace a bent leaf spring?  It is a front spring and it bent near the fixed spring hanger.  It does not seem to affect the way the jeep drives. I plan to get lift springs in about a month so am wondering if I can just leave it as is for now.  Thanks

[jeepheap]

at least expect the tire to wear un evenly. at worse from the flexing it could braek completely. i wouldn't risk it especially on the front.

[DodgeMudder]

Is it the main leaf thats bent, and how bad is the bend, if it's only a slight bend or not the main, you should be good for a short period of time, but the more it's bent the faster it should be replaced.

[dexetr30]

Get a photo of it and post it. You may get a better and more accurate answer that way. My opinion without seeing it... fix it. A bent spring on the front is dangerous.

[aw12345]

If the spring is bend at the fixed hanger end replace it immediately since breaking would mean loss of control, also it will cause alignment issues. if it is at the shackle end the worst that would happen if its a main leaf and it breaks is that the jeep will sit on the bump rubber and will ride very hars but no steering issues. Still is best to order a spring or have one made locally or go cheap and have them make just the one leaf and repair the spring that way

[jfrabat]

Why dont you just go to a U-Pick yard and pick a stock spring for the meantime, and then replace the whole thing when you get the lift?  If this would have happened to you a month ago, I would have offered to give you one of my stock springs for free, but I already threw them out...

[neale_rs]

Sorry for the delay.  I was away from the internet for a while over the holidays.  Thanks for all the replies.  Here is a picture of the bend.



I'm sure this will happen again sooner or later so am looking into how to avoid it.  The obvious solution is to lift the jeep but what will prevent bending springs more effectively, a 4 inch spring lift with military wrap springs or an SOA?  I'm not considering a reverse shackle setup for now.  The SOA on stock springs seems like it will have the same problem once a tall enough rock is encountered.  Seems that military wrap springs may be tougher.  Opinions?

Thanks

[oldjeep]

I sure wouldn't drive it on the road like that.   The best way to keep that from happening is to keep your shackles from inverting, which is about the only way that could have happened.

[neale_rs]

Thanks, I'll look into lifting ASAP.
I think what happened was that I rammed the tire into a rock head on.  This rotated the axle and dented my shock (mounted just behind the axle) and bent the leaf spring.  Since the stock leaf springs are almost completely flat and the impact was straight on, they were not able to flex to avoid getting bent.  I think an arched spring would have taken the hit with no problem.

[garydubf]

Ever thought about S.O.A.?

[jfrabat]

Ever thought about S.O.A.?

I dont think a SOA will prevent this, as the leaf spring geometry of the stock ride is maintained...

[neale_rs]

That's what I was thinking too.  Having a little arch in the springs is probably a very good thing often overlooked in SOAs with stock springs.

[Jeffy]

Smacking the rear into something really hard will bend the leaf like that.  It's only one leaf back there and it's pretty thin.  Your jeep must be pulling to the left a bit now.  I'd get that replaced ASAP.  You can usually buy used stock leafs for around $200 a set.  Make sure the leaf spring has the right number of leafs.  YJ's have used 4, 5 and 6 leafs and you don't want to mix them up.

[garydubf]

Ever thought about S.O.A.?

I dont think a SOA will prevent this, as the leaf spring geometry of the stock ride is maintained...

Not to prevent this but an inexpensive lift to get taller tires, to get your springs away from the rocks

[neale_rs]

Thanks to all for the advice.  I've decided to stop using the jeep for now and am ordering an RE 4.5 XD lift kit to replace the springs!