Tired of bent leaf springs...

[Alpha Male]

I decided to end my bent, misshapen leaf spring issue once and for all. I'm running the main leaf and the largest leaf under it, but while it does help, the two still move apart under compression and I don't like the look of zip-ties. This is my fix.

Windshield wipers have a thin section of flat metal in them. At the end of the day, go to your local automotive store and grab an old discarded wiper blade from the trash can out front. Pull out the metal and use it as a spring retainer.

I bent the end with needle nosed pliers. Bent it again to the width of the springs and then cut it off. Then I just added it under the leafs and folded both sides over with a pair of channel lock pliers. Worked like a charm - but beware when working with freshly cut metal! And of course wash the wound with soap and water. There's blood on my garage floor from a slip.















I haven't tested them fully yet, but they are solidly in place and I'll be very surprised if they don't hold. Even if I need to replace one down the road....it's free.

[rc2008]

That looks way better than a zip-tie!

[Chief]

That looks good man. Looks like what is used on a real leaf-spring pack.

[raceeng18]

Nice going, will give it a try

[Koldham]

home depot has stainless steel zip tie things but there pricey. your idea looks hella scle!

[Alpha Male]

I'm glad you guys like it. I finally get to contribute a good idea.

[Koldham]

theres a guide around here somewhere about turning the rubber from some wiper blades into stock style fender flares.

[neobaja]

That's a great idea and upgrade, looks factory 1:1 scale, very cool mate, although I have no spring issues in the limited run time Iv'e had I can see myself doing this one, cheers for sharing

[Alpha Male]

This mod has been thoroughly tested.

Gmade Sawback Testing the Suspension - YouTube

[raceeng18]

If that didn't bend the springs nothing will. Loved it.

[Tinrabbit]

LOVE IT! Got me a chuckle out of the SB bouncing along. Props for the nice save comin down the split. Yanked a wiper off the old Nova parts car tonight, time to copy ya!

[bryco13]

So, grabbed some old wipers at work today and have a couple questions in regard to your mod. The steel is fairly easy to bend, but slightly weak, trying to unbend it back the metal just breaks off. Didn't know if you heated up the metal while bending to change the brittleness of it. Also, once it's bent and in place, how do you keep them from sliding up or down the leafs, while still allowing the leafs to slide against each other? I was thinking of using bailing or safety wire to keep my springs together, but realised that if the wire was on tight enough to keep the springs together, it wouldn't allow them to function as intended. Any thoughts? I'd really like to get this done this weekend, and love the looks of your mod compared to zip ties.
-bryan

[Alpha Male]

Hmmm... It may be that the wire in my wipers is far superior to yours.

Joking aside, the flat metal that I have came from several different brands and sizes of wipers - whatever was discarded - but it all seemed basically the same. At full length the metal wiggles and bends but when cut off short it is much more difficult to work with because it is much more rigid. After some trial and error I realized that making the two bends that I needed at one end of the metal before cutting was the easiest way to get the size right before snipping it off and pressing the wire tight onto the leaf springs. I honestly never tried to unbend any of it, which sounds like a nightmare, but I can see how it would become brittle if you were able to do it. It would be easier to size it right with the needle-nosed pliers and commit to it.

As to the movement of the metal straps once in place, mine are absolutely bound tight against the leaf springs and they won't budge. My springs do not slide against each other at all. They are fixed in place with no tolerance for slippage. I never knew that real leaf springs moved at all so I never even considered that to be a problem. Mine bend but don't slip

I would expect the factory zip-ties to have the same issues; they have to be tight to stay in place and probably don't allow the leafs to move. Otherwise they would fail to keep the springs together.

I have to say that I like the results, but maybe this mod won't accomplish what you want, as far as leaf spring action. I guess this mod emulates one thicker spring rather than two springs working in conjunction.

[bryco13]

I'm going to give it a shot, it's free and can't hurt. Thanks for the reply!

[Tinrabbit]

Well I didn't get to finish up banding the leafs yet & this is what happened over the weekend. UGH I knew better or um guess not. Don't let this happen to you, get those puppies banded together

[bryco13]

Don't worry! I did the same thing the first few packs, then used the zip ties to hold them together, and all works just fine.
-Bryan

[Tinrabbit]

zip ties have broken off the first few runs so I left em off & for awhile they stayed straight. Ran on the rocks pretty hard with it to get it this bad, Now, this thing will not go back out until I get in gear & band em.