By design multiple leaf spring sets were deliberately designed to have that friction between them. It damps the spring's motion and keeps prolonged bounce reactions to a minimum. Only a very light hint of a graphite lube should be considered. Painting the top and bottom of the leaf is not a good idea as the paint will shred quickly as the springs enter service and the loss of the paint results in loose spring stacks which if not caught quickly can get out of hand and result in failures quickly.
So just clean well then assemble with very light graphite application between the leaves and then paint the entire assembly after they are drawn tightly together. _________________ Wes K
45 MB, 51 M38, 54 M37, 66 M101A1, 60 CJ5, 76 DJ5D, 47Bantam T3-C & 5? M100
Joined: May 10, 2010 Posts: 615 Location: North Yorkshire, UK
Posted: Mon Apr 09, 2012 12:19 pm Post subject:
Some jeep owners wrap the assembled leaf springs in a petrolatum-coated fabric tape (i.e. Denso tape). It's non-hardening, and keeps moisture away from the springs. Apparently, it's used to wrap underground pipelines as an anti-corrosion measure.
Dad used it on the GPW, and after 15 years those springs still look as good as the day he fitted them.
Of course, the jeep police don't like the way the wrapped springs look. But since they're not making donations to my M38 fund, their opinions don't matter.
Owen. _________________ Owen
1951 US Air Force M38
1944 F-1 1/2-ton Airdrome Trailer
1940 C15 Chevrolet CMP 11-cab
1939 DKW KS200 Motorcycle
MVT # 19406
That is an interesting write up Wes. I had not considered that point of view. I think it makes a lot of sense. I'm gonna Goggle it and get some more details.
Thank you.
Owen,, I just did a quick goggle of Denso tape.. That is some intersting stuff. The phrase that really attracted my attention was.. "sub-sea use". Now that's tough.
Thanks for the product info. _________________ Don Norris
Southeast, NC
53 CJ3B F134
59 Willys Pick-up truck
54 CJ3B is my M606 wanta-be in progress (rough)
M100 trailer
Your googling will show the other attitude about making it too slippery between the leaves but that train of thought is used by the rock crawlers to facilitate radical spring deflections and movements. There are also thin plastic lube strips out there for use between the leaves. _________________ Wes K
45 MB, 51 M38, 54 M37, 66 M101A1, 60 CJ5, 76 DJ5D, 47Bantam T3-C & 5? M100
Your googling will show the other attitude about making it too slippery between the leaves but that train of thought is used by the rock crawlers to facilitate radical spring deflections and movements. There are also thin plastic lube strips out there for use between the leaves.
=============================
Wes, you were right about some folks on Goggle liking the slick-n-slide springs. I think I'll stay wirh the graphite between the leaves.
Thank you for your time to answer. _________________ Don Norris
Southeast, NC
53 CJ3B F134
59 Willys Pick-up truck
54 CJ3B is my M606 wanta-be in progress (rough)
M100 trailer
Your googling will show the other attitude about making it too slippery between the leaves but that train of thought is used by the rock crawlers to facilitate radical spring deflections and movements. There are also thin plastic lube strips out there for use between the leaves.
I used graphite on my springs and put on new set of shocks. I immediately noticed an improvement in ride and handling.
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