leaf question again

ok so i started hearing a rattle months ago and waited to look for it when i could get on my brothers lift.

we checked heat shields and all the normal stuff i have read about here. I didnt get a picture of it but noticed shiny rub mark where two of my leafs are making contact near the front mounting location.

now if i take a dead blow hammer and tap where the red arrow is it sounds exactly like what im hearing when hitting cracks in the road. so i decided to seperate the leafs a little with prybar and shoved a rubber washer from a garden hose (its all i had) where the blue arrow is and the noise is almost non existent.

1. What has happened to my leaf spring?

2. is it repairable?

3 if needs replaced I am ok to replace it but dont want a spring that lifts my truck. i like where it sits now.

 

Mine has squeaked for years. There are threads on this and many have done what you did - stuff a medium between the leafs. Others have spray lubricants. I just turn the radio up.

 

its not a squeak its a metal hitting metal more of a rattling sound like if you shake a paint can

 

My take (based on what you've said, you haven't provided pics of the whole leaf pack yet so i'm making assumptions here):

Your leafs flattened out enough to the point where they are no longer progressively sitting on top one another. Normally the leafs would make contact at the ends first (well, technically the middle but that's only because it's bolted together). Now I'm guessing they are, at best, flat, if not negative arch. Which is why the end of the second leaf is no longer tight against the main leaf.

The fix for the noise is exactly what you just did. But there is no long term fix, those leafs are done and need to be replaced.

Keep in mind that you are likely at negative lift right now. So anything you buy, including OEM leafs, will provide some lift. Unfortunately there are basically no 0-lift leafs out there besides OEM (which are wildly overpriced). I think General Spring use to make a "prerunner" leaf that was an OEM replacement, might be worth contacting them to see if that's an option. Their HD leafs would be another option but will give you about 1.5" lift. I think the lowest lift leafs out there are the Deaver J66 @ ~1". But those are light duty leafs and you will lose some max payload capacity. They will ride night and day better than the OEM leafs though. If you do haul some decent weight once in a while, you will need more robust leafs which will mean more of a lift when empty. However you can counter that by just tossing some weight in the box.

 

thanks for all the info. i took that picture late last night when i got home from work. I will try and get better pics of the springs this weekend. they are definitely not sagging but could be flat. I dont haul a lot of wait. most i ever do is a couple hundred pounds of salt and or cat food (lol for my moms barn cats). if i have to tow something like an enclosed trailer or car hauler i have a full size truck for that.

I will try to get measurements of fender height too and see if i am sagging in the rear but she looks perfectly level when parked, so could be flat springs.

I thought about buying some used leafs but that is starting to not not look like a good idea

 

so i took some quick measurements on level ground to the fender lip using the hub as center line.
LF-34.5
RF-34.5

LR- 35.125
RR-35.250

going to add some more pics to help

the first pic i circled where you can see contact is happening

the second and third pics are the best i could get of the drivers side leaf

 

Measure from centre of hub to the fender next time. That way it takes the tires out of the equation. Stock should be 21" in the front and 22" for the rear.

I can see from these pics that it's exactly as I thought though. Those leafs are definitely done. And it looks like you have the 2+1 pack which had a TSB recall for sagging just like this. They started using a 3+1 pack from 2011 (maybe 2012) onward. Yours are even going negative arch or "W" shaped. Time for a replacement.

Some leaf packs will have what's called a "full military wrap". That means that the second leaf will actually fully wrap around the front eyelet of the first leaf, which prevents exactly the issue you are having where that second leaf separates from the first one and makes noise when cycling the suspension. It also helps prevent axle wrap. The factory leafs like you have only have a partial or half military wrap. So I would look for something with a full military wrap for your next set, like Deaver. Icon RXT is also a full wrap, but they give more lift than Deaver. General Spring, Dobinsons and OME, which are the cheaper options out there, only do half wraps.

 

thank you very much for the education. Now i have to figure out which ones will give me the least amount of lift when unloaded which is 97% of the time

 

Did you call a dealer with your VIN to see if your rig is still eligible for free recall replacement?

 

yep tried yesterday and was denied. Even asked for a good will repair and they said truck is too old

 

That sucks. Think of it as a blessing as you won't have to do this again like some other guys have to.

 

I fear this may not be true. I can’t find an aftermarket that retains stock height. I fear I may be destined to the upgraded 3+1 stock pack

 

I'm in the same boat. I don't want leaf's that lift other than returning it to stock height. Did you find anything close that won't break the bank?

 

Check with this place: https://www.alcanspring.com/

They should be able to do what you want cheaper than factory replacements that will just sag in a couple of years again.

 

I did not. I bought a set off a guy in Michigan that were off a 2022 I believe bolted right up. Just watched videos on how to do it and took my time

 

What state you live in?

 

I’m in north eastern indiana

 

Thank you, very good to know I learned something here.

 

Check it out. Stock I know, but there it is.

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/the-florida-classifieds.171520/page-1070#post-30623808

 

says i dont have permission to see your link thomas