Posted by JimmieD on Saturday, August 18, 2007 at 10:09:14 :
In Reply to: My do-it-yerself solution: posted by chriscase on Friday, August 17, 2007 at 10:09:30 :
Just an FYI: When Dodge built spring packs back then the leaves were heated to 1,500* and pressed for spring arch, similar to die stamping. They were allowed to cool, then were re-heated to 800* to 'set' the steel in temper. Spring shops use cold forming and some do not have an actual progressive round die. Instead many use a more square or vee block stamping die that puts a number of sharper bends in the spring leaf. If you look closely on some of the finished products you can clearly see the several sharp bends that add up to make a 're-arched' spring. They may sag over time because the spring tension isn't uniformly distributed over the full length of leaf but is instead only in numerous [and sometimes not enough] small segments. Obviously more stampings or crimps will more evenly distribute loads and weight along leaf. Some turn out okay and last quite a while, other shops should find another business or get better equipment or operators.