Ladies and Gentleman: I was always told by various elder hot rodders that Fords rear leaf spring grease was the best. They also told me it was essentially a graphite Paste made with extreme pressure grease and dry graphite. So for the total cost of $11.28; I made some of my own. Synthetic disc brake lubricant from your local auto parts store. Dry graphite powder from the hardware store to help lubricate your door locks. Here are some pictures from****embing the rear spring on my 'A'. It's easier to clean up than teflon paste. No worries about teflon strips hanging out and it's pretty slippery. I'm confident we can all find some creative uses for it. CAUTION: don't track it in the house on your wife's carpet. Nasty stuff to try to get out!
Hard to find anymore but the old Ford springs had grease fittings and grooves in the leaves for it to spread. I don't think any of the aftermarket springs do.
Amen on cleanup. Moly for instance gets EVERYWHERE-you can paint your house with a thimblefull. -rick
I used Never-Seeze, the silver stuff you put on bolts to allow for easy removal. Took the spring apart and coated between each leaf. It really made a difference.
All old technology, Just paint the Leaves with "Dacromet" Paint and be done with it. http://www.nofmetalcoatings.com/europe/en/coatings/dacromet/dacromet.xhtml It's common on trailer springs
lubriplate 3000 is the same stuff plus had moly in it too ! we been using it on trucks and ship equipment for years , premade and in tubes or buckets .
The electrical supply folks have shrink tubing that is borderline huge. It is expensive though. I'm thinking that you could buy a lot of grease for what it costs. My employer "donates" left over stuff to me so that makes doing something like this doable.
That's where I obtained mine. They use large size tubing to do the interface between above ground to below ground connections.
I drilled holes in the ends of each leaf and installed Chassis Engineering teflon*****ons between the leaves. Lasts a long time and no squeaks. Don
This may be a dumb idea but then again, maybe not... Instead of lubricating the area between the springs, why not use that area to make friction shock absorbers? How about a layer of sacrificial brake pad material between the spring leafs? Should work just like regular friction shocks while keeping the leafs from rubbing metal to metal. It would also unclutter a solid axle front end like on a t-bucket. What do you think?
hardened steel against a "soft" brake pad ( even the ceramics are soft compared to hardened spring steel ) the pad wouldn't last long , also any rust embedded in the pad will make it squeak or sing , just like a rusty or dusty rotor does
Thats why trailer springs are painted in Dacromet. It has a controlled coefficient of friction. Trailers generally don't have shocks
i found this cool little tool, that looks like a cold chisel that you pound between the leaves. it has a zerk fitting in the side that allows grease to be squeezed out the pointy end, between the leaves. no need to take them apart.
I would think they would act just like disc brakes or drum brakes would and have all the advantages and disadvantages they do. Why would they wear any faster or slower than regular brake pads?
pressure is different across the surface a spring is concentrated due to the curvature and the materials involved , a pad is meant to wear by friction and the metal is soft ( grey iron or pgi ) springs are real hard and would cut it . and you do not want to put a scratch in the spring as it will cause a stress riser and start a crack .
We have been using Slip Plate on leaf springs since the late '60's. We were using it to coat the insides of our Silo's on our farms so the grain would slide out easier. It works ! Link: https://www.slipplate.com/product/slip-plate-no-1-dry-graphite-lubricant
"Dry graphite powder from the hardware store to help lubricate your door locks." FYI: Guys and gals, Take it from an old locksmith, DON'T put this stuff in your locks. It mixes with the oil and/or moisture which makes mud and gums up the works. Use WD-40 or the like. It will make life easier for you
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