Trailer spring leaves

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andrewbartlett

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What is the best way to service/protect these ( trailer duncked in sea water at least 2x per year) Paint with old oil or grease ,( not very enviromentally friendly perhaps)?
 
Waxoyl is probably worth a go, but a thorough rinse with a fresh water hose each time is a must; that would probably remove the waxoyl so it would need another application when dry.
 
Well I saw an absolutely immaculate, better than new Minor Traveller this last Monday, being followed by a Lotus Cortina Mk1; this was at Fontwell so between both Goodwood and Amberley Museum...

There are the anti-rust treatments which ' convert ' rust and go black, like Jenolite & modern versions, but I think with all the layers of a leaf spring Waxoyl dolloped over the whole thing is probably a better bet.
 
I like Waxoyl a lot, use it in many applications on board. However, not sure it is the best treatment for a leaf spring as it sets fairly hard. Maybe a calcium-based grease? Pretty much inert to water but would retain its properties as a grease.
 
Blimey,

what Waxoyl is that ?! I mentioned it as I've always found it stays reasonably soft so hopefully a bit flexible...

Surely grease would be a menace, I for one would probably end up with more on my trousers than on the trailer...
 
Old engine oil for me! Better still, a mixture of that and diff oil - something good and thick but with more penetrating power than grease or underseal. I had a Series III Landrover whose front end I partially dunked when recovering a trailer sailer a few times (salt water) and the leaves rusted together. Had to separate them (while still on the car) by hammering a cold chisel between the leaves until they split free. Whilst apart, it was very easy to brush some on with a paint brush. After that, I just used to brush it on to the outside of the assembly a couple of times a year. it seemed to work it's way in OK. You don't want the stuff to provide too much lubrication between the leaves because the trailer is then likely to be under-damped.
 
andrewbartlett said:
What is the best way to service/protect these ( trailer duncked in sea water at least 2x per year) Paint with old oil or grease ,( not very enviromentally friendly perhaps)?
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I'd dismantle them to separate the leaves, clean with a wire brush, slather with grease and reassemble.
 
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When I was an apprentice working on old cars many years ago we used to wrap car springs in that horrible denso tape stuff that was sold for underground piping, not a nice job but seemed to work
 
DinghyMan said:
When I was an apprentice working on old cars many years ago we used to wrap car springs in that horrible denso tape stuff that was sold for underground piping, not a nice job but seemed to work
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I'm fairly certain that the main reason they used to bind the leaves like that was to increase the inter-leaf friction. Multi-leaf springs have some inherent damping properties of their own because of the friction between the leaves. In the days before decent hydraulic dampers, they used to rely on friction discs and these were aided by the natural friction between the leaves. It's for that reason that I don't like the idea of greasing between the leaves.
 
Avocet said:
I'm fairly certain that the main reason they used to bind the leaves like that was to increase the inter-leaf friction. Multi-leaf springs have some inherent damping properties of their own because of the friction between the leaves. In the days before decent hydraulic dampers, they used to rely on friction discs and these were aided by the natural friction between the leaves. It's for that reason that I don't like the idea of greasing between the leaves.
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Posh cars like Rollers used to have leather gaiters around the springs to keep the grease in, but I wouldn't recommend that for a trailer. I don't think inter-leaf friction has ever been a significant source of damping for cars. However, it is very common for the springs to have different radii of curvature, so the shorter leaves only make contact at high deflections, increasing the spring ratio.
 
Don't use Denso tape. It holds the salt water against the metal and rots it quicker. I can't tell you how many times I have come across a sounding pipe or a deck fitting on a ship that someone has wrapped in Denso to protect it only to find it rotten underneath when surrounding steel work is fine.
 
JumbleDuck said:
Posh cars like Rollers used to have leather gaiters around the springs to keep the grease in, but I wouldn't recommend that for a trailer. I don't think inter-leaf friction has ever been a significant source of damping for cars. However, it is very common for the springs to have different radii of curvature, so the shorter leaves only make contact at high deflections, increasing the spring ratio.
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Rovers had leather gaiters on cars as recently as the P5

You can still have them made http://www.wefco-gaiters.com/

500_25d6d2ca-2e7f-4564-bdaf-5aa70e934df5.jpg



These are on a Roller with ludicrous piping and are tailored around the spring clamps

bc28lcz_5.jpg
 
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In the world of leaf-sprung Land Rovers there are three views on this.

First is to clean, grease and wrap to keep sand/grit out. Not water.

In between are the general users of stuff from oil to grease and Waxoyl.

Some of us just was them every now and then (given that an old LR is a potential rust-bucket they would definitely be washed after salt). Our view is that any sticky stuff will just attract abrasives.
 
I was intrigued enough to have a quick look on t'internet about this and it seems that opinion is divided. Certainly , I was wrong in that there are even instructions in some old car workshop manuals about how to grease the spring leaves! There were also other posts that were more along the lines of my initial thoughts. Quite a few of the posts said that in the 1950s, a large number of car manufactures were telling people NOT to grease - but on the grounds that the grease attacked the grade of spring steel from which the springs were being made! Must say, I'd not come across that one before!

One thing's certain, after doing this to my old Landrover springs, the ride was definitely more compliant but the damping was also noticeably worse.
 
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