VCCA Home Forums TECHNICAL - 1945 AND EARLIER 1929-1932 leaf spring lubrication

I plan on taking my leaf springs apart. What is the best procedure for cleaning them and lubricating them?

Thank you

Hello Steve Smith,
Can you remind us as to what year and model Chevy that you're working on? Will you be separating the leaf pack into individual leafs for cleaning and painting, or no? Are your shackle bolts grease-able or no?

My car is a 30. I plan on separating them. One shackle bolt is greasable and one is not. Same on both sides.

Hello Steve Smith,
There are youtube videos and discussions concerning leaf spring tear-down and restoration on the internet. Try finding 'Restoring old leaf springs DIY' by OFFROADFARM. It shows what to do and what not to do, especially the part about measuring each leaf and recording how they are orientated so that they will be put back correctly. I would suggest that you take pictures before they are removed so as to recall the original look and details. Also, good practice is to have any replacement parts on hand before tear-down. Clean and paint seems fairly straight forward. Suggest that you inspect the shackles and bolts for wear, if so, replace. Use anti-seize grease on the non-grease-able bolt and chassis grease for the grease-able bolt. Don't over-tighten shackle bolts so as to cause undo clamping force on the shackles and leaf spring eyes. Make it a successful project by taking time to have the tools to do the job. Good luck.

This is second-hand information from posts in other forums and discussions with other classic car owners about leaf springs. I have no direct experience with them.

There is a product line called Slip-Plate that is graphite based. A primary use is in material handling bins and boxes. Many farmers use it to coat the inside of grain wagons and combine grain bins. It stays on better than paint and has low friction so the material flows across it easily.

Other have used grease from Lubriplate. It is a high graphite and very stick grease.

Just some ideas.

To my knowledge the leaves should be assembled bare prior to painting and no grease between the leaves either. That is how I have found all springs I have torn down to this date. I expect if they are lubricated between the leaves the rebound will be excessive especially for any car without shock absorbers.

I have heard this, as well as calling for lubrication. I think the dry spring is what was needed for gravel and washboard roads back when. With todays roads, in most areas, I think lubrication will give a more pleasing ride. Somewhere in my garage I have a box of roller bearings for laminated springs. Add a little grease and you would never feel the jounce! Just hold on.

Thank you everyone for the reply's. Interesting reading...

I found this in chapter 14, page 259 of the '32 Repair Manual (reprint).

"Where owners complain of hard riding it can usually be taken care of by one or more of the following:

First - Tire Pressure must be held at the recommended pressure of 32 pounds

Second - Spring Shackles must not be too loose or too tight to get maximum results from these shock absorbers. (What is Too Loose or Too tight is anyone's guess)

Third - Chassis springs may be stiff and this can be remedied by brushing the sides of both front and rear springs with the oil drained from the crankcase.

I see the advantage of swabbing the springs as a rust preventative too when the cars of this era were used all day everyday.

There were tools made to specifically lubricate the springs while still on the car as well as seen here:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/255082623957?hash=item3b641bf3d5:g:CW4AAOSwM1BhDxR4

Personally, I wouldn't take the springs apart if they have clinch type spring clips.
If they are the bolt type, maybe.

Around here springs were mostly oiled just to address complains of the springs grunting or groaning as they flexed.
Also, the general thinking was that a heavily loaded spring should never be oiled, as you were more likely to break leaves if they were oiled.
The reason for this being that an oiled spring will flex easier and farther than one that isn't oiled.
And if you flex spring steel far enough, it doesn't yield or bend, it breaks.

So if you want a smoother ride and quiet springs on decent roads, just brush a little oil on them.
If you run loaded on rough roads, I'd leave them dry.