Spring pack dissassembled (lots of pics)

[Drew Mashburn]

Farrell:

I know zip about welding, but I'd like to take a shot at MIG welding. So, does the frame absolutely have to be flipped over to weld the pivot pins? Or, did you just do that because it's easier? I've got the front end assembly attached to my frame and would rather not unhitch it, if I don't have to do so.

-- Drew

[Stakebed]

well since you said your learning to weld its much easier to weld where gravity keeps the liquid puddle stay put. If you don't flip it your laying on your back and welding overhead which is very dangerous to do if you don't know what your doing. Your making liquid blobs of metal form and harden, if it drips on your arm and dont have shoulder length leather gloves on your gonna be in a world of pain and recovery. If you've ever soldered wires together and had a decent sized blob drip on you imagine that but alot worse.

so id get some help flipping it over and make it easy on yourself (can sit on a short stool and use your legs to steady your arms to make nice even weld passes). If all you have is the front axle its just the front shackle to unbolt and then flip the frame.

id get a scrap piece of metal to practice with first (old bedframes are a great source for angle iron) and cut it up and practice laying beads down. if you have a thick 1" iron pipe lying around practive laying a bead on that as round surfaces like to well let things run off.

[Drew Mashburn]

Stakebed:

10-4. I get it. You're absolutely right. It's pretty simple to unhitch the front-end assembly. Thanks for the tips.

Best,
-- Drew

[Stakebed]

Stakebed:

10-4. I get it. You're absolutely right. It's pretty simple to unhitch the front-end assembly. Thanks for the tips.

Best,
-- Drew

Dont get me wrong I am completely newbie to welding. I know the procedures and see production welding done every day by both robot and man but actually doing the task? Yea I make gorilla welds...they are definitely not pretty - Im going to practice practice practice myself on some old iron pipe we have.

BUT id rather not get hurt trying to weld nor see anyone else get hurt Not trying to be OSHA but remember to keep the gas cans, paint thinner cans, lawnmower, chainsaw, etc away from the welding area. You'd be surprised how far sparks can go especially when a liquid blob hits the concrete...

Also don't forget to hook the ground up to a nice clean spot relatively close to the work area (about 2-3 feet). At work I get to replace WAY WAY WAY to many earth ground wires because of forgetful operators (plus they usually melt whatever wires are next to them, 480VAC is not fun when it leaks out haha)...

[1crosscut]

Here is a good site for picking up some welding information.
http://www.weldingtipsandtricks.com/
Dave

[Stakebed]

Cool link!

I took the other pack apart and had the very bottom leaf broken, yes the one with the eyes(cracked right thru the mounting bolt) and the one that sits right on top of it (2nd longest) cracked the same way. Same story as the pictured one with the center bolt broken all over. Lower u bolt plate also cracked. Looks like im on a hunt!

Is it common to have broken leafs?

[spectria]

Cool link!

I took the other pack apart and had the very bottom leaf broken, yes the one with the eyes(cracked right thru the mounting bolt) and the one that sits right on top of it (2nd longest) cracked the same way. Same story as the pictured one with the center bolt broken all over. Lower u bolt plate also cracked. Looks like im on a hunt!

Is it common to have broken leafs?

Yes

[spectria]

Stakebed:

10-4. I get it. You're absolutely right. It's pretty simple to unhitch the front-end assembly. Thanks for the tips.

Best,
-- Drew

Dont get me wrong I am completely newbie to welding. I know the procedures and see production welding done every day by both robot and man but actually doing the task? Yea I make gorilla welds...they are definitely not pretty - Im going to practice practice practice myself on some old iron pipe we have.

BUT id rather not get hurt trying to weld nor see anyone else get hurt Not trying to be OSHA but remember to keep the gas cans, paint thinner cans, lawnmower, chainsaw, etc away from the welding area. You'd be surprised how far sparks can go especially when a liquid blob hits the concrete...

Also don't forget to hook the ground up to a nice clean spot relatively close to the work area (about 2-3 feet). At work I get to replace WAY WAY WAY to many earth ground wires because of forgetful operators (plus they usually melt whatever wires are next to them, 480VAC is not fun when it leaks out haha)...

Excellent safety tips, also watch for propane leaks, the gas is heavier than air and will pool in low spots like a sump. It is very dangerous.

Be sure not to practice on Galvy, the fumes can do brain damage. Grind to steel first.

Also stop once in a while. I felt something hot while welding a skid pan on a four-wheeler overhead on the lift. I stopped and flipped my mask up to find the rag in my coveralls pocket on fire..He He, it woulda made a great redneck YouTube!

PS; The Mig weld is way harder than most steel.

[Stakebed]

Cool. Now i gotta just get the pieces all apart like the 1st one and check for more broken leafs haha.

[Shorthaul]

Hey, I have to get around to welding up the low spots on my rear spring shafts and been thinking about it. I think if you can get a 1 1/2" bush and cut it in half so you can lay it on top of the shaft and rotate it around to the welded area it will show you where to grind and how much after you goober gobbler some weld on it also how much and where you need before welding.

[Stakebed]

Shorthaul - yea that should work, may not even have to be a bushing, a 1 1/2" iron pipe split may have a close enough curve to see the low spots.

Quick question:

Are the 28/29 rear spring packs the same as the 30/31's? Or did they change in 30 to something beefier for the dually wheel trucks? I saw in my previous post that the 16 leaf packs are standard but deliveries had 13 leafs and in 31 had some other combinations. But will a '31 16 leaf pack be identical to a '29 16 leaf pack?

[spectria]

Shorthaul - yea that should work, may not even have to be a bushing, a 1 1/2" iron pipe split may have a close enough curve to see the low spots.

Quick question:

Are the 28/29 rear spring packs the same as the 30/31's? Or did they change in 30 to something beefier for the dually wheel trucks? I saw in my previous post that the 16 leaf packs are standard but deliveries had 13 leafs and in 31 had some other combinations. But will a '31 16 leaf pack be identical to a '29 16 leaf pack?

AA Rear Springs Resized.jpg (224.13 KiB) Viewed 7252 times

Not sure if this helps.

[Neil Wilson]

Stakebed,
Your rear spring question - In 4/31, Ford moved the spring clamps to the #9 leaf. Consequently, leaves 8 and 9 are different from earlier spring leaves. Otherwise the leaves are the same. There are other differences in the complete assemblies from 1928 thru 1931.

The April 2010 Double A'er newsletter has an article covering the AA rear springs.

[Chris Haynes]

I am considering removing a couple of leaves to make my Open Cab Express Body ride a bit smoother. I don't need all the weight capacity this truck used to carry with its other bed. Has anybody tried this?

[Drew Mashburn]

Chris:

I don't know about removing leaves from the spring-pack, but I've heard of a couple of other tricks.
First: Of course, the leaves flex which causes them to ride over the top of each other. After years of doing so, they wear down the top of the leaf under them and leave a ridge on the top of each leaf at both ends of the leaves. The leaves are, therefore, unable to flex beyond the ridges. The steel is not as strong as it was when the leaves were new. So, they need to flex beyond the ridges. A restorer needs to grind off all the ridges to allow the spring leaves to fully flex. This will result in a smoother ride.
Second: I've heard of restorers taking apart old roller-bearings. They insert one of the old roller (bearings) on top of each leaf about a 1/2-inch or so from the ends of the above leaf while they are reassembling the spring-pack. This bearings roll as the leaves flex. If it works, I suppose it would result in a smoother ride.

Hope this may be of some assistance,
-- Drew