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AA truck Ride

Posted: December 3rd, 2019, 7:53 am
by Tom Scott
Good Morning
What are some ways to smooth the ride of AA trucks?
Can anything be done to the rear springs?
Thanks Tom

Re: AA truck Ride

Posted: December 3rd, 2019, 8:35 am
by birdacre
500 pounds of firewood and it rides like a cadillac, well maybe a vintage one.

Re: AA truck Ride

Posted: December 3rd, 2019, 10:33 am
by Farrell In Vancouver
Gets real cushy with a thousand pounds of gyproc sheets!

Re: AA truck Ride

Posted: December 3rd, 2019, 3:52 pm
by KimVanOrder
Best thing I can think of is get the seat REAL soft. And drive slow. Or just park it and look at it from your lawn chair.. :shock:

Re: AA truck Ride

Posted: December 3rd, 2019, 6:35 pm
by Cschaff63
I have to say that I am pretty pleased with how mine rides. I was expecting a rough ride, but even empty it is great considering we are dealing with 90 year old technology!

Re: AA truck Ride

Posted: December 3rd, 2019, 8:04 pm
by 1crosscut
Have you dissembled your springs, cleaned them up and lubricated them? They are plenty stiff and every little bit helps. Having a soft seat is a plus too.

Re: AA truck Ride

Posted: December 4th, 2019, 7:33 am
by Neil Wilson
1crosscut wrote:
December 3rd, 2019, 8:04 pm
Have you dissembled your springs, cleaned them up and lubricated them? They are plenty stiff and every little bit helps. Having a soft seat is a plus too.
FYI - I believe the AA rear spring leaves have a slight hour-glass cross section like the front spring shown below. Consequently, only to outside edges of the spring leaves touch when cleaned and re-assembled. The outer ends of the leaves tend to dig into the leaf below. This can be eliminated by grinding a slight bevel on the outer bottom of each leaf.

The AA panel deliveries had a 13 leaf assembly which would most likely give a softer ride. But, these spring assemblies used shorter clips (i.e. u-bolts).

Re: AA truck Ride

Posted: December 4th, 2019, 8:13 am
by Tom Scott
Thanks for all the replies/help
Tom

Re: AA truck Ride

Posted: December 4th, 2019, 5:07 pm
by KimVanOrder
disassemble, clean, get them smooth where they touch and lube with dry slide. Filthy job but worth it..

Re: AA truck Ride

Posted: December 4th, 2019, 8:43 pm
by Chris Haynes
Slip Plate lubricant is the worlds best stuff for leaf springs.
https://www.amazon.com/SLIP-Plate-No-1- ... 322&sr=8-8

Re: AA truck Ride

Posted: December 5th, 2019, 3:50 pm
by KimVanOrder
Correct Chris. Slip plate!! not dry sl :mrgreen: ide..

Re: AA truck Ride

Posted: December 5th, 2019, 6:17 pm
by tiredtruckrestorer
Another important step is to check the fit of the rear spring seat to the axle housing. Often the top half of the seat is worn because lack of grease. If the seat does not pivot freely on the rear end housing it can make the truck ride ruffer. Often the top half of the seat though is worn a lot harder than the bottom and when the two halfs are put togehter form an egg shaped hole. I"ve had a machine shop take some material off where the two halves meet and true up the hole so it pivots nice on the housing. You'll probably have to grind some deeper grooves to assure the seat gets the grease it needs to work properly.

Keith