Both Leaf Springs Broke

[Lcr3000]

Something here don't add up. This is more of a one-off situation. I haven't heard of a double leaf spring failure on this forum and it's also not common in ANY truck for both to arbitrarily fail at the same time. I think that Ford needs to lay out how this occurred. It's their product, they need to own it. Now, if you somehow had damaged your own vehicle, then this would be a non-issue for the rest of us. But I would not have driven it home and told them to fix it ASAP.

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[Socalnative]

2019 Ford Ranger XL with 47,000 miles. I brought my Ranger in for an oil change this morning. As the mechanic lifted the truck, the forward leaf spring mount holes (sorry I don't know the correct term) broke on both sides and the leaf springs detached from the mounts. I could see through a large window into the service area the mechanic and service desk person looking at the mounts and they called me in right away. While my first instinct was to blame the mechanic (due to the improbability of this happening) it looked like the lift was placed correctly. I searched this forum and the Internet at large and I do not see many instances of a leaf spring failure like this and certainly not both springs failing at the same time. I never carry heavy loads, never go off-roading, and only tow my 14 foot fishing boat to a local lake about six time per year. The Ranger is kept in a garage. I am in Minnesota so I suppose winter time salt could be a factor. Is there a known issue with the leaf springs?

Damn and I thought mine was odd. I have a 2019 XLT and drove off a slight curb leaving a parking lot and snapped the driver side leaf spring almost at center. This was at 102k miles and I’ve never towed or hauled anything more than a few hundred pounds a handful of times. Long story short the local dealer had never heard of a Ranger or F-150 snapping a leaf spring and don’t carry in stock. Ended up with Deaver Springs Pre-runner leaf pack and wouldn’t change a thing.

 

[Hethern]

No pictures but I will get some photos of the removed springs next week when they are replaced ($1,700 estimate at Ford). The break was in the top of the mounting hole on both sides and the springs then pulled out. There was a loud bang so the mechanic stopped lifting immediately. They actually went ahead and changed the oil, and then, after inspection by several Ford mechanics, lowered the truck back down. They told me I could drive it home, slowly, and the weight of the truck would hold the spring in place. So, I limped it home although I was nervous as it occurred to me what would happen if the rear mount failed.

I just had the well-known blend vent failure repaired a few months ago (pull the dash and replace the entire vent box). But, even though I am running out of money, I still like my Ranger.

I drove mine for almost 3 weeks after the passenger side leaf broke in the middle right where the center pin goes through the spring.

 

[Mustang2Ranger]

Damn and I thought mine was odd. I have a 2019 XLT and drove off a slight curb leaving a parking lot and snapped the driver side leaf spring almost at center. This was at 102k miles and I’ve never towed or hauled anything more than a few hundred pounds a handful of times. Long story short the local dealer had never heard of a Ranger or F-150 snapping a leaf spring and don’t carry in stock. Ended up with Deaver Springs Pre-runner leaf pack and wouldn’t change a thing.

The darker part on the break makes me think it was cracked for awhile or a problem with the metal

 

[am122]

Well truck no start Sunday and had towed to dealer. Talked to service advisor and found that I also have a rear broken spring. 66660 miles on truck.

 

[Rock squirrel]

That’s crazy. Too bad you aren’t closer, I’d give you the springs I recently took off my truck.

 

[Socalnative]

The darker part on the break makes me think it was cracked for awhile or a problem with the metal

Yeah it looks like corrosion after cracking.

 

[Fordstanger]

Uhm, starting to see a trend! This is crazy!

 

[WOADKIL]

Thanks all. It was a clean break.

Zappy: It is unbelievably clean, like new!

The break is on the other side of the eye holding the brushing? Still need to see any break pics...

 

[airline tech]

Just a tidbit of information for the curious as I saw something that sparked my interest.

Ref: The Ebay Link above for the Wildtrack springs

This pic is taken from that

Note the cross divots in the coiled end, more notably is it appears to be thinner at that point. Bushing hiding it? Maybe

But I was curious on what the divots were all about, since it appears (not yet confirmed) that the OP's Leaf Springs broke at this point.

Since I was in the garage, I decided to see if my truck had these same divots.
If you reach up from the bottom you can feel these divots with your finger.

So, this is possible way to know if your springs are splitting open at this point, if you feel a wide gap.

These are divots from the mfg process, if interested in how they are made - view video link below and you can see the clamping (rig) that is used to roll the end produces those indention divots.

Ref Link Below:

How It's Made - Leaf Springs - YouTube

 

[Zappy]

Ford installed new OEM leaf springs this morning. I will attach photos of the broken eye mounts and bushings. The rear eye mounts looked pristine. The mechanic noted that the cracked off parts were rusted so the cracks probably occurred some time ago. I honestly cannot think of a time when I drove or hauled in a way that even came close to exceeding the truck's specifications.

I reached out to Ford via their website last Friday and on Monday I received a phone call from my assigned Ford Advocate. She told me this would be covered by warranty. Parts were $860, Labor was $527 and Minnesota sales tax was $71.67. I also indicated that I would like to get the old parts to a Ford engineer but there does not appear to be a mechanism for that.

I appreciate all of the replies to my post - it supports this was likely caused by a problem with the spring. And, I am now well educated on leaf springs.

 

[Chris M]

Ford installed new OEM leaf springs this morning. I will attach photos of the broken eye mounts and bushings. The rear eye mounts looked pristine. The mechanic noted that the cracked off parts were rusted so the cracks probably occurred some time ago. I honestly cannot think of a time when I drove or hauled in a way that even came close to exceeding the truck's specifications.

I reached out to Ford via their website last Friday and on Monday I received a phone call from my assigned Ford Advocate. She told me this would be covered by warranty. Parts were $860, Labor was $527 and Minnesota sales tax was $71.67. I also indicated that I would like to get the old parts to a Ford engineer but there does not appear to be a mechanism for that.

I appreciate all of the replies to my post - it supports this was likely caused by a problem with the spring. And, I am now well educated on leaf springs.

Dayum!!

 

[VegasP11]

Those are rusted to shit. No wonder they broke.

 

[Grumpaw]

Glad you got it covered by Ford......but I think it was a no-brainer on their part. Covering it via a warranty was the only way they were going to retain the broken/defective parts.
Had they not covered it, you could have retained the parts and used them in filing against Ford, claiming it was a safety problem caused by defective parts.
Now you have new springs, and they have the broken parts, no doubt to be shuffled around and possibly "misplaced" somewhere....
"What broken defective springs ??? We ain't got no broken defective springs" !!!

 

[Grumpaw]

Those are rusted to shit. No wonder they broke.

Bull Poopie.....I've bought used vehicles that were 30 years old and lived their entire life up north and aside from surface rust, have never seen springs like that rusted thru, especially after only 5 years.

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