Another Rear Leaf Spring Thread - Extreme edition

[MountainMan]

About a month ago I sent my ranger into a local shop to have my rear brakes/rotors/calipers done. The tech put it on the lift as usual, started lifting the truck and promptly stopped once he realized the front of the truck was going up and the rear axle was still touching the ground.

Long story short, both rear leaf springs completely fractured at the radius of the front eyelet at an almost perfect 90° angle, in the exact same place on both sides. Signs of advanced oxidization, meaning they have been fractured for a while.

Obviously indicative of an improper heat treat/defective parts/yadada.

Truck has 65,000km on it, 2019 XLT. Barely outside the factory warranty for milage. Highway/city driven it's entire life.

Dealership says nothing they can do about it, get in contact with Ford customer service, rep agrees on the phone that this failure is completely out of the norm. They humm and haww for two weeks and offer to cover 50% of the repair, which they quote at $2300. I tell them that's ridiculous, I can buy better aftermarket parts and install them for hundreds of dollars cheaper than what they're asking me to pay. They tell me too bad, even after acknowledging how dangerous of a condition these faulty parts could've caused.

Ultimately I replaced the rear leaf springs with OME EL120r's and am currently drafting a letter to Ford HQ with invoices for the cost of replacement parts to return my truck to a safe drivable state and the transcripts of the recorded phone calls with customer service.

Filed a vehicle defect safety report with Transport Canada, doubting I'm going to hear anything back from them, but i kept the old leaf springs just in case. Considering legal action at this point as well based on if/when I get a response from Ford HQ.

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[TJC]

I think you are on the right track. This failure isn't simply inconvenient, it can be life threatening. And Ford ignores it.

 

[DukeCanBuildit]

That sucks Ryan. This has happened to some of the other forum members. Some within warranty, some while out of warranty.

Warranties have been honoured for those that within the period/mileage. I’m not sure of the outcome of any out of warranty disputes.

Ford is pretty sticky when it comes to problems outside of warranty. That 50% offer isn’t what you wanted to hear but it’s better than most people get, which is “claim denied - next!”

I haven’t heard if any class-action suit on this issue. I guess the only good thing is, it was caught and didn’t strand you somewhere remote or cause an accident.

 

[MountainMan]

That sucks Ryan. This has happened to some of the other forum members. Some within warranty, some while out of warranty.

Warranties have been honoured for those that within the period/mileage. I’m not sure of the outcome of any out of warranty disputes.

Ford is pretty sticky when it comes to problems outside of warranty. That 50% offer isn’t what you wanted to hear but it’s better than most people get, which is “claim denied - next!”

I haven’t heard if any class-action suit on this issue. I guess the only good thing is, it was caught and didn’t strand you somewhere remote or cause an accident.

Ironically, I did tell the customer service rep that I'd take a cashier's cheque for the 50% of the quoted repair cost and I would be satisfied with that, they said it's not possible and maybe because they wouldn't be able to retain (dispose of) the defective parts post fix.

I can file for a CRT (civil resolution tribunal) for up to $5000 here which goes to a summary judgement without the involvement of lawyers, just evidence presented on my part and a lack of evidence on theirs. Given that I was out of use of my vehicle for 5 weeks, parts, personal labor (yes i tracked the money I lost by taking a day off work) I'd say id be pretty close to the limit.

 

[airline tech]

I think I have some pics in the other thread - (Snap-Shots) from a random video showing how they are made - at a point in the video it shows the (Die Press) that holds the plate as its rolled (creating the eyelet) - so far it looks like they are all breaking at the exact same spot (and its where the die set) holds the steel in place - even with a new leaf, you can see a small indention into the steel plate - so that's possibly part of the issue and then followed by (moisture) entrapment in the bushing compounding the issue.

 

[DukeCanBuildit]

Being “outside of warranty”, I don’t like your chances but I wish you luck.

 

[TJC]

I think I have some pics in the other thread - (Snap-Shots) from a random video showing how they are made - at a point in the video it shows the (Die Press) that holds the plate as its rolled (creating the eyelet) - so far it looks like they are all breaking at the exact same spot (and its where the die set) holds the steel in place - even with a new leaf, you can see a small indention into the steel plate - so that's possibly part of the issue and then followed by (moisture) entrapment in the bushing compounding the issue.

Crystal lattice fracture of the metal. This is a classic failure example. Happens with steel wheels along the rim edge as well. And lots of other materials.

I knew that NCSU Material Engineering Lab Class would come in handy some day! Didn't think it would take 45 years!

 

[DukeCanBuildit]

Crystal lattice fracture of the metal. This is a classic failure example. Happens with steel wheels along the rim edge as well. And lots of other materials.

I knew that NCSU Material Engineering Lab Class would come in handy some day! Didn't think it would take 45 years!

And now, you get to “geek out” on it and feel really good about it. Nice.

 

[MountainMan]

so far its been an excellent excuse to do the eibach pro truck 2.0 suspension kit, MSS anti intrusion beams, ICON tubular UCA's and new 33' tires

I guess thanks to ford for giving me a reason to fix what they broke.

 

[TJC]

And now, you get to “geek out” on it and feel really good about it. Nice.

Up till now I thought it a waste of $$

 

[Titchadesh]

Had the exact same fracture point on driver’s side—discovered last summer when it was up on the lift for unrelated service. Went with the Icon’s and installed myself and never looked back

 

[DukeCanBuildit]

Had the exact same fracture point on driver’s side—discovered last summer when it was up on the lift for unrelated service. Went with the Icon’s and installed myself and never looked back

Seems like you and other folks had both sides fail at the same time, which I find interesting. Or, at least, they were both in that state when it was noticed. Like you, some also took the opportunity to upgrade to multi-leaf springs.

Maybe someone on here has had just one side fail?

 

[jflogerzi]

sadly Ford won't do shit and they will give you money for aftermarket parts

 

[Texasota]

Maybe someone on here has had just one side fail?

I had just the driver’s side fail. I noticed a loud pop sound while hauling some logs. Couldn’t figure out what it was at the time. But a thread on this forum about this issue motivated me to look at the springs and sure enough, the driver side was broken just like the photo in this thread.

sadly Ford won't do shit and they will give you money for aftermarket parts

It depends. As a long time Ford customer my dealer helped me out. Ford paid for the parts and I paid the labor charges. I was good with that.

 

[DukeCanBuildit]

I had just the driver’s side fail. I noticed a loud pop sound while hauling some logs. Couldn’t figure out what it was at the time. But a thread on this forum about this issue motivated me to look at the springs and sure enough, the driver side was broken just like the photo in this thread.

It depends. As a long time Ford customer my dealer helped me out. Ford paid for the parts and I paid the labor charges. I was good with that.

Hey Al, out of caution, did you replace both?

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