Both Leaf Springs Broke

[Zappy]

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" !!!

I have the parts and I'll hang on to them for a while. I'm not looking to cause problems for Ford, but the "how could this happen" part of me wants to do more research.

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[Grumpaw]

I have the parts and I'll hang on to them for a while. I'm not looking to cause problems for Ford, but the "how could this happen" part of me wants to do more research.

Very surprised they let you keep them. Those are a major suspension component, and if found defective could become a major safety problem....especially for those owners in areas where chemicals are used on the roads a lot.

 

[Big Blue]

The amount of surface rust on the springs is not surprising for Minnesota winters. They are not "rusted through" but have been broken for a while. Lifting the truck and taking the load off the springs brought the issue to the forefront. The popping sound was probably the spring slipping off the bushing.

Glad you got it covered, and I'm going to go out and check my 2019 Rangers springs. I'm not sure if mine has ever been up on a lift to take the weight off both springs at the same time.

 

[VegasP11]

The amount of surface rust on the springs is not surprising for Minnesota winters. They are not "rusted through" but have been broken for a while. Lifting the truck and taking the load off the springs brought the issue to the forefront. The popping sound was probably the spring slipping off the bushing.

Glad you got it covered, and I'm going to go out and check my 2019 Rangers springs. I'm not sure if mine has ever been up on a lift to take the weight off both springs at the same time.

Yep. I am a railroader and when you break a knuckle or a drawbar on a car the first thing the manager looks for is if it is a new break or an old break. They can tell by how much rust is on the surface of the break. Generally if there is more than 50% rust on the surface they consider that an old break and not the Engineers fault. Anything less than that, you are looking at some discipline for poor train handling.
That is 100% percent old break with the rust covering the surface of the break. Must have been broken for a bit.

 

[ctechbob]

The amount of surface rust on the springs is not surprising for Minnesota winters. They are not "rusted through" but have been broken for a while. Lifting the truck and taking the load off the springs brought the issue to the forefront. The popping sound was probably the spring slipping off the bushing.

Glad you got it covered, and I'm going to go out and check my 2019 Rangers springs. I'm not sure if mine has ever been up on a lift to take the weight off both springs at the same time.

Pretty sure me and @Grumpaw will be doing the exact same thing here fairly soon since we abuse our rear springs a little more than most.

 

[Grumpaw]

Pretty sure me and @Grumpaw will be doing the exact same thing here fairly soon since we abuse our rear springs a little more than most.

Already checked mine....both OK. 3 years old next month and both springs and eyes still look new.....when I clean and detail everything under gets at least rinsed off. Luckily no rust or dirt build up at all.

 

[ctechbob]

Already checked mine....both OK. 3 years old next month and both springs and eyes still look new.....when I clean and detail everything under gets at least rinsed off. Luckily no rust or dirt build up at all.

Yea, no rust here, which is nice. Still going to eyeball them on Thursday when I have an afternoon off.

I'm sure they're fine, but there's no way in hell my brain will let me ignore them now.

 

[atc_ford_man]

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.

My springs look almost identical to this. 2019 ranger. Going to call the dealership tomorrow to see if they will replace them. If not I guess I’ll do it myself out of pocket. My ranger is no longer under warranty and only has 42k miles. Replaced the shocks already because the leaf springs being bad made the rear drivers side go bad.

 

[Dereku]

This is crazy. Truck isnt that old. If it was 10+ years old and 100k I would not even question it. In all my years of stupidity I have never broken a spring. Shackles and mounts have sheared in half, but a leaf spring is thick steel. Something was wrong, with the spring itself. No way you could have abused it that much.

 

[Racket]

I replaced the stock monoleafs with ROW multileafs for the better ride - and Tremors came with leaf packs too. Don't hear of them breaking like this. I may be repeating speculation but if this happens only to specific production ranges it could be a supplier problem like the heater box, roof trim and shifter boot - only more critical. I wonder if the single leaf design was a US only thing - I'd imagine Ford should be a little more willing to replace these even 'out of warranty'.

Curious what the common issue would be besides build dates. And have any other changes been made to the trucks like shocks? Ford might weasel out of responsibility if the truck was modded - even if it was replacing those crappy rear shocks or the bump stops.

 

[atc_ford_man]

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?

I took these pictures

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.

here are some pictures of mine still on the truck. They look identical to these. I am still waiting to hear from the dealership tomorrow see if they will replace them.

 

[Dereku]

Ford should install the ROW multi leafs on all our trucks for free!

 

[atc_ford_man]

Ford is not going to replace them so I am going to do it myself. I’m going with the icon. This is sad because it’s for sure a defect but because it’s outside of warranty they won’t replace it.

 

[k1w1t1m]

I hope these broken springs are being reported so a recall might hopefully be initiated.

 

[Dereku]

Ford is not going to replace them so I am going to do it myself. I’m going with the icon. This is sad because it’s for sure a defect but because it’s outside of warranty they won’t replace it.

Icon will probably be worth it. Minimal cost compared to oem. Might want to look into tremor ones, as they are cheaper and less of a lift.

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