Broken rear leaf spring - 2019 Ranger - Need drive back home... can I DIY Repair temporarily

[Joejk3d]

Hey Everyone... so the last month I heard a clunk when going over driveway aprons and such. Today I put the truck on a lift in my cabin garage and found the passenger leaf spring is broken. I cant get a replacement for a week here but I do need to drive back to Denver in a few days with family... We have one car here.

I do have a welder and grinder and tools here... thoughts on taking out the broken bit, and with some careful welding and limiting heat input into the spring, I could give it a band aid to ensure it doesn't cause an issue on our 3 hour drive back? I have the gear to do the welding, but spring steel is something I have no idea about. I figure the spring has held on under gravity for a month of driving without issue, welding up a temporary fix while I wait for replacement springs to get in and get back to civilization doesn't sound like it would be worse than driving on the broken spring I've had for the last month.

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[Joejk3d]

I am also ordering a set of Tremor springs and Ubolts since the price of both is around what a single OEM 2019 spring costs from the local dealer... by they wont be in for close to 2 weeks.

 

[rang19ca]

Joe, spring steel might not take good heat penetration on the weld, but it won't hurt to attempt it. I think Tremor springs are a good idea in the long run.

 

[got3fords]

What do you think caused that?

 

[Langwilliams]

I replaced mine with the wildtrak euro springs. I have the factory springs in the garage. If you were close I'd give them to you. That's the only reason I held on to them.

 

[airline tech]

What do you think caused that?

Not long ago another member had the same issue, it appears to be a MFG Defect and its where the machine die pinches / clamps the steel to make the wrap (eye mount) so far, they all appear to be breaking in the exact spot and are always found (on a lift) getting the rear end off the ground.

From another members woes: Both sides broke

 

[Friday yet?]

Not long ago another member had the same issue, it appears to be a MFG Defect and its where the machine die pinches / clamps the steel to make the wrap (eye mount) so far, they all appear to be breaking in the exact spot and are always found (on a lift) getting the rear end off the ground.

From another members woes: Both sides broke

That should be a recall issue!

 

[harringtondav]

I assume the shackle bolt/pin is removable. If so it's sacrificial. So my first limp-in fix would be to drill through the end of the spring and bolt/pin and hold it together with a high grade bolt.
Although you'd need to pack a lunch to drill through that spring steel.

Since you're a welder, maybe find a piece of large black pipe with a large enough radius to wrap around the spring stub and pin. Part it into two pieces and weld them onto a large C clamp's ends. Then clamp the spring in place. Stop occasionally to make sure it's holding.

 

[Grandaccess]

If you heard it pop a month ago you have been driving around like that now, set the weight of the truck back down on it and be careful driving home?
Knowing its happened to other Rangers now just one more thing to keep an eye on, FFS that worries me having heavy loads all the time and having had it airborne a few times now, nothing out of the norm for any other truck I have owned...

 

[COblue]

That should be a recall issue!

But that would hurt Farley's quality initiatives.

 

[COblue]

If you heard it pop a month ago you have been driving around like that now, set the weight of the truck back down on it and be careful driving home?
Knowing its happened to other Rangers now just one more thing to keep an eye on, FFS that worries me having heavy loads all the time and having had it airborne a few times now, nothing out of the norm for any other truck I have owned...

If you're that hard on it, you should get new springs anyway. It's a huge upgrade over stock, regardless of what springs you choose, everything else is better than one parabolic leaf.

 

[dtech]

But that would hurt Farley's quality initiatives.

I was watching a news channel a few days ago and on the bottom stock prices were displayed - apple ($260), ms ($430), ge and a few others at record highs - then up pops Ford at $10 a share. I'd be surprised if investors aren't calling for CEO Farley's dismissal. One analyst set a target price of $8.00 , while other stocks set record highs Ford languishes.

 

[COblue]

I was watching a news channel a few days ago and on the bottom stock prices were displayed - apple ($260), ms ($430), ge and a few others at record highs - then up pops Ford at $10 a share. I'd be surprised if investors aren't calling for CEO Farley's dismissal. One analyst set a target price of $8.00 , while other stocks set record highs Ford languishes.

I don't think you can compare tech companies and car manufacturers. GE being record high is interesting considering how they sold off all their businesses.

Auto mfgs aren't sexy and the business isn't going to improve much so you won't see Ford moving much. Americans aren't gonna all go out and buy two new cars each next year. They rode a lil EV wave, but now investors are realizing that's not a profit center yet. Add in quality issues (recall, etc) and you're back to $10 down from the $15 or whatever it was a few years ago.

Then again BMW is trying to get that recurring revenue money with your heated seat subscription, maybe they should get a SaaS multiple lol

 

[dtech]

Well then a peak at the auto sector overall in the link below - even GM is up, until Ford fixes it's quality issues the stock is likely to languish, with so many stocks - irrespective of the sector seeing healthy gains I was a bit surprised to see Ford declining. The inability to fix quality issues is really hurting.

https://finance.yahoo.com/sectors/c...gM-h_q9x3_hlgIVUjqYv_PUp4XVcIF09aZpmEDIi_GXN4

 

[COblue]

Well then a peak at the auto sector overall in the link below - even GM is up, until Ford fixes it's quality issues the stock is likely to languish, with so many stocks - irrespective of the sector seeing healthy gains I was a bit surprised to see Ford declining. The inability to fix quality issues is really hurting.

https://finance.yahoo.com/sectors/c...gM-h_q9x3_hlgIVUjqYv_PUp4XVcIF09aZpmEDIi_GXN4

Not sure that's a good comparison considering TSLA is over 90% weighted in that.

Think a better comparison is against GM.

But this is about leaf springs lol. I definitely wouldn't drive far on a broken leaf, that's just asking for trouble.

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