Ford denying warranty on Leaf springs

[Dereku]

I actually think that's a design flaw.
When the parabolic spring is loaded there is nowhere else for the load to be resisted except at that very point where it failed.
The load is concentrated there at the place it failed.

That is how all leaf springs are made. The second spring rests on the main sprig. Yes it is a somewhat common failure point. Seen it off road a lot, and on job sites.

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[Langwilliams]

It sucks for getting replacements being in Alaska. I want to throw some tremor leafs on but I'm not wanting to pay that right now. Maybe if you buy from a ford dealership you won't get hit with the shipping.

 

[LostMy65]

That is how all leaf springs are made. The second spring rests on the main sprig. Yes it is a somewhat common failure point. Seen it off road a lot, and on job sites.

Yeah, but I was thinking the progressive step to the next spring should be less. The ranger leaf looks to be too far a distance away from the next support causing a larger portion of the load to be concentrated in too long a portion of the single leaf. If the step up to the next spring was a little closer to the support... Or use two step up springs before the parabolic.
But I guess I'd rather the spring fail before the frame.

 

[Muffin1]

What was the weight of what you were carrying/hauling, did you exceed the load rating?
Not trying to be judgmental or anything just curious cause i hauled 3 trips of vinyl flooring pallets, 1 pallet per trip each pallet weighed approx 1,500-1,600 lbs (that stuff is heavy dead weight) i was on the bump stops and the pallets were almost up against the beds bulkhead, 2 trips were local about 20 mile to the job site the last trip was approx 90 mile highway trip you could definitely feel the weight ( the engine handled it no prob) i have no issues with my springs, hoping you can get it settled with Ford, best of luck to you.

 

[9zero1790]

Not sure how even they are if at all, but the rear left is worse and definitely rides terrible and on the bumps alot.

that thing looks horrible! id say proof of not abusing it would be clear in the overall condition of the truck. one would have to work pretty hard at doing that to a leaf spring without having other battle scars on the truck. signs of abuse would be other spots. ive got about 22k on my 5g always with weight in the back and bouncing around off road, exploring etc. i dont abuse it but its far from coddled and mine look new. so i cant imagine what they would accuse you of doing to get the spring like that. i think im seeing a trend, ive read several others saying stuff about ranger leaning to the left from factory. you said your left spring is worse.

 

[jmurph]

It was a medium uhaul trailer driven from NC to Fairbanks. So I imagine some bad roads or something and the heatwave took a toll last summer. Other than that it's really never seen offroad since this has been a problem for almost a year now. The Ford appointments up here to even get looked at are 3 months ish.

 

[Muffin1]

gotcha, pulling a trailer i would think is less stress on the springs than direct over the axle bed weight ( I'm just guessing on that and am sure I'll be corrected if that's not the case LOL) .
As for the wait time for an appointment that's crazy long, also as others have stated there are better aftermarket spring options, obliviously i don't know your financial situation but shop around then decide but I do understand that there's 'principal' involved for wanting Ford to correct the issue..

 

[jmurph]

gotcha, pulling a trailer i would think is less stress on the springs than direct over the axle bed weight ( I'm just guessing on that and am sure I'll be corrected if that's not the case LOL) .
As for the wait time for an appointment that's crazy long, also as others have stated there are better aftermarket spring options, obliviously i don't know your financial situation but shop around then decide but I do understand that there's 'principal' involved for wanting Ford to correct the issue..

I've said it a few times, but I would of already bought aftermarket, but i refuse to pay more money for shipping than the actual pair of leaf's. Shipping to Fairbanks is pretty rough and I'm going back down to lower 48 next year so just needed the oems to be drivable till then.

 

[Muffin1]

I've said it a few times, but I would of already bought aftermarket, but i refuse to pay more money for shipping than the actual pair of leaf's. Shipping to Fairbanks is pretty rough and I'm going back down to lower 48 next year so just needed the oems to be drivable till then.

oh ok i understand that.

 

[CO2Ranger]

I've said it a few times, but I would of already bought aftermarket, but i refuse to pay more money for shipping than the actual pair of leaf's. Shipping to Fairbanks is pretty rough and I'm going back down to lower 48 next year so just needed the oems to be drivable till then.

Too bad you aren't closer, I've got factory leafs sitting in the garage that are nearly new.

 

[Cmar]

This picture makes think even more of how it seems it shouldn't be too difficult to install bags where the bump stop is.
Dumb question/suggestion?

The problem with bags is that they introduce a load point where none was previously designed into the chassis. Normally the weight is designed to be supported at each end of the spring, with the odd transient load when the spring bottoms out. When you put a bag there and pump it up, the weight then fulcrums around that point instead and if heavily loaded can bend the chassis, usually just behind the cab.

There have been many cases of that happening here where people load up big for a long desert or Cape York trip and maybe tow a (also heavily loaded) off road, or camper trailer.

They hit a drainage dip or washout in the road (really common on the cape York track) rear wheels come up and out, tow bar comes up hard, trailer and ute load push down hard. With a lot of air in the bags, the whole back section becomes one rigid giant lever, and voila, bent chassis. Some makes are more prone to this than others, fortunately Rangers are one of the less prone.

Of course you can use airbags I did have them on a previous ute I owned ( not a Ranger) but you have to be a bit sensible on how you use them, they are there to help level the vehicle, not support some massive load. They're also handy for generating a bit more ground clearance when off roading - at the expense of some wheel travel.

 

[Cmar]

That is how all leaf springs are made. The second spring rests on the main sprig. Yes it is a somewhat common failure point. Seen it off road a lot, and on job sites.

True but usually takes a while, with constant overloading to do that.
In this case looks more like a badly tempered spring leaf to me, or maybe a flaw in the bar the spring was made from, spring steel shouldn't really bend like that, Ford should replace that.

 

[LostMy65]

The problem with bags is that they introduce a load point where none was previously designed into the chassis. Normally the weight is designed to be supported at each end of the spring, with the odd transient load when the spring bottoms out. When you put a bag there and pump it up, the weight then fulcrums around that point instead and if heavily loaded can bend the chassis, usually just behind the cab.

There have been many cases of that happening here where people load up big for a long desert or Cape York trip and maybe tow a (also heavily loaded) off road, or camper trailer.

They hit a drainage dip or washout in the road (really common on the cape York track) rear wheels come up and out, tow bar comes up hard, trailer and ute load push down hard. With a lot of air in the bags, the whole back section becomes one rigid giant lever, and voila, bent chassis. Some makes are more prone to this than others, fortunately Rangers are one of the less prone.

Of course you can use airbags I did have them on a previous ute I owned ( not a Ranger) but you have to be a bit sensible on how you use them, they are there to help level the vehicle, not support some massive load. They're also handy for generating a bit more ground clearance when off roading - at the expense of some wheel travel.

I was just thinking of that yesterday after I posted.
1500# to each wheel equals 750# to each wheel. But then that 750# gets divided between the spring mounts - 375# each.
So yes, that makes sense.

 

[Cmar]

I was just thinking of that yesterday after I posted.
1500# to each wheel equals 750# to each wheel. But then that 750# gets divided between the spring mounts - 375# each.
So yes, that makes sense.

There are heaps of examples on the interwebs just google dual cab ute, bent chassis. Like I said, doesn't mean you can't use them, just have to be sensible.

I never bent the chassis on my old ute and that was towing a camper with airbags, over some pretty rough tracks at times, and that ute was an absolute POS. I only had it because it came to me through the family for free, I would never have paid actual money for it.

 

[Rp930]

Too bad you aren't closer, I've got factory leafs sitting in the garage that are nearly new.

Free springs shipped would still be a deal I would think

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