Passenger Side Leaf Spring Sheared at front U-Bolt

[Superdannyboy]

Thank you for the great insight and incredibly helpful instructions.

No problem that's what I'm here for.

Also, raise up the rear end to ride height when torquing.

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[Grumpaw]

For those who are interested, I am going to follow Grumpaw's advice and file a complaint with the NHTSA and hang onto the broken spring for tracing purposes. I can forgive little failures but for a truck that's marketed against the Tacoma it's insane that such a critical component is so frail- for everyday use nonetheless. I'll update this thread when I have more info. Thank you for all the advice everyone.

Zach, even if you do go with a pair of aftermarket springs, it is good that your going the NHTSA route, only because the spring is a critical suspension part that could cause a sudden failure. And, there are thousands of Rangers/owners who aren't on the forum, and have no idea this could happen. NHTSA may open an investigation where Ford would have to notify owners.
I don't even want to think would would happen if a spring should fail while I'm towing our 7000 lb trailer..If I read about any more failures, I may go the aftermarket route, but...
Keep us informed of what the outcome is.

 

[zachhicks27]

Zach, even if you do go with a pair of aftermarket springs, it is good that your going the NHTSA route, only because the spring is a critical suspension part that could cause a sudden failure. And, there are thousands of Rangers/owners who aren't on the forum, and have no idea this could happen. NHTSA may open an investigation where Ford would have to notify owners.
I don't even want to think would would happen if a spring should fail while I'm towing our 7000 lb trailer..If I read about any more failures, I may go the aftermarket route, but...
Keep us informed of what the outcome is.

Will do, just thankful we had no load and didn't total the entire rear half of the powertrain with a total failure.

 

[Grumpaw]

Will do, just thankful we had no load and didn't total the entire rear half of the powertrain with a total failure.

NHTSA has forced/required manufacturers to issue recalls on items that were a lot less critical to a vehicle. I would hope that this being a suspension part critical to the safety while driving, they would search for like failures and force Ford to step up, warranty or not.

 

[subquark]

Zach, even if you do go with a pair of aftermarket springs, it is good that your going the NHTSA route, only because the spring is a critical suspension part that could cause a sudden failure. And, there are thousands of Rangers/owners who aren't on the forum, and have no idea this could happen. NHTSA may open an investigation where Ford would have to notify owners.
I don't even want to think would would happen if a spring should fail while I'm towing our 7000 lb trailer..If I read about any more failures, I may go the aftermarket route, but...
Keep us informed of what the outcome is.

Apart from this message being excellent ...

How much stronger would the US economy be if this wasn't rue?

" ... thousands of Rangers/owners who aren't on the forum ... "

 

[Rp930]

This is a semi-common issue, it seems. The stock springs on these trucks are just WEAK!

“Semi common”? We’ve heard of one, maybe two? Seems rare to me.

 

[Grumpaw]

“Semi common”? We’ve heard of one, maybe two? Seems rare to me.

Only rare cause we're limited to just the members here and what they report.
The big unknown is the possible number that have been replaced by Ford under a warranty claim, or even out of warranty that were replaced by dealers.....those would not be reported anywhere we would have access to.
And, it's only "rare" until it happens to you or family member/friend.
Just thinking about this now and thinking what might happen while I'm towing my 7000 lb trailer at 60 mph is making my tushie hole pucker up real bad !!!
Icon's, here I come !!!

 

[Rp930]

Only rare cause we're limited to just the members here and what they report.
The big unknown is the possible number that have been replaced by Ford under a warranty claim, or even out of warranty that were replaced by dealers.....those would not be reported anywhere we would have access to.
And, it's only "rare" until it happens to you or family member/friend.
Just thinking about this now and thinking what might happen while I'm towing my 7000 lb trailer at 60 mph is making my tushie hole pucker up real bad !!!
Icon's, here I come !!!

Not saying it’s not serious. Until the unknown is known I would still call it rare whether it happens to me or anybody else.

 

[Glocker]

“Semi common”? We’ve heard of one, maybe two? Seems rare to me.

I am incorporating broken leaf springs and bent leaf springs into my anecdotal evidence. I know around five or six personally (bent AND/OR broken, that is). Two I've viewed in person (bent).

 

[Rp930]

I am incorporating broken leaf springs and bent leaf springs into my anecdotal evidence. I know around five or six personally (bent AND/OR broken, that is). Two I've viewed in person (bent).

And they were all just driving to work and back. What kind of abuse did they take? Too many variables for anything near an accurate analysis.

 

[Glocker]

And they were all just driving to work and back. What kind of abuse did they take? Too many variables for anything near an accurate analysis.

I know of one that was driving home from work that bent, and he noticed it when he got home (personally viewed). I know one that saw light trail use but with an RTT that bent (personally viewed). I know of one in which the guy was showing off and accelerated off the red light like he was racing and broke a spring (sent me photos). And I recall two or three from a Facebook group that have had 'em go under various circumstances. And I'm aware of a handful from this forum as well.

The point is, it happens. It has happened more than once. The SEMI-common. There, I bolded, underlined, and italicized the SEMI for you- hopefully so you will consider that I am NOT saying it is a COMMON problem. But it is a known issue that has happened to people under varying conditions.

 

[Rp930]

I know of one that was driving home from work that bent, and he noticed it when he got home (personally viewed). I know one that saw light trail use but with an RTT that bent (personally viewed). I know of one in which the guy was showing off and accelerated off the red light like he was racing and broke a spring (sent me photos). And I recall two or three from a Facebook group that have had 'em go under various circumstances. And I'm aware of a handful from this forum as well.

The point is, it happens. It has happened more than once. The SEMI-common. There, I bolded, underlined, and italicized the SEMI for you- hopefully so you will consider that I am NOT saying it is a COMMON problem. But it is a known issue that has happened to people under varying conditions.

Ok. I only remember one on here. Maybe two. I’m not going to lose any sleep over it.

Over 300,000 built.

 

[Jason B]

Ok. I only remember one on here. Maybe two. I’m not going to lose any sleep over it.

Over 300,000 built.

I only remember one. And IIRC, he had his springs re-arched to lower the truck.

 

[scarchild35]

Start a file complaint with NHTSA. They may want to take a look at it as a safety issue, maybe leading to a recall.
Whatever you do, do not let anyone take possession of that spring until the issue is sorted out.
There are many ways to trace the spring and it's manufacturing history which NHTSA can do.
And, notify Ford Corporate that your starting a case with NHTSA...and again, DO NOT let them take that spring.
Forget Ford Cares or a dealer...if they do replace it, they will take possession and that will be the last anyone hears about a potential problem.

This is the best response so far.

 

[scarchild35]

I have never seen that happen except for an old rusted out shit box a friend of mine used to have. And he was not gentle on that thing.
Your situation is definitely alarming but as others have said, how isolated is your predicament? Maybe you just got a bad one. Is it expensive to replace those?
I'm sorry you have to deal with that but you might just have to bend over a little bit and have it replaced. Great time for a rear shocks upgrade if you haven't already.

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