Marlin Leaf Spring Fix

[DaveInDenver]

Thought you guys would want to see the welded, hacked, pieced together spring that got me up Cadillac Hill, off the Rubicon, home to Denver and carried my sorry rear around to work and back for the past month (dang).

First is the spring as assembled. The main spring is the one Marlin's buddy James welded back together. The next one down (the military wrap one) was the only good one left from my original pack. The third spring and overload were from a stock Toyota pack. There is another full length spring on top of the main spring, new center pin and a couple of clamps to minimize flex in the welded zone.
View attachment 9934

If you look closely, the center pin was put in wrong by someone... Of course I noticed AFTER peening the nut. Knocked the edges off the bolt and it dropped right into the spring perch, so it wasn't a big deal.
View attachment 9938

I cut the ends off another main spring I got donated, this was assembled on top of the repaired main spring.
View attachment 9936
View attachment 9937

Close up of the repair zone as assembled.
View attachment 9935

 

[DaveInDenver]

Now the real savior, James' welds. Still looking good. The weld itself was done in about half a dozen or 10 passes. He'd run a bead, tap all over with his hammer, grind, repeat. He'd alternate top, bottom, front, rear. Grinding the welds down and working the rod into more and more good spring each time. The whole welded and heated section ended up being about 4 inches long and the new material would look like an 'I', very thin where he ground the spring steel back from the crack itself and he tapered the cracked area in a 'X' sorta shape with a lot of new material at the top and bottom sides. Does that make sense? He used a pretty high nickel rod, but I'm not sure exactly what Marlin had. I want to say maybe #710, that sticks in my head, but I also remember Marlin wishing he had even higher nickel rod. We threw the springs in the dirt and let them sit for about half an hour, 45 minutes I guess, letting them cool.

Top side
View attachment 9939
View attachment 9940

Bottom
View attachment 9941

Sides
View attachment 9942
View attachment 9943

 

[DaveInDenver]

Finally, the repaired pack compared to the new OME CS019R + D6XL pack that went on. FWIW I only sit about an inch higher with the 4 + 3 OME packs than with the fixed pack! But then again the fixed pack had those clamps around the overloads and everything that kept them from flexing much right in front of the spring perch. Also I lost about 1/2" since I also put on shorter shackles. I did not want much more height than I had before, taller & stiffer springs (OME rates them to 2.25" of lift carrying from 440 lbs to GVWR additional weight) with shorter shackles to rotate the pinion back down a little.

View attachment 9944

 

[Red_Chili]

Not many people can weld a spring and have it hold up. PROPS!

FWIW, I drove home from Moab a year ago with a broken front main leaf held together by spring clamps (the "insert tab A into slot B and hammer over" kind) and the truck was stable as a stone. I would not have done so if the military wrap leaf did not have integrity. I carry a pair of these clamps in the truck now, just in case.

 

[DaveInDenver]

Marlin's response:

Dave, thanks for the kind words....

I have lent a hand to many broken rigs through the years, but it is always great to get a thank you in return.
Glad you made it home in one piece.

Just a side note
James Atteberry AKA craftsman, is a commercial door contractor, a great welder, fabricator as well as a close friend.
Like me, he enjoys helping others on the trail, and at times will go out of his way to make the finished job look great. I have watched him finish grinding the welds on a frame repair, just to make sure there were no slag pockets. I was concerned that he had gone too far when he ground the welds completely flat on your leaf spring, and thus making it thinner and weaker then stock. But as time would show, the Premier Power welds were up to the test.

I love 7018 welding rod!

Marlin

http://board.marlincrawler.com/index.php?topic=48124

 

[Red_Chili]

Yup, the PPW truly rocks. It is old tech but it works. I noticed quite a difference between 6011 and 7018 on the Yankee Doodle Lake kiosk. Not that I have a clue what I am talking about with welding, but I do believe my welds will hold that kiosk together until it collapses in a pile of rust.