Add-a-leaf squeak

[Texast224]

Hey - new to the forum here - first post actually. Wanted to run a question by y'all and see if anyone has run into this issue.

Have an add a leaf on my 1995 tahoe. Squeaks like the dickens now, enough that it is getting on my nerves. Wondered if there were any decent solutions.

Im about to drill holes in the end of each spring and put factor nylon spacers in there - but wanted to check here first if there might be an easier solution. Not excited about the prospects of drilling holes through spring steel.

Thanks

 

[bowtiefreak]

Is the band clamp too tight around the spring pack now? That is what caused my squeaking with the AAL.

 

[Goodinblack]

I had this too on my truck years ago....... I used chassis grease and motor oil sprayed to soak the spring pack.

 

[Texast224]

Is the band clamp too tight around the spring pack now? That is what caused my squeaking with the AAL.

It looks to me that the AAL is slight more contoured than the factory leaf, the ends of the AAL touch the factory leaf, causing it to run. I've true the lithium grease an it works for about a week, then dirt collect and the grease wears off / dries out and it starts again.

Looks like I found some spacer pads that would work, but I will have to drill about a 9/16 hole at was tip so the spacer NIB will slip into the hole and secure the spacer.

The factory springs are set up this way, but of course the cheap AAL springs do not come with a precut hole in each end.

I've read about guys using radiator hose and inner tube pieces, all that is temporary though, wears through and falls off eventually. So far the only LT solution I see is making it look like the factory spring.

I guess I could always upgrade the AAL, but would rather spend that $200 on a really nice 1/2" hammer drill and just do the mod myself.

Anybody recommend a decent bit that will easily cut through spring steel? Without pulling it off? I'm thinking I would try drilling it just crawling underneath. If I have to pull the pack off and unclamp, might as well just get a whole new spring pack?

---------- Post added at 10:26 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:23 AM ----------

Basically my truck sounds like a pile of junk going down the road and so I'm on a mission to eliminate every obnoxious noise it makes, and this is the most severe. After all, it's only 18 years old and has 251k on it. I should be able to get at least another 5 years and 100k on it.....

 

[retorq]

A good concrete bit will be needed, that's heat treated spring steel you are trying to drill thru, it will eat normal drill bits for lunch lol. It's best to find a machine shop that might be able to do that.

http://www.sontt.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=471

http://www.tperformance.com/total-performance-front-suspension.html

They have some liner stuff that goes between the leafs too ..

I looked into putting those sliders discs in my spring pack that I'm using on my Camaro/Blazer project ...

 

[Texast224]

A good concrete bit will be needed, that's heat treated spring steel you are trying to drill thru, it will eat normal drill bits for lunch lol. It's best to find a machine shop that might be able to do that.

http://www.sontt.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=471

http://www.tperformance.com/total-performance-front-suspension.html

They have some liner stuff that goes between the leafs too ..

I looked into putting those sliders discs in my spring pack that I'm using on my Camaro/Blazer project ...

Great links, thanks for the tip

 

[retorq]

No problem, let me know how yours turns out. I'm putting mine on hold for a bit until I get back from a trip in a few months.

 

[Texast224]

No problem, let me know how yours turns out. I'm putting mine on hold for a bit until I get back from a trip in a few months.

I'm going to epoxy the spring tip spacers I found online to the AAL first and see how long that holds. Will give an update when they finally fall off.

 

[Anonymous]

Don't use a hammer drill and concrete bit on hardened steel The bit is shaped for stone, not metal and the hammer action will chip the bit, crack the steel, or both.

Granted, your standard HSS drill bit won't get through spring steel, you will need to order a solid carbide or cobalt bit from a place like McMaster-Carr. These would be ideal. It's shorter flutes are designed for shallow holes (such as going through a leaf) and make it stronger, and will deflect less. Granted, concrete bits are often made from carbide or cobalt, but they are shaped different and stone is very brittle, so it cracks instead of the bit.

Ideally, you should use a drill press, not a hand drill motor to drill the holes, use WD-40 or tap magic cutting oil for coolant (lots of it!), and a "pecking" motion where you drill a little, back off, drill a little more to keep the heat down, bit sharp, and chips forming.

If you don't have a drill press, you can use a hand drill but you should use a tap block clamped to the leaf to keep the drill bit from wandering or bending. A tap block is just a block of steel with the same size hole as the bit in it already. Still use lots of WD-40/cutting oil and still use a pecking motion.