S/S Mopar leaf springs Life Cycle

[Jim Wahl]

Steve Bagwell used to tell me after 50-60 passes the springs go south. He would never reuse them, just installed new ones. He could afford to do that though! Why don't you just go to the Cal Tracs and solve the problem. They are lighter and work great! Jim

[George Mirza]

If the car is starting to squat when it leaves they are shot. It's not how old they are, its how many passes you have on them. Chuck is right, the old springs are much better, The new Mexican ones are only good for 200-300 runs. Spend the $ on the Cal tracs, I'm about to.

[Bill Edgeworth]

Just a few things to be aware of if changing to the Caltrac system;
First off it all fits wonderfully just make sure you have your ducks in a row before you call they will want to know rear weight and desired ride height. My duster has inboard springs and if you have this set up you need to let them know as it’s a special kit to fit the Caltrac hinge inside the front spring hanger box.
Also you will have to make a major adjustment in pinion angle. If I recall the SS springs want something like 5-7 degrees down on the pinion angle where the Caltracs you only want something like 1 degree.
I did the inboard spring kit and the Caltracs at the same time so I cut the old spring perches off and bolted the whole thing together with new perches, set the pinion angle and then welded the perches. IMHO a lot better than messing around with wedges.
With the inboard springs, Caltrac system, and wheel tubs I ended up with enough room to fit the small MT SS radial

[mike natoli]

Thanks for all your input. I forgot that I have a brand new pair of springs that I had purchased years ago for my sons car with only a few passes on them 12.00 car. Should be in good shape. I'm going to swap them just to verify. I would like to invest in the caltrac system. I too have the springs inboard so the need for the special kit. Years ago I made the mistake by installing a glass deck lid and bumper and had to add a weight box to get the car to hook 60#s. With the caltracks maybe I CAN REMOVE MY WEIGHT BOX. I agree with you not to use wedges and set pinion angle and weld new ones in. What do you mean the small S/S radial? What size? I guess it will be a whole new learning curve. You all have been a lot of help. Anything else you may have thought of I may run into would be appreciated.
Best Regards,
Mike

[herbjr]

You might be looking at a tortion bar problem. I have a friend who had a 3000 set of headers built, the genuis header builder pointed the collector directly at the tortion bar. 4 runs later the car quit working. The heat cooked the tortion bar. Just a thought.