EATON Detroit Spring

The leading manufacturer of leaf and coil springs for the street rod and restoration automotive industries

We Help Maintain American Icons by Manufacturing Leaf and Coil Springs Right Here in America

Phone: 1 (313) 963-3839
Fax: 1 (313) 963-7047

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      We have been manufacturing springs for American vehicles for over 80 years. Our process and expertise has been continuously refined and improved over the century and our Spring Tech section reflects some of that specialty knowledge.

      Browse our many articles, watch videos produced in partnership with AutoRestoMod, and learn all about your spring suspension here.

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  • Click to Call Now: 1 (313) 963-3839
MENUMENU
  • Home
  • Products
    • Suspension Parts
      • Leaf Springs
      • Coil Springs
      • Shocks
      • Attaching Parts And Hardware
      • Installation Kits
      • Leaf Spring Shackle Replacement Kits & Parts
    • Street Rod Suspension Parts
      • Mustang II Front End Springs
      • 48 Inch Truck Springs
    • Allstate - Chrysler
      • Allstate
      • American Motors
      • Bricklin
      • Buick
      • Cadillac
      • Chevrolet
      • Chevrolet Truck
      • Chrysler
    • Daimler - Ford
      • Daimler
      • DeSoto
      • Dodge
      • Dodge Truck
      • Edsel
      • Ford
      • Ford Truck
    • GMC - Jeep
      • GMC
      • Honda
      • Hudson
      • Hudson Truck
      • Hummer
      • International
      • Jeep
    • Kaiser Darrin - Nissan
      • Kaiser Darrin
      • Kaiser-Frazer
      • LaSalle
      • Lincoln
      • MAHINDRA
      • Mercury
      • MG
      • Nash
      • Nissan
    • Oldsmobile - Rambler
      • Oldsmobile
      • Plymouth
      • Plymouth Truck
      • Pontiac
      • Rambler
    • Sterling - Willys
      • Sterling
      • Studebaker
      • Studebaker Truck
      • Toyota
      • Willys
    • Request A Custom Quote
    • Search For Parts Here
  • Spring Tech
    • Learn About Leaf & Coil Springs
      • Spring Tech Articles
      • Tech Questions
      • Spring Tech Videos
      • Featured Elsewhere
      • EATON Detroit Spring Podcast
      • Buy Ford Manuals
    • Spring Tech 101

      We have been manufacturing springs for American vehicles for over 80 years. Our process and expertise has been continuously refined and improved over the century and our Spring Tech section reflects some of that specialty knowledge.

      Browse our many articles, watch videos produced in partnership with AutoRestoMod, and learn all about your spring suspension here.

    • Browse By Topic
      • Leaf Springs
      • Coil Springs
      • Attaching Parts
      • Ride Height & Stance
      • Ride Quality
      • Manufacturing Springs
      • Replacing Springs
      • Modifying Springs
      • Ordering Springs
  • About Us
    • About EATON Detroit Spring
    • Customer Showcase
    • Send Us Photos Of Your Ride!
    • Free Stuff For Car Shows!
    • Facebook
    • YouTube Channel
      • Spring Tech Videos
  • Order Here
    • Lookup & Purchase Your Vehicle's Parts
    • Request A Quote
    • Email Our Sales Team
    • Dealer Information
  • Find Parts That Fit Your Vehicle
  • Click to Call Now: 1 (313) 963-3839

Grease Between Leaves

Q – Mike:

I really enjoyed the opportunity to talk with you during the Silver Springs car show this past weekend. I have also looked at several of your articles on your web site and found them to be very interesting and informative.

I also appreciate the T-shirt offer regarding the a discussion we had around a recent TV show I watched. The premise dealt with the host of the show, who was refurbishing an old Corvette, who proceeded to pack regular grease around the leaf
springs and rapped them in duct tape for a couple of weeks. You mentioned that this was not a wise practice because of the type of steel used in later model production cars and would cause a chemical interaction between the two. The question in point was “when did the manufacturers change the type of steel used in the manufacturing of leaf springs?”.

I thought this was very interesting and your answer intrigued me since I was getting ready to do exactly what he had recommended. Thanks to you and your very informative web site, I am much more knowledgeable on the subject and now have this tremendous resource at my disposal to refer to.

Thank you again for your time and the information you so willingly shared with me at Silver Springs. I greatly appreciate it. And thank you for the T-shirt, I will wear it with pride! – Jerry

A – Jerry, it was our pleasure to be at the Silver Spring’s Show. January in Florida sure beats the heck out of Detroit’s weather. Rick said they had 1,002 cars on Saturday and nearly 600 on Sunday. So car guys and gals plan on making Silver Springs in Ocala Florida the second weekend in January your 1st car show of the year.

Most of the host’s on auto TV shows do one heck of a fine job. I have been involved in the production of a few TV shows and let me tell you these guys bust their butts to do things right. But like anything else, every now and then a boo-boo gets by.

Prior to the mid fifties grease was put between the spring leaves, in fact springs of many pre-50 cars were wrapped in metal liners to hold the grease in. Some cars had hollow center bolts with a grease fitting so the springs could be lubed on the car.

The idea behind lubing between the leaves was to reduce inter-leaf friction.

Then in the early 50’s the type of steel used to manufacture springs was changed to SAE5160 and the practice of lubricating between the leaves stopped.

Grease has an adverse effect on 5160 steel. The chemicals in the grease react with the steel and causes the steel to breakdown.

Take a look at the front springs on the next large truck you see leaning. There’s a good chance the power steering unit will be leaking onto the low side spring.

Now lets see if some one asks me about what is done about inter-leaf friction if grease can no longer be used. – Mike

Filed Under: Tech Question Tagged With: Leaf Springs, Manufacturing Springs, Modifying Springs

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OEM Replacement & Custom Springs

  • Classic Cars Springs, Hot Rods, & More
  • Over 24,000 OEM Spring Blueprints
  • 166,000+ Stock Spring Applications
  • Design Staff Available For Custom Applications
  • Spring Experts Since 1937
  • Made in Detroit, Michigan
  • Made in the U.S.A.

How To Order Springs For Your Vehicle

To find the correct springs for your vehicle, you need to provide as much information about your car as possible. There is no such thing as a one-size-fits-all spring.

We try to make this easy by providing many ways to order your springs and send in as much information as possible:

  1. Call Us at 1 (313) 963-3839
    For Quickest Order Completion
  2. Fill Out Our Quote Request Form
    To Spell Out Details
  3. Browse For Parts Online
    To Browse By Make, Model, Body Style, & Engine Size

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WARNING:

This product may contain chemicals known to the State of California to cause cancer, birth defects, or other reproductive harm.
www.P65Warnings.ca.gov

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Locate & Connect To EATON Detroit Spring

EATON Detroit Spring, Inc.
1555 Michigan Avenue
Detroit, MI 48216
Phone: 1 (313) 963-3839
Fax: 1 (313) 963-7047
Email: inquiries@eatonsprings.com

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