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Removing the Traces of Winter
Now is the time to give your car its post-winter checkup. This should also include checking the suspension springs. Last winter, with its extreme cold, ice and snow, left its traces behind. The many tons of salt used on the streets created a high demand for traditional wear and tear parts.
A rusty coil-spring is likely to break
Mechanical vehicle components, such as shock absorbers and suspension springs, can suffer significant damage from salt and frost. The frost and ice left behind many potholes and uneven areas on our roadways, posing a particular challenge for suspension springs.
Causes of spring breakages
Problems with springs in today’s cars are almost always caused by a breakage in the spring, often after just two or three years. With the new high-strength steels, it is now possible to significantly reduce the weight of the compression springs. The spring steel must be strongly tempered in order to achieve this high strength, which compromises its durability. The steel becomes brittle.
Springs are among the vehicle components that are subjected to the greatest stress, and the difficult conditions of a harsh winter take care of the rest. The road dirt kicked up by the tires can damage the protective surface of the springs. Water, salt and grit combine to form a perfect grinding paste, which settles between the spring and the spring support plate and gradually wears away the spring’s coating. As a result, the spring steel can rust. Most compression springs, especially the last half-coil, tend to rust for this reason. The powerful forces between the spring and the spring pan mean that grit stuck between these two components scratches the surface of the steel. It causes microscopic cracks that can expand with every movement of the suspension, which can ultimately cause a catastrophic defect in the spring.
Compression springs often break when a car comes out of the garage on a frosty morning or when it drives over a curb. The impact load, combined with below-freezing temperatures (which increase the spring steel’s brittleness), provides so much force that the spring can break suddenly. Sharp-edged potholes can have the same destructive effect. A car with a broken spring is not safe to drive.
Often, drivers do not even notice a broken spring. However, a defective spring can have serious effects on the car’s balance and braking behavior.
Regularly check and replace springs
Spring supplier GKN / SPIDAN advises mechanics to carefully check every spring – especially the ends of the springs – with a flashlight whenever the car is on the hoisting platform. They must consider that a spring showing signs of corrosion (rust) can break at any time! Vehicle owners should be notified that a broken spring can have serious consequences for the safety of the car. Springs showing signs of corrosion should be replaced immediately. Springs should be replaced in pairs, using springs with the same specifications as the manufacturer’s original springs. All SPIDAN brand springs are manufactured in OE plants according to these specifications. The company catalogue offers suspension springs for all common European and Asian vehicle models. In addition, GKN provides a 10-year warranty for all SPIDAN springs that are installed in pairs.
Read more about SPIDAN springs or download the catalogue or new brochures.