Inter leaf plastic shim material

[Gazzar]

Any plastic experts on here?

What type of plastic would work as an inter leaf shim material? 

 

[FridgeFreezer]

I'd guess UHMWPE or similar - very slidy stuff.

[Gazzar]

Tough enough? It doesn't deform or anything? 

[Daan]

For friction coeficient, PTFE (teflon) is best. Ideally teflon to teflon, so you would need 2 layers. other wise nylon will be ok I'd say. Are these the 101 springs? Not sure if they have the joggle at the end like aftermarket ones do. This means they only touch at the bushing ends,

[landroversforever]

Oilon would work nicely.... but I've only seen it as a thicker 'plate' rather than anything shim-like. 

[Gazzar]

Yes, 101 springs. They taper in their length, and touch at the ends. No joggle.

 

I did wonder at putting a shim along the full length to eliminate wear. But no idea how that would work.

[Gazzar]

11 minutes ago, landroversforever said:

Oilon would work nicely.... but I've only seen it as a thicker 'plate' rather than anything shim-like. 

There are so many plastics, I'm easily confused.

[Snagger]

PTFE would be good.  It was used for its non-binding under high load and general thermal and chemical stability on the wing pivots on Tornado, so should be good at producing non-bind for breakout forces on springs.  The only concern I have is it getting abraded by dirt, but it will still protect the steel regardless.

[landroversforever]

6 hours ago, Snagger said:

PTFE would be good.  It was used for its non-binding under high load and general thermal and chemical stability on the wing pivots on Tornado, so should be good at producing non-bind for breakout forces on springs.  The only concern I have is it getting abraded by dirt, but it will still protect the steel regardless.

I’d be worried about adding a softer material to the spring packs that can get abrasive materials embedded in it. That’s then just going to abrade everything. 

[Bowie69]

There's special dry moly based lubricant spray available,  try a Google search, may have been Wurth or Ambersil.

[hurbie]

i would take the springs apart , clean and paint , then put them together with some normal grease between the leafs (where they touch).

[Gazzar]

Yes, that's the plan.

[Snagger]

19 hours ago, hurbie said:

i would take the springs apart , clean and paint , then put them together with some normal grease between the leafs (where they touch).

That’s all I have ever done.  Some people like more, and some parabolics have plastic slipper blocks, but I don’t think parabolics need anything more than an occasional clean and grease.

[hurbie]

i work with HGV's and these use a lot off parabolic springs , i hardly ever see plastic spacers in use .

in the middle where the leafs touch each other and the strops are placed , there's normally a steel spacer (i wouldn't use plastic here because this will get compressed and cause the strops to get loose).

at the end of the leave's there's normaly a rubber or plastic "slipper" pad , these are the only place's paraballics touch each other .

 

[Gazzar]

I think the plastic shims were fitted from new from the factory. I doubt the MOD fitted them and this truck wasn't used after being cast.

[hurbie]

2 hours ago, Gazzar said:

I think the plastic shims were fitted from new from the factory. I doubt the MOD fitted them and this truck wasn't used after being cast.

did the 101 came with parabolic springs from the factory ?

[Gazzar]

They're taper leaf springs as standard.

[landroversforever]

36 minutes ago, Gazzar said:

They're taper leaf springs as standard.

What do you mean by taper leaf springs Gazzar?

[Gazzar]

They get thinner as you go away from the axle. Can't spell elliptical.

 

 

[landroversforever]

Ahh thank you!

[Gazzar]

There will be photos soon, on the build thread. 

[Gazzar]

I asked the nice lady at plastics direct and she suggested HDPE.  Apparently that's a type of plastic. I've bought a strip of that. I'll need to figure how to cut a nice tidy hole in it, but judging by the variation in the original LR shims, it's not that crucial....

[hurbie]

a stepped drill works wonders on plastic , i use it to make shims for the Eurover project.

 

[Gazzar]

Interesting! I've loads spare to play with.

[hurbie]

Just now, Gazzar said:

Interesting! I've loads spare to play with.

just get one that's really sharp !