The Sunday News
What causes springs to break?
A follower of this column got in touch with me and wanted to find out why suspension springs break and what one can do to avoid such. There’s never a single cause that applies to all cars but these are some of the major causes.
Spring failure is common and mainly common on cars of European descent. It’s mainly due to the weather conditions there. In times of snow, a lot of chemicals are used on roads to get rid of or to melt the snow. A salt solution gives water a lower freezing point so every winter roads are treated with salt to help with the ice on the roads.
Now as we may all know, salt is acidic and highly corrosive, not all cars there are treated before, during and after the winters. All that salt that collects under the cars if not washed off eats away the metallic parts of the car. Years later some of these cars eventually come here to Africa and some would have failed their fitness tests and are thrown away to Africaas if Africa is a junkyard. Be wary of some of the cars you find very cheap online.
Not all of them suffer from the rust though, some owners are careful with their cars keeping them salt free. We do find some very clean cars coming out of the UK. Some high end expensive cars do not rust that quick because well, they are expensive cars and a lot is invested so that they are not affected by rust.
All coil springs and leaf springs alike suffer the same fate and I know of a few people who have had spring failure on their cars and all of them happened to be from the UK. Rust is not new, most of the cars if you look closely that come from UK are all the same, Mercedes Benz, BMW, VW, Mazda 6s, Mazda Familias. They all have rust patches, it’s like rust is in their DNA.
Some cars then come here with already weakened suspensions coupled with the state of our roads they just fail instantly or after a bit of exposure to the African terrain.
Given the state of the UK weather, components such as these do suffer a lot and are replaced lot there, some eventually get weaker springs that may have come from the east and usually have a shorter lifespan. From the factory springs have some coating that’s supposed to protect them from corrosive elements but due to stresses suspension components are exposed they crack and tear with time exposing the springs to rust.
There are tricks you can employ to avoid spring failure. First of all, inspection is important on imported cars, remember they are not new cars, they just have new owners. Spring failure is not so much of a problem on Japanese cars as it is on UK cars but they are not immune so always inspect such imported used cars for rust and replace corroded parts. It’s for your own safety.
Since we have established that spring failure is common on cars imported from the UK, it is wise to always change the springs when a car lands from the UK. One thing car importers need to be aware of is that the rust you see on cars from UK protruding through the fender wells, bonnet and boot linings as well as the doors is just a tip of the iceberg. The moment you see rust on the fender wells, imagine the places you cannot see.
The undercarriage and all suspension systems, they’d be worse affected by the rust and eventually things like Springs break first.
It’s also wise to get your car inspected before buying locally or importing from the UK. Ask for picture and videos if you can before you spend your money on rust buckets. If you are buying locally, what we call Pre-Purchase inspection in automotive circles is important for you as buyer of a used vehicle. It might cost a few dollars but it will save you a whole lot in future in terms of safety and cost of repairing damage which you cannot easily tell.
Some cars are exposed to overloading like those involved in the mshika shika business. Overloading isn’t good for suspensions. Eventually components fail because they are strained beyond capability. Cars should always be used within their capabilities, overloading is not only against the law but it shortens lifespan on vehicle components such as these springs.
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Disclaimer: This material has been prepared with the intent to provide reliable information; no warranty either expressed or implied is made to its accuracy or completeness. No liability is assumed for any loss, injury to persons, property or other damage resulting from either the use of or reliance on the material presented. Always consult the professionals
