> Just to understand, are you saying the inner sleeve is supposed
> to twist the
> rubber when the spring eye rotates?
Yes, that's exactly right. Normally the same thing happens with the rubber
inserts in the shackle too, the rubber is supposed to deflect rather than
rub against the pins and eyes.
> Won't the anti-seize provide
> the same "lubricating" properties as the grease?
I don't believe so ... grease is designed to continue to lubricate even
under extreme pressures, while anti-seize isn't. (Assuming you use one of
the more common copper or nickel based anti-seizes. Some anti-seizes use
MoS2, which is a high pressure lubricant but turns into an abrasive at high
temperatures.) I can't prove that it makes a difference, but my experiences
seem to say it does. For example, using grease on wheel studs seems to
promote self-loosening lug nuts, while anti-seize does not.
> Thanks for helping on this. By the way, do you also recommend
> painting the
> sliding surfaces of the spring leaves and then greasing the
> painted surfaces?
> Just seems odd to me...
I'm not sure the paint does any good on the sliding surfaces, IMO it gets
pretty rapidly rubbed away. But, there are also surfaces on the leaves that
do not rub (like the sides, centers, and ends on the underside) ... easier
to just paint the whole thing. At least that's what I did.
Probably most important is to follow the book recommendation of painting
them with used engine oil every 6000 miles ... I wonder if anyone actually
does that. I know I haven't been ...
Randall
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