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Coil spring snapped in the middle of a left turn at a busy intersection in Cleveland
I was heading to work on a Tuesday morning when there was this loud BANG and my car dropped like 3 inches on the passenger side, so I had to limp it into a gas station parking lot with the scrapesound of metal on asphalt the whole way, and ended up replacing both front springs myself in a buddy's driveway over the weekend. Has anyone else had a spring go without any warning like that?
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parkernelson2mo ago
That popping sound you heard before the bang was probably the spring already cracked. I've had it happen on a 2002 Honda Accord and a 95 Ford Ranger, both times in freezing weather. The real issue is that front springs get rusty and brittle over time, especially around the bottom coil where water sits. You did the right thing replacing both sides, because the other one was probably close to going too. Just check the strut mounts next time, those can crack and make the new spring work weird.
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logan2991mo ago
Huh, @emma_hart, you know that popping sound parkernelson described, have you ever noticed how MUCH worse it gets in colder weather? I had a buddy with a Chevy Silverado that did the exact same thing, and FROZEN roads made that noise ten times louder. The metal gets so brittle when it's below freezing, it's like the spring is just waiting to snap. What really gets me is people think if they can't see rust on the outside, the spring is fine - that's just NOT true. The rust forms INSIDE the coils where the water gets trapped, and by the time you see it on the surface, it's already compromised. That whole "replace both sides" thing parkernelson mentioned is critical, because the other side has been through the exact same wear and tear, just maybe hasn't made itself known yet.
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