32–00 Safety Precautions
Safety Precautions in this section apply to all
procedures within this group.
DANGER
When working on the vehicle, shut down the en-
gine, set the parking brake, and chock the tires.
Before working under the vehicle, always place
jack stands under the frame rails to ensure the
vehicle cannot drop. Failure to follow these steps
could result in serious personal injury or death.
32–01 Suspension Inspection
Front Suspension Check
WARNING
Do not replace individual leaves of a damaged leaf
spring assembly; replace the complete spring as-
sembly. Visible damage (cracks or breaks) to one
leaf causes hidden damage to other leaves. Re-
placement of only the visibly damaged part(s) is
no assurance that the spring is safe. On front
spring assemblies, if cracks or breaks exist in the
two top leaves, a loss of vehicle control could
occur. Failure to replace a damaged spring assem-
bly could cause an accident resulting in property
damage, serious personal injury, or death.
Inspect the front spring assemblies for cracked, bro-
ken, or abnormally bent leaves. If any of these condi-
tions exist, replace the spring assembly. See Group
32 of the Century Class Trucks Workshop Manual for
instructions.
Composite Springs
The Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA) de-
fines a crack that causes out-of-service conditions for
composite spring assemblies, as a separation in any
axis, which passes completely through the composite
spring material.
For additional information, refer to the CVSA, Out of
Service (OOS) Criteria, for composite spring assem-
blies, Section 9, Suspension, Pages 44 to 45.
Inspect the Liteflex spring for cracks that result in an
out-of-service condition as follows (see
Fig. 1):
• a side to side crack extending beyond 3/4 of the
length of the spring;
• a top to bottom crack extending beyond 3/4 of
the length of the spring;
• intersecting cracks of any length.
The Liteflex composite spring should also be re-
moved from service if splintering has occured to the
point where noticeable vehicle ride height loss has
occurred.
Front and Rear Suspension
Shock Absorber Check
Make sure the shock absorber brackets are tight,
and the shock absorber is not striking or rubbing the
frame or some other part of the chassis. Striking or
rubbing the frame is characterized by chafe marks on
the shock absorber body and the frame rail. See
Fig.
2. Check the rubber mounting bushings for cracks,
cuts, swelling, and dry rot. Also, check the bushings
for missing pieces. Replace the bushings as needed.
08/14/2008 f321135
A
B
C
A. Side to side crack extending beyond 3/4 of the
length of the spring
B. Top to bottom crack extending beyond 3/4 of the
length of the spring
C. Intersecting cracks of any length
Fig. 1, Out-of-Service Conditions, Composite Spring
Suspension 32
Century Class Trucks Maintenance Manual, January 2016 32/1
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