Figure 3-8.-Coil spring suspension.Some vehicles are equipped with leaf springs at therear wheels only; others are so equipped both front andrear.Coil SpringsCoil springs (fig. 3-8) are generally used onindependent suspension systems. They provide asmooth ride. Their use has normally been limited topassenger vehicles. Recently, however, they have beenused on trucks.In figure 3-9, you can see how a coil spring ismounted. The spring seat and hanger, shaped to fit thecoil ends, hold the spring in place. Spacers of rubberizedmaterial are placed at each end of the coil to preventsqueaking. The rubber bumper, mounted in the springsupporting member, prevents metal-to-metal contactwhen the spring is compressed. Most vehicles areequipped with coil springs at the two front wheels, whilesome others have them at both front and rear.SHOCK ABSORBERSSprings alone cannot meet the requirements for alight vehicle suspension system. A stiff spring gives ahard ride, because it does not flex and rebound when thevehicle passes over a bump. On the other hand, tooflexible a spring rebounds too much, and the vehiclerides rough. For these reasons, shock absorbers areneeded to smooth the ride of the vehicle. They do so bykeeping the vehicle from jolting too much, by balancingspring stiffness and flexibility, and by allowing thesprings to return to rest after they are compressed.Although single-acting shock absorbers check onlyspring rebound, double-acting shock absorbers checkspring compression and spring rebound to permit the useof the more flexible springs.Figure 3-9.-Coil spring mounting.3-6
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