Dec 6th 2020

How to Tell If Your Coil Springs Are Bad

How to Tell If Your Coil Springs Are Bad

When you drive the same truck for a number of years, you're bound to experience issues with the vehicle's performance at one point or another. While a lot of these issues will come down to problems with various engine components, some stem from the suspension system — namely, those due to worn springs.

Several issues can arise if your truck uses coil springs and they become worn. Some of these issues aren't pleasant — the truck may become noisier, and the feel of your ride can become less smooth and comfortable. Other potential issues are costly and even dangerous. Worn coil springs can start affecting your truck's other parts and make it harder to control the vehicle. Therefore, understanding signs that coil springs are bad is essential.

Learn how to tell if coil springs need to be replaced in this guide.

7 Signs That Coil Springs Are Bad

There are several signs that coil springs are worn or bad, from a truck experiencing visible sagging and leaning to the vehicle bouncing, swaying and producing concerning noise.

1. Sharp Vehicle Sagging

The purpose of a set of coil springs is to balance the weight of the truck along the underside, which bears the lion's share of weight in any truck. Without these springs, the truck is liable to sag downward, especially if the truck is loaded to its full weight capacity.

When your truck starts to sag, the problem can become noticeable in several ways. While the sagging might be subtle at first, you could eventually start to feel it when you sit in the driver's seat. If it feels as though you're leaning as you drive the vehicle, that feeling is likely the result of sag.

Sagging can also become noticeable from a visual perspective when you park the truck on a flat road or driveway. If you see a slight downward tilt between the front and rear bumper as you view the vehicle from its side, it's likely the result of weakened coil springs.

If the truck is slouched even when the back is empty, there's definitely a problem with the suspension. The springs are intended to give an extra bit of lift in the back. The extra lift is designed to prevent sag once the truck is loaded. As such, an empty truck should have a slight bit of rear lift, while a loaded truck should be flat. Slouching of any sort generally means suspension trouble.

In some cases that involve issues with the suspension, the sagging will be more pronounced on one side. This symptom would indicate that the coil spring at one end is more worn than the other. In any event, vehicle sagging is an issue that needs to be fixed the moment it comes to your attention, especially if the problem is obvious when the truck is empty. If you procrastinate on correcting this situation, the weight of the vehicle is liable to ruin the axle.

2. Unusual Tire Wear

When coil springs deteriorate and ultimately weaken a truck's suspension system, the brunt of excess weight is generally felt by the rear tires. As the problem accelerates, the tires are liable to wear and strip long before you would otherwise be due for a tire change. Of course, if the tires become stripped, they need to be replaced immediately — as would the coil springs — before you have a blowout on the road.

Tire wear can also be a slower and more subtle symptom of weakened coil springs. If the springs wear down gradually, the weight distribution on the tires will slowly go off balance. Consequently, the tires will be pressed against the road at incorrect angles and slowly become misaligned.

Keep in mind that the truck and its tires and suspension system are designed for specific weight balances and distributions. When the balance goes off, everything is impacted. Consequently, when tires bear odd distributions of weight, the rubber is liable to wear down in unusual ways.

Misaligned and oddly worn tires can be especially dangerous if you regularly haul heavy loads across challenging stretches of terrain, as all these factors make the vehicle more difficult to control.

3. Unsettling Noise

One of the great advantages of coil springs and shocks is that they limit the amount of noise your truck produces. With all the pressure and tension between the weight of the vehicle and the axle and wheels, the truck would be noisy as well as uncomfortable to drive.

A healthy set of coil springs and shocks are unlikely to generate much noise — if any at all. If your truck has become gradually noisier over time, it could be a sign that the coil springs are worn and that the springs and shocks should be replaced. The problem is liable to be noticeable when you drive over road obstructions and speed bumps, as these and other imperfections tend to make vehicles jump.

As with other problem symptoms, the noise can start out subtle — perhaps even unnoticeable if you've grown accustomed to tuning out mild vehicular noise — but gradually become louder as the coils deteriorate. Sooner or later, as the truck becomes less comfortable to drive due to its weakened balance and stability, you'll ultimately come to notice these problem sounds.

In any case, excessive noise from under your vehicle needs to be examined the moment it comes to your attention. Even if the sound stems from other components and has nothing to do with the suspension, you should still inspect the issue immediately. If the noise does, in fact, stem from faulty coil springs and shocks, the problem has likely advanced enough to make spring replacement an imminent priority.

4. Harsh Vehicle Bounce

One of the most obvious and frightening signs of a bad suspension system is when abrupt and unintended vehicular movements of any kind occur. When it comes to faulty coil spring symptoms, such movements typically manifest in the form of jumps. If the vehicle seems incapable of handling even the slowest encounters with speed bumps without bouncing excessively, you probably have a worn set of coil springs and shocks.

If your truck abruptly bounces as you drive over bumps and road obstructions, even when you slow the vehicle down, the time has come to inspect your coil springs. For a lot of truck owners, this problem gradually creeps up over time and is therefore not diagnosed until the deterioration of the springs has gotten serious. Consequently, the moment you discover this problem is when you must take action.

A truck with bad coil springs is also liable to bounce when you drive over gravelly or uneven terrain. For example, when you drive on a rocky back road, the imperfections of the road will naturally be a bumpy experience for the tires. Due to the lack of sufficient suspension and shock absorption, the bumpy movement will travel up to the cab, where it will be felt by you and your passengers.

As the problem advances and the coil springs become less effective at absorbing shock and buffering movement between the axle and chassis, the truck might start to bounce each time you shift gears. If you can no longer shift up from first to fifth gear without the vehicle sending abrupt motions throughout the cab, it's probably due to coil springs in need of immediate replacement.

5. Abrupt Vehicle Sway

Another scary symptom of bad shocks and coil springs is when the truck sways. Problems like this stem from a lack of the type of stabilization a healthy suspension system is meant to provide. If the coils get weak on one or both sides of the vehicle, swaying is liable to be one of the side effects.

Occurrences of vehicle sway are most common when you make sharp turns at intersections or when you pull into driveways. As the wheels lose the stabilizing force of the suspension system, they invariably lose traction with the ground. When the front wheels turn the truck sideways, the back wheels have less centralization in a vehicle with poor suspension.

Perhaps the most dangerous places where this problem can arise are on freeways, where a truck with poor coil springs might sway as you pass between intersections. In any case, vehicle sway is a telltale sign that you need to take a flashlight under the truck and inspect the coil springs for signs of rust, wear or other imperfections.

6. Visible Damage

Regularly inspecting your truck is an important part of maintenance. You can spot many of the signs of bad coil springs with a visual check, including sagging suspension, leaning and uneven tire wear.

Take it a step further and look at your coil springs. If you notice any of the following indicators, it is time for a replacement:

Cracks and breaks
Rust or corrosion
Distortion of any kind

7. Increased Stopping Distance

Increased stopping distance can be an indirect consequence of bad coil springs and indicate an issue with them. Bad coil springs can impact your truck's handling and suspension, causing weight to transfer to the front of the vehicle and overload the front tires.

Dangers of Driving With Broken Coil Springs

Driving can be dangerous when a coil spring is broken. It harms your control over your vehicle and makes the ride uncomfortable. Even more importantly, damaged, broken coil springs can cause more of your vehicle to break down, leading to costly repairs. As a result of these dangers, it's never recommended to drive with broken coil springs.

Some of the primary risks of driving with a broken coil spring include:

Rough Ride

One of the biggest dangers of driving a vehicle with broken coil springs is how it affects the feel of the ride. A damaged coil spring is likely to cause your vehicle to bounce more while driving. You can notice a vehicle's coil spring is faulty if the vehicle jumps a great deal, especially when going over speed bumps since broken coil springs will cause your vehicle to bounce excessively.

The worse your coil springs get, the more bounce you'll experience going over obstructions or bumps. The bounce of your vehicle can be incredibly uncomfortable, so you should take care of broken coil springs as soon as possible.

Less Control

A broken spring on a truck can cause drivers to lose control of the vehicle as they drive. One of the primary factors that harm your ability to control your truck is an increase in vehicle sway, which results from your suspension system destabilizing due to a weakened coil or broken coils. Vehicle sway can make it especially challenging to turn sharply.

Damage to Other Parts

A damaged coil spring puts pressure on other areas of your truck and reduces the protection it normally provides to the suspension system. The longer the spring is allowed to wear down, the more damage can occur to other parts of your vehicle. This level of damage can lead to higher repair costs and longer maintenance times.

One of the major parts of your vehicle that can be harmed by a broken coil spring is the tires. A damaged coil spring can cause your truck's body to fall and rest on the tire. The pressure on the tire can eventually cause it to break apart. If you're driving at a fast speed when this happens, you could get in a major wreck. The damage to the tire will also raise your overall repair costs.

Benefits of Installing New Coil Springs

There are many advantages to replacing old, broken-down coil springs with new ones. As you consider replacing your coil springs, take a look at the following benefits of installing new coil springs:

Improve your suspension: Your suspension is crucial for a comfortable ride and the long-term health of your truck. Coil springs are built to balance the truck's weight and prevent any sagging. Replacing your coil springs means your suspension system will work like it's supposed to again, preventing sag and the damages that come with it.
Prevent high repair costs: A tire breaking down or further damage to your suspension system can significantly raise your repair costs. Though it can be tempting to ignore a deteriorating or broken coil spring, delaying ultimately leads to greater damage to your vehicle. If you immediately handle any of the coil spring repairs, you'll save long-term costs by ensuring you don't damage more of your vehicle.
Keep your tires in good condition: Replacing your tires can be costly and time-consuming. Broken coil springs can lead to tires breaking and uneven wear on your tires. Since a coil spring can break down on one side of your vehicle, extra pressure can be placed on one of your wheels, causing the tire to wear down faster than the others. Replacing your broken coil springs prevents these problems entirely.
Upgrade to heavy-duty: If your truck's coil springs start to break down, you have the perfect opportunity to upgrade to heavy-duty coil springs. These springs are even stronger than their regular counterparts, raising your truck's capacity load and lifting your vehicle by an inch.

Why Trust General Spring?

For more than 50 years, General Spring has supplied leaf and coil springs to truck owners from around the country. Even if you drive a rare model, we can customize a spring set that will perfectly suit the requirements and specs of your vehicle — a major advantage when you need to replace a vital component that is hard to find. We work with manufacturers that are full members of the Spring Research Institute (SRI), ensuring the highest quality for all components that meet or exceed OEM specifications.

FAQ About Worn Coil Springs Symptoms

It's crucial to understand the answers to some of the most commonly asked questions about coil springs. Here are some FAQs and our answers.

How Long Do Coil Springs Last?

There is no set time frame at which coil springs expire — A lot of coils last for the life of a vehicle, while others break down sooner. How long coils last depends on a number of factors that will differ for each truck. Factors that can impact coil spring longevity include rough driving conditions, how often the truck bears a heavy load weight, how often and how well the truck is maintained, driving habits and exposure to extreme climate or weather patterns. Spring quality also plays a significant role in how long the coil springs last — which is why it is vital to choose high-quality, heavy-duty coil springs.

What Causes Coil Springs to Break?

Coil springs rarely break, but when they do, the breakage is usually a result of serious fatigue and strain, extreme conditions or a lack of maintenance.

Overloading, rust, corrosion and impact damage from potholes or accidents can lead to broken coil springs. Manufacturing defects and improper installation can both cause premature failure.

How Often Should You Check Your Truck's Coil Springs?

Have your coil springs inspected as soon as possible if you notice any of the signs outlined above. Apart from this, visual inspections can happen anytime you do an oil change — usually every three to six months when using conventional oil. You should also inspect your coil springs if the truck has experienced any major impact.

Buy New Coil Springs From General Spring

Whether you own or operate a truck, it's critical to ensure that the suspension system remains healthy and optimal for the stability and weight support of the vehicle. Without a fully functioning set of shocks and coil springs, the truck will not have the proper suspension to carry its weight — which can lead to dangerous conditions.

When you need new coil springs, turn to General Spring. As a leading authority in the world of vehicle suspension, we provide only the best parts to our customers. We are committed to quality, so we work only with manufacturers that are also committed to the highest standards.

Our staff members have the expertise needed to help customers with whatever questions they have. We offer both standard and heavy-duty coil springs, meaning you can find the perfect part for your needs. Browse our available coil springs to get your vehicle back up and running. You can also contact us today for more information on our products and solutions.

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