I had a metalurgy boffin that I work beside look at the fragment from my spring which was recovered from inside my tyre, don't ask! Anyways he knows his stuff and thought it was a "stress fracture leading from corrosion at the surface of the spring" he wasn't impressed with the quality of the metal.
Mercs are just as bad. Just crap springs.
BM seem okay about this though and changed a broken one without the £250 excess payment on my extended warranty.
okay, I've got a theory so feel free to slag me off or shoot holes in my diagnosis. I had my rear suspension in bits the other day and noticed my relatively new spring rusting at the bottom where they snap. On closer inspection it appears that because the seat spring sits within the upper wishbone this is a great place for collecting gravel. The rubber spring seat is also rather good at catching these rocks and holding them; as the spring pushes them into the rubber. Once stuck in there they quickly grind through the spring paint and the corrosion starts. The largest of the stones that was in mine was stuck in such a way that it was restricting the spring travel and was causing a moment around the point where the spring sat on the stone.
Think of flexing a stick in your hands and trying unsuccessfully to break it until you put it around your knee!...... where does it snap? This also ties in with the stress fracture analysis I got.
okay, I've got a theory so feel free to slag me off or shoot holes in my diagnosis. I had my rear suspension in bits the other day and noticed my relatively new spring rusting at the bottom where they snap. On closer inspection it appears that because the seat spring sits within the upper wishbone this is a great place for collecting gravel. The rubber spring seat is also rather good at catching these rocks and holding them; as the spring pushes them into the rubber. Once stuck in there they quickly grind through the spring paint and the corrosion starts. The largest of the stones that was in mine was stuck in such a way that it was restricting the spring travel and was causing a moment around the point where the spring sat on the stone.
Think of flexing a stick in your hands and trying unsuccessfully to break it until you put it around your knee!...... where does it snap? This also ties in with the stress fracture analysis I got.
Have a look in yours and see if it the same?
Your have given this too much thought lol
but i shall have a look :thumbs:
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