Odyssey owners 1989 - 1992 Leaf Spring Question

[bufbooth]

Hello Odyssey owners,

Any chance could you reply back today (7/30) with how many leaf springs are on

your 1989 to 1992 Odyssey.

I have my Odyssey in the shop right now for a driver side leaning problem and the

shops believes that they need to Remove a leaf from the passenger side to fix the

problem (instead of adding a leaf to the drivers side, they believe that I originally

had 4 leaf springs and that 2 were added in the past, and they fear going to 7 might

cause excessive stress to the spring hangers.

Thank you for any fast replies,

Dennis...

[basswoodman]

Hi,

Taking another leaf spring out of the other side to level your motor home is the wrong thing to do. You need to remove the springs on the side that is leaning to find out if you have a broken spring or just fatigue. Do not take a spring out of the high side.

What do I suggest?

1. Check your tire pressure

2. Check your tire size. Make sure they are all alike.

3. Unhook your rear shocks to see if that makes a difference, shocks can go bad and it may appear to be leaning because the shock is stuck.

4. Have you added any new appliances or weight to that side that is low?

5. These toys have a lot of weight on them and after time the springs will weaken. Usually both side will go at the same time. I just replaced all of my springs on my 86 because of fatigue. Before I replaced them I could barely get two fingers between the tires and the wheel house of the motor home. Now I can get four fingers and much better ride. Also the tires are not slamming the wheel house when I hit a bump.

6. If you have air bags one may have a leak which will allow your motor home to lean in that direction.

Finally, don't remove a leaf spring. You need to replace one on the sagging side.

I don't know everything but I spent 30 years in the frame repair business. Hope this helps. I would try another shop.

Basswoodman

[bufbooth]

Hello Basswoodman,

Thank you for your feedback, I was expecting the same thing as you suggested, to add

a leaf to drivers side or replace the entire set.

What the shop is telling me is that they believe someone added two leafs to each side in

the past and they should of only added one, or only to the drivers side. The shop

is telling me that I have plenty of rear support / height right now, just that I am leaning

to the drivers side, and the air coils cannot lift the drivers side any higher since I am already

pretty high with just the leaf springs, sounded like they were stating the air coil could not

lift any higher with where I am currently at. Even with the air coils at zero pressure the rear

end is pretty high.

The shop has been in business since 1938 and only does suspension and brake work on

RVs, buses, and heavy trucks, and has a good name in town, it is a large shop, has

8 or 10 service bays.

The past owner of my RV only owned it for two years and did not have any records, but

did have the air coils replaced just before I purchased it.

My Odyssey is the Durango model that has the rear bathroom. On the drivers side I have

a couch, stove/oven, sink, shower, fresh water tank, gray water tank, and battery.

On the passenger side I have two barrel chairs, frig/heater, and a closet.

My black water tank and gas tank are right up the middle, so it appears that I have a quite a

bit more weight on the drivers side due mostly to the two water tanks.

The shop stated that none of the leafs were broken (I could not find any broken ones either)

and due to the current height of the rear with just the springs, they do not believe there is any

fatigue, but the reverse, too much support.

Also, the shop did state that both sets of bushings were worn out, that the bolts in the springs

are actually touching the top of the holes they go into. They at first thought this was the

problem when they saw it on the drivers side, but stated it was identical to what they found

on the passenger side.

Also, to answer your questions:

1. Check your tire pressure (did that, 50 psi all around)

2. Check your tire size. Make sure they are all alike. (All six are same size and brand, purchased new

tires two years ago, Goodyear 185/R14)

3. Unhook your rear shocks to see if that makes a difference, shocks can go bad and it may appear to be leaning because the shock is stuck. (I did not do that, but shop tells me that shocks are fine, I

was expecting them to tell me now would be a good time to replace, but they did not)

4. Have you added any new appliances or weight to that side that is low? (no, however, I expect

that I have been leaning to the drivers side since I owned it, my driveway is on a slight hill, so

I did not notice the lean.)

5. These toys have a lot of weight on them and after time the springs will weaken. Usually both side will go at the same time. I just replaced all of my springs on my 86 because of fatigue. Before I replaced them I could barely get two fingers between the tires and the wheel house of the motor home. Now I can get four fingers and much better ride. Also the tires are not slamming the wheel house when I hit a bump. (I had at least 5 fingers of space).

6. If you have air bags one may have a leak which will allow your motor home to lean in that direction

(air bags will hold pressure for serveral weeks, if not months, I did recheck and played with various

pressures).

Dennis...

[bufbooth]

Hello All,

I heard back from another 1990 Odyssey owner that had the bathroom in the front model,

and he has 5 leaf springs installed, so I am feeling a bit better on the removing of a leaf

solution. If the Toyota parts came in on time today, I should get my RV back on Friday

afternoon.

Dennis...

[WME]

If the shop is warrantying their work, then do it their way