is there anyway to determine if leafsprings are wore out that are off the car? have a set from a 60,000 mile dart that i want to put in another dart. I'm on a strict budget and would rather throw in some new bushings, blast, and paint than buy new. any help would be great.
60 k might still be OK for another 15 to 25k. Depends mostly on how many cycles they've been through and how hard they've been deflected. (rough roads, high torque vs. smooth roads, smooth accelrations, never loaded to max)
First look them over visually for condition of the steel and the interleafs. Also the clamps (look like bands). Then check the free height to each other. Should be the same unless its off of one of the special factory packages.
You can check the spring rate of each by weighting and measuring the deflection. If you use yourself as a the wieght ( hold onto something when getting on and off or you may get thrown!). The rate should be the same on both springs (even if the number of leafs varies).
If the leafs are good, you can get or have the local spring shop install new interleafs and bands if needed.