Replacing one spring in a two-spring motor?

[B.B.B]

I know this was up at TOB (The Old Board) but my memory failed me.
And we do have some new people around, so maybe someone can enlighten me.

I've just taken apart my VV-XI motor (the one I threatened to force on you)
One of the springs looks kind of tired, not broken, but a bit jagged in places.
And I happen to have a spare, new spring, on hand, that fits perfectly.

Is it a bad idea to replace only one spring, I'm think if the motor becomes unbalanced or something.
Yes, I know I can order another & replace both of them, but I don't want to, unless it's really necessary.

[gramophoneshane]

I've heard a few people recommend replacing both springs at once, but I never have & have never had a problem because of it. The only time I ever would, would be if the second good spring had been repaired & shortened. As long as both springs are the same length, I can't really see that it's necessary.

[B.B.B]

I've heard a few people recommend replacing both springs at once, but I never have & have never had a problem because of it. The only time I ever would, would be if the second good spring had been repaired & shortened. As long as both springs are the same length, I can't really see that it's necessary.

I was thinking along those lines, but I wanted to ask first.
I know that it's recommended to change all governor springs at once, but then again, they have a completely different function compared to a mainspring. Thanks!

[jsonova99]

I have a VV-VI that I just pulled the main springs on. The spring barrel has either a 6 or a 9, not sure what orientation to look at it in, any ideas which one it might be? My second question is that after pulling both springs, one appears to be much shorter than the other, and of course the longer one had a nice crack right in the middle. I'm planning on just replacing both to do it right and only one time. Any thoughts on what the right spring length is would be great.

Thanks,
Joe

[rizbone]

I think it's more a case of "once you have the whole thing apart you might as well replace both of them" than a requirement. I would hate to replace a spring only to have the second one break in a month or two. If the first spring has suffered a trauma sufficient to damage it, the other one has also experienced the same thing and may be damaged as well.

[FloridaClay]

I have a VV-VI that I just pulled the main springs on. The spring barrel has either a 6 or a 9, not sure what orientation to look at it in, any ideas which one it might be? My second question is that after pulling both springs, one appears to be much shorter than the other, and of course the longer one had a nice crack right in the middle. I'm planning on just replacing both to do it right and only one time. Any thoughts on what the right spring length is would be great.

Thanks,
Joe

Joe, the early VV-VIs had 13 ½ ft. springs. The later ones had 9 ft springs. Yours must be one of the latter from the barrel marking you mention. The change over was with the type F, starting at serial number 103,301, according to the Victor Data Book. The earliest 9 ft springs were 1 inch wide, but that soon changed to 1 ¼ inch wide.

Clay

[RayB]

I'm new to all this and I agree that it makes sense that if there is even the slightest chance that there could be a problem with an older used spring I would go ahead and replace both. Just a bit of piece of mind here as the task of having to remove and rewind both springs again is definitely not something I would relish repeating.