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FLIP

Confedneck

Confedneck

3/4 ton status
Joined
Nov 1, 2002
Posts
5,235
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Location
Lehigh Acres, Florida
Shackle flips........
Why do they take everyone 2 days? and what bushings is it that everyone is drilling out?... i figure i could swap those brackets out on my k10 in 2 hours tops... so why does it take so long? and why not just replace the bushings with new? im lost...
 
because unless your spring brackets have been replaced in the past you have to remove rivets. not bolts. also it takes a bit of work to get some of the bolts in due to the gas tank to frame clearance.

as for the bushings i am guessing they are talking of the ones in the shackle, or the ones in the frame at the front of the cab for the front springs. they are drilling them out to remove them to replace them, it is the second fastest but safest way to do it if they do not come out on the first few tries with a hammer and drift.

Grant
 
ok, so if i pull my truck into my bay at work at 7ish in the morning, get right on those rivets with my air chisel and 90* die grinder, i can have them off in less than 2 hours.... also i have a long bed truck.. so what gas tank issues would i have?....and a shop press to push out bushings... but since if i do a flip, im doing new springs all at the same time.... it should be cake.... right?
 
With all the extra equipment, and longbed truck, yeah it should go pretty good.

Not all of us have access to the finer things in life, as found in your shop.

Try doing it in your driveway with just hand tools after salt has been welding all the bolts in good and tight for 15 years.... /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Just giving you a picture of how good you have it. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif
 
lol... well my truck is a florida/california truck so i figure the rust factor shouldnt be too bad either way...just glad i work for a big dealership lol... so if i am doing new springs at the same time.. i shouldnt have any bushings to fight out, right?
 
Not sure. I had to torch the ends of mine and wedge the mounts apart for the middle to fall out. That metal sleave was hanging onto them bolts for dear life! (and this makes it to big to just drive through)

I drilled out the front rear upper bushings too, they werent coming out any other way short of a grenade lol.

If anyone asks me how long it will take when I'm working on the 'Sub, I just give them that REAL dirty look /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Look under the back of a "Burb after you are done with yours, and you will notice some of the extra difficulties involved /forums/images/graemlins/thumb.gif

Love my Burb though, always wanted one!!!!
 
the fastest way i found to remove a rivet is with a grinder and drill. then an air hammer. in your case might not even need the air hammer. i grind a nice flat spon on the rivet, then dril it out. all the rivets i have drilled out i just drill out to half inch. then use half inch bolts. i imagine if what you are working on does not have enough surface to go to half inch it could pose a problem.

with all the tools you have access to and the long bed factor then you should have it done in 3 hours or so.
i would love to give ya the benifit of the doubt, but i dont see it being done in 2 without torching out the rivets. and that can be bad on a frame.
Grant
 
A really burly air chisel is the way, and someone there probably has the right tool. I think if you had all the right tools ready, and the springs ready so you didn't have to fight bushings, and maybe some extra hands to help out, you might get it in 2 hours. But I usually plan on the time to prep the tools and put them away as part of the install time.
Either way, you're going to be into it 3-4 hours, tops.
 
I didn't do a shackle flip but my truck had 56" rear springs and my lift springs were 52" so I had to move my spring hangers forward 4" took me about an hour to grind/airchisel the rivets of luckily my frame had the other holes already drilled so I just moved them forward 4" and bolted them back on with 3/8 bolts and lock nuts the Whole thing took me about 2 hours should go quicker for you since your not trying to save your spring hangers . cool thing about doing that to my truck is taht when I do my shackle flip I just have to unbolt my spring hanger /forums/images/graemlins/thumb.gif
 
I just finished the conversion to 56" springs from the 52" setup, and took your advice on the air gun. Boy did it go smoothly! Once I got the "technique" down, it took 30 seconds to kill a rivet, and that's a good thing when it's August in Texas. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif
 
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