I hate rivets

[mightywhitey_k5]

Dont get me wrong rivets are good for a lifetime of trouble free maintnence service; but when it comes time to remove them for the shackle flip kit, they SUCK! My advice dont drill. use an Ingersaulran air chisel and power through those bad boys o ya where ear plugs dont be , being inclosed where your gas tank used to be with that chisel running can make your ears ring for a few hours. When all that dam noise is said and done the flip kit is well worth it. Sorry for all the pisses and mones but i just felt like cursing those lit tle bastards. wish i would have picked up a pair of greasable bushings before i did this i didnt think about how cracked those things would be, now i have to do it later.

 

[beater_k20]

long barrel air hammers work best.

 

[84_Chevy_K10]

If I ever have another rig to the frame, I'm chiseling off every single rivet and replacing it with bolts and prevailing torque style lock nuts.

 

[mightywhitey_k5]

Ya i am shure those would work beater but i just used what was on hand at the time. good advice though.

 

[beater_k20]

If I ever have another rig to the frame, I'm chiseling off every single rivet and replacing it with bolts and prevailing torque style lock nuts.

Tim, wanna borrow my air hammer? it works great for that! anybody wanna take any guesses how i know?

 

[mofugly13]

I hear you loud and clear. I thought I could do the shackle flip/ one ton swap in a day. Took a LONG part of that day just to get the rivits out, but I had to do the front hangar too. My Home Depot "Husky" air chisel wasn't quite up to the task on its own, so I centerpunched the rivets and drilled the centers with a 1/4" drill, the chisel took over after that,.

 

[cbbr]

I cut the tops off with an angle grinder. Getting them out was no problem after that. I used an air hammer with a pointed chisel and just knocked them out. Quick and easy.

 

[CyberSniper]

If it's something easy to get to I take the torch and blow the heads off then beat them out with a punch and hammer. If it's not easy to get to without burning a hole somewhere I don't want to I use the angle grinder and a punch and hammer. If they don't come out after than then I drill them half way out with a 1/4" bit and beat them out with the punch and hammer.

With the torch it takes a couple minutes to remove an entire bracket. With the angle grinder it usually takes an hour.

 

[rubbinz raczn]

I cut the tops off with an angle grinder. Getting them out was no problem after that. I used an air hammer with a pointed chisel and just knocked them out. Quick and easy.

i also used a 4" grinder to remove the heads then used a punch and a BFH only i had to do both front/rear sets of hangers rear. the rear crossmember for rear hangers,the snubber brackets,front hangers both sets, i stopped counting at 80 harder than that was re-drilling every bracket and frame hole from the 3/8" to 1/2" just think of the rivets as your enemy!

 

[86chevybanshee]

i think my next investment is an air hammer, iv got to many messed up thumbnails from missing the punch after i grind them out

 

[goldwing2000]

Flame Axe is ALWAYS the way to go.

 

[84_Chevy_K10]

Tim, wanna borrow my air hammer? it works great for that! anybody wanna take any guesses how i know?

No, I have my own air hammer. When I moved my shackle mounts, I had all of those rivets out in a matter of minutes.

 

[jekquistk5]

Nice to know Ill be doing the flip this weekend

 

[rcamacho]

Dont get me wrong rivets are good for a lifetime of trouble free maintnence service; but when it comes time to remove them for the shackle flip kit, they SUCK! My advice dont drill. use an Ingersaulran air chisel and power through those bad boys o ya where ear plugs dont be , being inclosed where your gas tank used to be with that chisel running can make your ears ring for a few hours. When all that dam noise is said and done the flip kit is well worth it. Sorry for all the pisses and mones but i just felt like cursing those lit tle bastards. wish i would have picked up a pair of greasable bushings before i did this i didnt think about how cracked those things would be, now i have to do it later.

Agreed. I installed a BDS shackle flip on my old '95 Dodge and ended up using an air chisel after getting frustrated with drilling and grinding.

 

[84_Chevy_K10]

Nice to know Ill be doing the flip this weekend

My air hammer is a $49 CP long barrel, works very well.

 

[divorced]

harder than that was re-drilling every bracket and frame hole from the 3/8" to 1/2"

Have you ever tried a unibit? I had to drill some holes in my frame to mount the crossmember for my divorced 205 and the unibit works great. I started by drilling a 1/8" pilot hole, then use the unibit to enlarge the holes to 1/2", it only takes about 20 seconds to enlarge the holes. When going from 3/8" to 1/2" a unibit works nice because as it enlarges the hole it stays centered so all your bolts will fit nice.