Leaf spring bushing install issue need help

[baker420ex]

Hey everyone, I am in the process of installing new leaf spring bushings, with springs on the vehicle. The vehicle I am working on is actually a Dakota but as a previous k5 owner I know you guys on ck5 know your stuff. So I am here looking for some professional insight if anyone feels like chiming in.

I got all my bolts/old bushing off by cutting/grinding/drilling. I used the bolt and nut press method to install the new bushing. The issue here is I am about 1/8", maybe 1/4" out from having it completely seated and the bolt snapped. (FWIW this is a regular 1/2" zinc bolt 6" long fully threadded - only thing I could find with the required length and more than an inch or so of threads) Anyways at this point I am running out of daylight so I just bolted up everything on that side to clean up and call it a night. Also my washers I am using are now all conical shaped and my whole "press kit" took a wicked beating. Would I have better luck with say a grade 8 or better bolt? Is there another trick out there to help finalize the seating process? Just did this on a 4x4 s10 just as rusty with way less effort. Guess I didn't figure it wouldn't want to budge at the very last few turns....

If anyone feels like chiming in with any tips/tricks/insight/anything it would be greatly appreciated. Thanks everyone and thanks for reading!

 

[diesel4me]

Yes,a grade 8 bolt (or stronger if available) is always better when your using it as a press...vices use acme threaded rods that are hardened steel to hold up better to the extreme pressures..
I have gutted an old sissors type jack to get the acme threaded rod and nut to use on jobs like this..(junkyards are full of them )..

It is a diffucult job installing leaf spring bushings that are the original type with inner and outer steel sleeves--they tend to go in hard,and they also like to go in crooked or jam up halfway in it seems too..applying some lube like grease to the outer shell and spring eye helps some..
Many just buy those polyurethene bushings that pop in easily instead of the OEM type bushings,to avoid this hassle..

Using a chisel as a wedge to slightly spread open the spring eye will help the new bushing go in easier..that can backfire though,I've had the eyes on 2 springs snap off while trying to hammer a chisel in the groove, where the eye part ends against the leaf..so you risk breaking the spring's main leaf..(my theory is if it breaks that easy,I'd rather my life not be riding on it)..

I have used other things to install leaf spring bushings,like a U-joint press tool,which is basically a huge extra beefy C clamp..a hydraulic press is the best tool,but few of us have one in our garage..

I have improvised a crude press that works well on this job or doing u-joints and ball joints ,its a simple square tubing "frame"--two pieces of 2" tubing 1/4" thick,on the top and bottom, joined with 3/4" threaded rods about 18" long,and I use a 2 ton hydraulic bottle jack and pieces of pipe or sockets to press things in and out..its not the easiest thing to use,but it works...

 

[baker420ex]

Thanks for the advice Diesel, I will give a better bolt a try. Everything was going steady but then seemed to jamb up at that last 1/4" where the original bolt snapped. The acme bolt is a great idea, I actually have a donor scissor jack right outside but without looking at it I think it might be too thick for this application (Bushing hole is something like 1/2") but I will give it a shot. I think if I broke the eyelet on the spring at this point I would probably do something to the effect of drive it into the river/light it on fire, etc. Thanks again for the advice! Happy easter everybody

 

[diesel4me]

Before you disable your jack,make sure it has a real nut made of steel for the acme threaded rod--some light duty oem sissors jacks have a crappy nylon or plastic one that wont last but a few tire changes,and certainly not for use as a clamp or press..

If you go with a grade 8 bolt,get a grade 8 nut too--both need to be strong and not strip out,and if one is softer than the other,the soft one will just strip...sometimes you can find "coupler nuts" that are extra long (normally used to join threaded rods together),that will bear up much better,even if they aren't grade 5 or 8...the extra thread engagement allows more torque without stripping..

The bummer with most grade 5 or 8 bolts is they aren't available with continuous thread,they have only an inch or so,and the rest of the bolt is just a shank..they do sell grade 8 threaded rod,but few local stores are likely to carry any..this is what led me to robbing the acme screw from a sissors jack..
(I welded a nut to it so a socket can be used instead of the crank handle it had--using an air impact seems to help press fit things go together better than just torquing the bolt up by hand does too...)

I can relate to the desire to burn the truck or drive it into a river too,been there before....sometimes things just dont go well,no matter if you had proper tools,or the patience and skills to do the job..

Happy Easter to you too..hope it goes back together easily for you..

 

[sweetk30]

little creative thinking and a ball joint press is how I do them a lot.

 

[cybrfire]

Back in the day I did them with a hydraulic floor jack and a heavy item. Sort of an upside down hydraulic press where the table goes up with hydraulic force rather than a ram coming down. Did it once with a truck for the upper and another time it was a skid loader.

 

[paratrooper307]

Always make sure the spring eye is as clean as possible-going over it with some steel wool or fine sandpaper can knock off any corrosion and help. If you're careful, you can apply a little heat to help the metal expand just a little.

 

[baker420ex]

Thanks for the input everyone. I finally got a chance to work on it this afternoon and was able to finish up both sides. Diesel4me thanks again for your insight, really got me thinking with all the bolt options. I tried a big c clamp but it kept slipping off so what ended up doing it was a 1/2 x 6" grade 8 bolt, the one at the hardware store with an inch of threads, which I just built up with washers and sockets. Actually I think I was fighting one of the bent (conical shaped) washers on the nut side of the bolt that was prohibiting me from seating it that final amount. It was when I was looking through grade 8 section that I found thicker washers, which I think in the end did the trick. Also on the other side I used an air die grinder I borrowed from work with some 1x1" barrel shaped flap discs. This side pressed in much easier. Never helps to rush anything I definitely learned that. So thanks again everyone for all the help!!!