shackle bolts and spring hangar torque

[MTBLAZER89]

I am going to be installing my shackle flip and 56's soon hopefully. I got the greaseable bushings from ORD and I believe they have the pinch nuts. Anyway how tight do you make these? Loctite? Oh yeah one more how tight should the attachment bolt for the echobit flip be to the stock hangar?

 

[smokkey1]

I torqued my greaseable bushings from ord to 50lbs.

 

[MTBLAZER89]

anybody else?

 

[readymix]

I was told 45 ft/lbs

 

[Chevy305]

yup 45 lbs for all shackes, both upper and lower bolts, front and rear.

for both spring hangers on the other side of the springs those are torqued to 120 lbs

 

[goldwing2000]

Ummm... maybe I'm thinking of the wrong bolts but all three of the spring and shackle bolts on the rear of my '89 got tightened to at least 120 ft-lbs, as per the FSM. If you have the torque wrench on the nut, it's 120 ft-lbs, if you have the torque wrench on the bolt head, it's 140 ft-lbs (I think). They are all 9/16 bolts, so I can't imagine only torquing them to 45 ft-lbs. That's a spec for a 3/8 bolt.

Since the greasable bushings use hollow bolts, it would have to be a lower torque but it couldn't be that low. Could it??

Your best bet would probably be to call ORD tomorrow.

 

[Chevy305]

Ummm... maybe I'm thinking of the wrong bolts but all three of the spring and shackle bolts on the rear of my '89 got tightened to at least 120 ft-lbs, as per the FSM. If you have the torque wrench on the nut, it's 120 ft-lbs, if you have the torque wrench on the bolt head, it's 140 ft-lbs (I think). They are all 9/16 bolts, so I can't imagine only torquing them to 45 ft-lbs. That's a spec for a 3/8 bolt.

Since the greasable bushings use hollow bolts, it would have to be a lower torque but it couldn't be that low. Could it??

Your best bet would probably be to call ORD tomorrow.

3/8 bolt? Are you talking about the bolts that hold the spring hanger to the frame?

I was talking about the bolts that go through the spring eyes and shackle. Those should all be 1/2 hardware.

 

[goldwing2000]

3/8 bolt? Are you talking about the bolts that hold the spring hanger to the frame?

I was talking about the bolts that go through the spring eyes and shackle. Those should all be 1/2 hardware.

Actually, they are all 9/16" hardware. I know because I bought 1/2" hardware and had to take it back and exchange it for beeger stuff.

I was saying that 45 ft-lbs is normally a spec for a 3/8" bolt and it seems really low for a spring bolt of that size.

 

[Chevy305]

Actually, they are all 9/16" hardware. I know because I bought 1/2" hardware and had to take it back and exchange it for beeger stuff.

I was saying that 45 ft-lbs is normally a spec for a 3/8" bolt and it seems really low for a spring bolt of that size.

Well Tuff Country's instuction sheet says 120 lbs on the front spring bolts. And 45 lbs on both shackle bolts

 

[goldwing2000]

Well Tuff Country's instuction sheet says 120 lbs on the front spring bolts. And 45 lbs on both shackle bolts

Well, General Motors Corporation disagrees. Who would you rather believe?

I was partially mistaken about the 120/140 numbers, though. I was thinking about the specs for N-m measurements. Don't take my word for it, though. See for yourself. Here's the page out of my 1989 factory service manual:

My 1979 factory manual says 110 ft-lbs on all three bolts.

As I stated before, the specs will be lower for the greasable hollow bolts. Contact ORD for the proper specs on those.

 

[Chevy305]

interseting...


If tuff country says thats the torque for THEIR springs then thats what I'll torque them to. I take it MTBLAZER89's springs aren't factory either

 

[78Suburban]

guess I should have used a torque wrench.. I tightened the HECK out of my sping eye bolts... Will it greatly prohibit spring movement and screw stuff up if I overtorqued them? I used all metal locknuts too

 

[79k20350]

Bolt sizes have torque specs... Torque spec depend entirely on the part and have nothing to do with the size of the bolt

For stock bolt yes that is the correct amount of torque.

For POLY bushings, greaseable or not 45 lbs is ALL that is required!

No locktite is required, the nuts are all metal lock nuts

 

[goldwing2000]

Bolt sizes have torque specs... Torque spec depend entirely on the part and have nothing to do with the size of the bolt

Ummm... you know you're full of crap, right?

Torque specs are ALL ABOUT the fastener and depend very little on the parts that they are attaching, especially in a bolt-and-nut application.

Read this: http://www.zerofast.com/torque.htm

The perfect torque for a bolt is loosely defined as "1/4 turn before it breaks or strips the threads". That number is entirely dependent upon the thread pitch, diameter and hardness of the bolt and what it is threading into. If the bolt is harder than the material it is being threaded into, then the limiting factor is the weaker metal. A manufacturer can specify a lower torque number if the circumstance dictates but if no specification is provided, then you can use a generic torque spec. As I said before, 45 ft-lbs is the standard dry torque for a grade 8, 3/8-16 bolt.

Do some research before you start laughing and throwing rolly eyes.

78Suburban: As long as you don't go past the bolt's torque limits (as shown in the table above or on the factory spec chart, whichever is lower), then you're fine. The bushings have a steel sleeve in the center which is supposed to be held in place while the bushing rotates (as with poly) or flexes (as with rubber) around it. Spring eye and shackle bolt torques have exactly nothing to do with the springs themselves, as no part of the bolt or nut even comes into contact with the spring, and very little to do with what the bushings are made of. The center sleeve, the bolt and the two sides of the bracket (or shackle) are all that matters. And that stays the same no matter what.
The only reason a 9/16" bolt should be torqued to only 45 ft-lbs is if they aren't using a center sleeve or if you're using aluminum bolts, both of which would be pretty frickin stupid.