dont know if your gonna like hearing this, but the only way i got mine to come loose was with a 2 stage air compressor.

 

So far as I can tell.....the penetrent is a good idea.
Do you have a punch for your air hammer?
If I remember correctly??? The bolt come in from the backside. I used a 22mm box wrench and would twist it back and forth.....whack it with the air hammer, twist back and forth,etc until it finally worked it's way out. Do you have plans on replacing bushings?

 

yeah, the bushings will get replaced.

the bolt actually goes in from the outside; the nut is between the hangar and the frame. it seems like using the air hammer would flatten the threads... but I tried that anyway. couldn't seem to make it work. I think I'm going to try and get the spring all the way off. since the hanger is completely broken, once the other bolt is loose along with the u-bolts on the axle, I should be able to pull the spring off. Then I can get more leverage on the bolt that's frozen. I just hope the other ones are not as frozen as this one.

 

I think you can melt the rubber bushing with a torch.

 

it's not really the bushing that's the problem. it's getting enough leverage on the bolt and the nut to twist it free. I'll just have to fix this tomorrow afternoon. after I figure out what I'm going to use to cut that bracket off

 

Just performed this repair myself last week, but I had broken leaf springs too, so I went to the boneyard and bought the springs for $45 a side, ordered the new shackle hangers from Michigan Truck Spring for $20 each, and used a universal lift shackle kit from the local AutoZone I work at ($12.99 minus 20% discount) to do the repair. Flipped the new hangers upside down and used the lift kit with some Grade 8 hardware (about $10 for 8 bolts, nuts, flat washers and lock washers) and now I'll never have to worry about them rotting out again. I was able to torch the rivets out in about 60 seconds each, and then, using an air chisel, I was able to get the hangers off with about 2 hits. There was absolutely no way I could get the bolt out of the spring and shackle without destroying the rubber bushing. All in all, it was a pretty easy repair and what makes me even happier is that I got about 5 inches of lift out of it!

 

but that lift is only in the back... no offense, but doesn't it make your truck look funny? Anyway, what kind of torch did you use? I don't have access to an acetylene torch, but I can buy a MAAP torch if that will do the trick.

 

I used an oxy-acetylene cutting torch. And yes the truck does look a little funny, but now I have motivation to lift the front end to match!

 

Hi, I had to replaced mine about three years ago and again they have broken away! Built Ford Tuff....I think not!

So before I replace them with an OEM part I have to consider if this is the best route or to find a heavy duty replacement???

If anyone knows a manufacture that makes a better replacement than the poor designed Ford one please let me know.

 

well, if you live in a salty area, I'd suggest just using an OEM part and coating it with a good undercoating. Of course, fabricating a part of your own (with a better design) might be a good idea, too.

BTW, I still haven't gotten those stupid rivets out. I haven't tried in over a week... but I was so frustrated with my air tools that I just about threw them out. So I took a break from working on it. Now, I'm ready to start again. It's been 2 months since I've driven my truck and I'm dying to get it on the road... or off the road

 

Salt is the problem along with poor design...Ford should of known better.

I used an air chissel to remove mine with NP, since this is the third set it's much easier since I used bolts to replace the rivets.

Personal I think there should of been a recall on these...It's a saftey issue.

 

anyway, regardless of design, how did you use that air chisel to get the rivets off? I've tried every which way and I can't seem to get it done...

 

ok, it's been a month since I updated this thread, but I thought I'd let you guys know how it's going. Hopefully someone else can get some benefit from my trial and error

I finally bought a real grinder to get those rivets off. I hat to cut off one of my exhaust pipes in order to get clearance... but I don't really like that dual-exit look anyway. I used a sawzall and some 18tpi blades to cut the old bracket off in pieces, then pounded flat everything that I couldn't cut off. A BFH is a very good tool . This gave me enough clearance to get that angle grinder in there and destroy the rivet heads fairly quickly. Then the air chisel punched them out with no problem.

Since my old spring hanger had rusted through, the shackle bolt was free from the hanger without removing the nut. This presented a problem. After several days of re-applying penetrant and trying every which way to loosen that bolt, I gave up. My steel cutter made quick work of removing the bolt ends. I then though I would be able to punch the bolt out of the bushing... no such luck. The bolt had fused to the inside sleeve of the shackle bushing.

Well, crap. How do you get a bolt out of a bushing if it's fused? Turns out you have to destroy the bushing. I used a few drill bits (they kept breaking off) to drill out the old bushing. The cordless drill I had was useless in this effort, so I bought a high-speed air drill. Tool #4,184 bought for this project . I then went to my friendly ford dealer and bought a new bushing and new shackle bolt. When the parts guy brought me the new bushing, I noticed that it had a metal sleeve on the outside. My old one did not, and I explained that to him. He replied that all Ford bushings have that, so he was sure it would work. ~$28 later, I brought the new parts home ready to install and drive!

ugh. the bushing did *not* fit. Turns out that Ford made two types of shackles. One came with the bushing molded in, the other was modular, meaning that the bushing was a seperate part. They sell replacement bushings for the second type, and they sell replacement shackles for the first type. The cost for a new shackle is only about $15 more than the bushing... but I decided not to get one. Replacing the shackle means destroying the bolt on the other end and replacing the spring bushing. Rather than take a chance on causing myself to need a new spring, I called JBG.

http://www.broncograveyard.com/

These guys rule. Not just because they sponsor this board, but because they are helpful, cheap, and fast. Today I ordered a new bushing (polyurethane) designed specifically to fit a shackle like mine. Of course, the product is a Daystar product, but JBG helped me figure this thing out and found the right part for me in less than 10 minutes. Assuming that it works as it should, my baby should be back on the road this coming weekend. Thanks, JBG.

I'll update again once I have everything back together. I wish I had been taking pictures this whole time. If anyone needs help with this sort of project, let me know. I have approached it from every possible angle, and I now know what works