94 Mazda B4000 ext cab 4x4

The rear brackets for the leaf springs, the ones that are riveted to the frame broke. Northerner truck, they were rusted to crap. What is the proper method for replacement? I have removed the rivets with a die grinder and air hammer, and I have two new brackets from a junk yard. I am planning on using grade 8 bolts for mounting, but was wondering is there is an approved method. The Mazda dealer sells the brackets so I'm assuming they are replaceable.

 

funny you should post... i'm changing mine this afternoon (93 4X4 auto, extended cab). first, save yourself some coin... grade 5 bolts are fine (the three point marked ones) Kenworths are put together with grade 5 bolts. and i doubt you would ever carry the kind of weight a semi can 8's are brittle actually, and pricey. it sounds like you have done the hard part already, getting rid of the rivets... myself, i have a friend with a plasma cutter, not to mention every other kind of metal cutter you could imagine, oh, and a 2 ton bridge crane in his garage. what condition are your shackles in? mine are so rusted the metal is delaminating... not good! needless to say both rear brackets and shackles are in the cab awaint installation. use lock washer on the frame bolts, and lock nuts on the shackle bolts. support the truck on stands by the frame, and put a jack under the rear so you can raise and lower it as an assembly. pray that the bolts that go throught the spring bushings come out. hose everything with penetrating oil, repeatedly. been spraying mine every day or so for two weeks...lol

should be pretty straight forward... hope this helps!

 

Thanks for the reply. Got everything done yesterday. I ended up using grade 8, or the metric equivilent anyway. Had to use 12 mm because 7/16 was too small and 1/2 was too big. The 12s went in snuggly after I wormed around the holes with a tap. I was very concerned with a snug fit, didn't want any play at all. Next I get to do the front brackets on the leaf springs, but since I'll most likely have to pull the gas tank for that (again) I ain't in a hurry.

 

glad to hear things worked out! my little nightmare took 4 hours...even in mega shop... ended up removing the front perches with the springs still attached to get the bolts out of the rear bushings. as for gas tank removal, my tank is plastic, and we jammed a crow bar up against it, pushed it in a bit and took the bolts (which my buddy tacked tig wire to, and fished them in from behind...Bolt Fishing!!! LOL!!).. worked like a charm!

btw... tighten the bolts of the perches and shackles with the beastie on the ground... full normal weight... otherwise, the bushings will rip out under use...

grab yourself some POR 15 Or Rust Bullet, wire brush the front perches and coat them... the rears always rot away quicker than the front... think about it... tires kicking up salt/slush/water/mud/etc etc...hey they had them in stock right? keep changing the oil, and taking care of it and you too can see your od turn 196K... just like I did on the way home from the fix

 

Just what I was looking for! My son wants to lower the rear end of his Ranger to even it out with the front. One quick way to a 2" drop is to flip the rear shackle mounts by cutting off the rivets and using Grade 8 (or 5) bolts to reattach them upside-down.

How long of a bolt did you use? Got pics?

 

sorry, no pics, and as for bolt length, which bolts? the perch to the frame bolts or the spring bolts? as for inverting the perches... it ain't gonna happen on my 93... first off it would jack the rear up, not down about 4 inches... provided you could bolt the springs back on, which you can't... the perch is a wrapover design... sort of like a [ turned 90 degrees to the right.... if you invert it the wrapover would be in the way of the spring... if that makes sense...lol

 

I haven't looked at the shackle mounts on my son's 96 Ranger 2WD but I've seen several threads on Ford Ranger message boards and several members have posted how simple it was. My son is out of town with the Ranger right now so I can't crawl up under it and see if it will flip over. I'm guessing the mounts for the 96 and up are radically different from the 93.

Anyway, I was wondering about the length of the bolts you got to attach the shackle mounts or perches to the frame. I'm assuming the thickness of the frame is about the same.

 

the bolts were one inch long by 7/16 dia... you could use 1 1/4 if you want....

 

4 each for a total of 8 needed?

 

yep 4 bolts per perch... keep in the back of your mind however, depending on the age of your sons truck, there is a very good chance that the bolts that go through the bushings on the springs as well as the perches are going to be frozen in their metal sleeves...they were on mine, and accordingly we had to cut the front perches off the truck to get the springs free and in a 20 ton press to remove the bolts from the rear bushings...the passenger side was not a problem... plasma cutter to the rescue... the other side however... well.... there is this plastic gas tank thingie right behind the frame rail see...so on that side the rivets had to be ground off. the next trick is trying to figure out how to get new bolts, or the nuts on the bolts in side the frame rail with the gas tank in the way... you might have to remove the tank, which might also mean removing the bed to lift it up and out of the way...(this now brings the bolt count up to 16 btw) we figured a way around that, but without a tig welder and some thin filler rods, it won't work for you...


If I were you, I'd strongly urge your son to live with the back end up in the air a bit... mine is the same way, it bothered me for a bit, but with the 4X4 suspension, I learned to live with it... hey it does flatten out to level with a load on it... rides smoother too

 

I see that your truck lives in the NE. Hopefully mine won't be as difficult. It's been in Oklahoma and Texas since it was new in 96. I don't see any rust around the shackles. Cutting the rivets out will probably be the hardest part (I hope!).

 

I'll throw in; I tried the 7/16 bolts but they just were too loose. I used 12 mm. worked the holes a little with a 1/2 inch tap and they went in quite snuggly. I think you want no play in there. A failure in those bolts could be catostaphic on the interstate.

 

true enough, however, 16 7/16 grade 5 bolts is the equal of a chunk 'o' steel 7/16" thick by 7 1/2" wide... that's tank armor...LOL!!! I myself have no worries... it is a commuter vehicle... I don't haul stuff, nor go off roading (well when it snows I lock the hubs and look for 2 ft. deep drifts!) the old girl has 196,000 plus on the odo... not really smart to beat on it!