Noticed the leaf spring mounts on my truck need replacement. They seem to be rivited in. When I replace them, will grade 8 bolts work to hold them in?


Thanks

 

Yes, grade 8 bolts work. I can't recall the size- 3/8" possibly but don't quote me.

Job is a PITA. I used a sawz-all to get the rivets off along with a water sprayer to keep everything cool (paranoid about the gas tank). You may have a better way.

You're going to have to pry the leaf springs down to line up with the bracket so you can bolt everything in. If you have a helper, it might make it easier to line up and bolt everything back in. Good luck.

 

buy what you need from one of the sponsors.

use a saddle jack and jack stands to hold vehicle up and use a scissors jack to move spring into place.

do an advanced search for more tips on the subject.

 

I just did a replacement on my 88 f350, drivers side rear, used a torch to burn the heads off, drift pin to drive out rivets, long pry bar to pry down spring, that was a problem, w/ 11 springs and 4 helpers, all in all it went pretty smooth, hardest part was getting the bolt out of lower shackle.

 

yes, G8 wil lwork but so will G5 - 7/16 is the size for the rears and 1/2 for the fronts IIRC (find my F100 project page) the rivets are G0-G2 in strength. before you have ever hit the shear limit you will have wiped out the springs.

 

I did that to a Ramcharger once,ground the rivit heads off and used G8 bolts w/lock washers and put some welds on for good measure. Had the body off the frame though.

 

GEEZ---seems like a lot of extra work-removing the body---

but on a Dodge I can understand !!!

When I did my hangers ( 95 F-150 4x4 ) I replaced the bolts in the spring eye also----The whole job took about 3 hours out in the driveway.
Gary

 

I was doing a body swap,and installing a 9" lift @ the time.Good practice before I jump on my `88 F-350 4x4

 

I did that one as well, and now time for the other side. I used a 4 inch grinder for the rivet heads removal. The other ideas above seemed good for the rest of the job .....

 

Got it today. Not to tough of a job. Hardest part was removing the bolt that holds the spring to the actual shackle. Ground off rivits with angle grinder, and used air hammer to drive them out.


Things that did make my job easier:

I removed my rear tank last year and never put it back in.
My 7,000# Rotary Lift

And the tools in this bad boy:

 

good job!