Is it normal for the bolts to bend above the clamp plate as they are tightened down? It looks like they would have to do this to match the arch of the springs at the width of the clamp but I haven’t really noticed this before. Or are they weak bolts or over torqued?
axle u bolt tightening
- Thread starter mbaker
- Start date
What grade bolt fastener?
Just wondering if those are heavier springs that the once being replaced? Those look like low grade bolts bending like that, if those are heavier spring you may want to consider going to a 5/8 grade 8 bolt (I assume these are 9/16 grade 5), as D60 said torque under load.
The bolts are supposed to be 9/16 grade 5 and came from OReillys as ‘Superior ride Effx’.
I added the deep nut and those washers it came with standard nut and lock washer.
It was torqued under load. 90ft-lbs
Same type spring, The only thing different was we removed an overload spring and bracket that were in top of the old spring set.
I’ve seen several other forums where guys are saying this is somewhat normal. Taking a second look I don’t think there is anyway for the top leaf and plate to be perfectly flat which means there is some misalignment somewhere and without a tapered washer the bolt will run through the plate at an angle.
I added the deep nut and those washers it came with standard nut and lock washer.
It was torqued under load. 90ft-lbs
Same type spring, The only thing different was we removed an overload spring and bracket that were in top of the old spring set.
I’ve seen several other forums where guys are saying this is somewhat normal. Taking a second look I don’t think there is anyway for the top leaf and plate to be perfectly flat which means there is some misalignment somewhere and without a tapered washer the bolt will run through the plate at an angle.
Oreilly's? I'd check McMaster-Carr and other vendors of high end hardware.
https://www.mcmaster.com/products/u-bolts/weight-capacity~4000~or-greater~lb/
https://www.mcmaster.com/products/u-bolts/weight-capacity~4000~or-greater~lb/
Since you torqued it weighted not much you can do about it. It's not ideal but it shouldn't really become a problem.
Definitely re-torque again in something like 2 days, 7 days and 14 days. They'll stretch but if they're digging into those cheap washers the nuts may not move like they're supposed to -- again, nothing you can really do now.
The only other reason this might have occurred was if the radius bend of the bolts wasn't exactly the same as the axle tube.
If you ever elect to step up in size be sure to ream the holes outward on either side of the spring. You can't just re-drill from centerline because the spring is always 3" (I'm guessing as this looks like a Ford spring plate) wide. Don't mean to insult your intelligence but a lot of people don't think of this. Once you drag those fine threads on the side of the pack it's all over but the gallin' and the cryin'
Definitely re-torque again in something like 2 days, 7 days and 14 days. They'll stretch but if they're digging into those cheap washers the nuts may not move like they're supposed to -- again, nothing you can really do now.
The only other reason this might have occurred was if the radius bend of the bolts wasn't exactly the same as the axle tube.
If you ever elect to step up in size be sure to ream the holes outward on either side of the spring. You can't just re-drill from centerline because the spring is always 3" (I'm guessing as this looks like a Ford spring plate) wide. Don't mean to insult your intelligence but a lot of people don't think of this. Once you drag those fine threads on the side of the pack it's all over but the gallin' and the cryin'
In the future just call a local spring shop and get u-bolts bent up. They do this in their sleep.
If you don't have a local spring shop Google one (KC Spring is maybe a big one I remember??) or just order from Alcan. Alcan UPS's me bolts all the time.
If you don't have a local spring shop Google one (KC Spring is maybe a big one I remember??) or just order from Alcan. Alcan UPS's me bolts all the time.
Eaton Detroit Spring.
I really don't like the extra length there.
I really don't like the extra length there.
It is a 92 Ford. They were 3-3/8 bolts and the axle is 3-1/4 so slightly oversized but didn’t seem excessive. When torqued they snugged up against the axle housing. I added the deep nuts and washers because the bolts came with split lock washers and standard nuts. It doesn’t appear to be digging or falling on the washer face
I’ve been made aware of kc spring after all of this was installed.
The only other thing I noticed is that between the leaves it looks like there is some type of shim or isolater material in there and/or some rust buildup. These were used springs and perhaps being unloaded for some time that isolater expanded and is taking up some minimal space but enough that the leafs don’t want to torque ‘flat’ right under the plate.
It did originally have auxiliary leaf on top of this with another shim. This thing never gets loaded so we were just gonna remove it and the shim. Perhaps that shim helped flatten everything out but the standard trucks just had a plate like this shown in my picture.
I’ve been made aware of kc spring after all of this was installed.
The only other thing I noticed is that between the leaves it looks like there is some type of shim or isolater material in there and/or some rust buildup. These were used springs and perhaps being unloaded for some time that isolater expanded and is taking up some minimal space but enough that the leafs don’t want to torque ‘flat’ right under the plate.
It did originally have auxiliary leaf on top of this with another shim. This thing never gets loaded so we were just gonna remove it and the shim. Perhaps that shim helped flatten everything out but the standard trucks just had a plate like this shown in my picture.
Just chop it with angle grinder. Aftermarket is always too long you hope and trim to length.
If you ever tear the pack apart clean up the leafs with a wire wheel. Any rusted or deteriorated isolators can just be discarded. OEMs seemed a bit neurotic trying to minimize NVH but I'm not sure any of it did anything.
In later years GM used something like an 1/8" thick aluminum shim between each leaf. I'm not sure exactly the reasoning.
But I'm not sure any of this is causing your problem, which isn't really much of a problem.
If the truck ever seems to not sit level, don't be afraid to use a tiny spacer or block on the right. Torque lean is real and the right rear always fatigues more than the left
So we busted the center bolt
And took the spring apart and this is what we found. This is the rust, isolater, etc that seemed to keep it from clamping down flat between leafs in essence keeping building aome arch in the top even if the seat was flat. Some of it is 1/8 thick. We are gonna clean this one up and try again and see if it clamps better
And took the spring apart and this is what we found. This is the rust, isolater, etc that seemed to keep it from clamping down flat between leafs in essence keeping building aome arch in the top even if the seat was flat. Some of it is 1/8 thick. We are gonna clean this one up and try again and see if it clamps better
Just use a Gr8 bolt and sand the head round for a new center pin. Sometimes you don't have to take the hex head down at all -- test fit in spring perch first.
A big (18 or 24") all-sixteenths slipped over the spring pack helps twist it to get the center pin to drop into place when assembling
A big (18 or 24") all-sixteenths slipped over the spring pack helps twist it to get the center pin to drop into place when assembling