mtyson

Guys, I'm looking for help on getting my old leafs off.

The bolts are not very rusted. I got the four axle bolts off no problem.

I was able to get the lower shackle bolt off also (it was being blocked by the frame when removing, but I could unthread it fully).

I can't seem to get the front bolt off. I broke two ratchets trying. I tried putting a wrench on it and jacking the wrench up with a jack. I have PB blasted the hell out of it.

I tried raising and lowering the axle (to change the shape of the springs themselves, trying to relieve pressure on the front bolt). No luck there either.

I know heat is supposed to help. Would a propane torch do the trick? I saw some at walmart for reasonable price. Or acetelene is required?

Any help appreciated.

67 GMC

They are notorious for being hard to get off. if you are throwing out the leaf springs, you can try using a sawzall to cut them out.

if you're going to need heat, I would get a Bernzomatic MAPP/Oxygen outfit. That's nice and hot and will help with the bolts. I don't think propane gets hot enough.

There's a captive welded nut inside the frame under the floor that the bolt threads into. PB blaster is probably not getting to that at all. When you start heating it, the rubber will burn so you have to do that outside or you'll gas yourself out.

I had to do this twice as I took springs off a parts jeep and then had to take them off my own to get the parts jeep springs on. If you don't care, you can also make a hole in the floor to see the captive nut but try from the outside first.

This thread had lots of help on it when I did mine.
https://www.cherokeeforum.com/f2/sto...213181/index3/

fb97xj1

Yes, heat is your friend here. One method is to cut the leafspring off where it meets the bushing, then cut a slit in the bushing shell width-wise and pry the shell open so you are left with the rubber, then cut the rubber off to get to the sleeve. After that, find the slit in the sleeve and pry it open with a sledge and chisel and pry it off the bolt. Once thats out of the way, heat the nut side red to loosen the bond between nut and bolt. Thats my plan whenever i get around to them. There is one particular write up around here somewhere with pics, but i cant seem to find it.

If you are keeping the leafsprings or not, up front there is a nut welded to the inside of the shackle. Dont break that nut loose or you will have to do some cutting to get to it. See pic. You can use a torch, but keep in mind the carpet is just above. Pic posted by ehall.



If you need them, the bolts are M14 x 2.0 x 120mm long, class 10.9 (?), flange head, nipple tip. Mine have 9.8 on them. Its a 97 and the leafsprings have never been replaced.

mtyson

Grr... This is a bunch of tools/skills I don't have: sawzall, MAPP torch, chisel/sledge, grinder... etc.

But I have the nice new springs in the garage :P

I am determined to get these things on there.

LadyKenai

on our first jeep our leafsprings were really sacky and at the time i didnt had the tools so i had them replaced by 2 mexicans in their little shop with the jeep on a lift and the first 3 bolts came out with some pain but the 4th bolt was a nightmare i watched them do it with a huge breakerbar (perhaps that is a tool within your reach) and a can of wd40 and a lot of elbow grease and took them 2 hours total to replace both leaf springs. the last bolt came out stripped and was trashed this one bolt was replaced by a new one. the trick with the jack that you mentioned seemed to me that should of worked with the weight of the jeep to make the first initial crack to come lose. Good Luck!

marc

67 GMC

You can do a lot with a ratchet and piece of pipe but if you use too much force, you'll break that captive nut free from the weld and then it's a big pain. I broke one off (luckily on my parts Jeep) and had to go through the floor to get the bolt off.

PB Blaster (if you can get it in there) and heat are your best bet really.

Rogue4x4

The other thing you can try, before cutting anything, is drill a hole in the pocket where the nut is, and use the straw attachment on your spray can to get some penetrant up in there, without cutting it open (like the pic above). I tried this on mine, but ultimately did have to cut both sides on that front pocket...it was IN there. But you might wanna try before you have to cut, might work for you.

Jeepin'_Aint_EZ

Try reading through the link in my signature for help removing the leafs.

67 GMC

This might work. Worth a try.