BlueRidgeMark

Yes, I know, it's not the right way to fix a worn out rear leaf spring.

But as a stopgap, it's pretty good!

My rear leaves are shot, sagging pretty badly. I have a nice new set of Crown Automotive replacement springs. Really good reviews on them in various places. Got them from Amazon for a good price, with the bushings. Heh, the bushings came from one Amazon dealer and the springs from another, but they are all Crown. Free shipping, too!

But I could NOT get the front bolt out. Even with a breaker bar on it, and my 300 lb 6'2" linebacker-built son using all his leg power on it, that thing would not budge. Not even a little bit.

So, running out of time, I ran into town and got a pair of helper springs from AdvanceAuto, and slapped them on.

Wow! What a difference! It brought the rear back up very nicely. Couldn't be better, really.

Yes, I know that the old springs will continue to sag further over time, and this is not a permanent solution. Still, it's bought me some time, and a decent ride while I figure out how to get that stupid bolt out!

For anyone who's interested, this is the AutoCraft Overleaf Help Spring 2.5" Part No. AC111030/11-103


Since that link might die, I'm posting a picture of the product for reference.



Anybody got any tips for removing that front bolt?

JPXJMOAB

Cut that old bolt out. It's a common issue.

BlueRidgeMark

How? I can see a bolt head, but not the nut side. If I cut the head of the bolt off, how do I get it out?

ehall

Usually its corrosion between the bolt and the inner sleeve of the bushing. If you can see the roll seam on the inner sleeve, drill a pilot hole through the rubber and spray PB Blaster on the seam. That will break up some of the corrosion inside, maybe enough to get the bolt out.

If the bolt turns but won't come out, you can use a sawzall to cut the bolt on the inside of the bushing, then use a dremel to cut a slit in the remaining part and just unscrew it

If the bolt won't turn, you can cut through the leaf eye and the bushing rubber, then hit the roll seam of the inner sleeve with a chisel or screwdriver or something, enough to spread it apart

Jeep Driver

The bolt shank is rusted to the bushing.....not necessarily rusted to the chassis.

I'd cut the spring away. Cut the spring out of the way, then make a cut crosswise 180 degrees of the return of the spring and split it in two.

Then cut away at the bushing.


Guys..........don't tell it it cannot be done.



OP....this is your rust bucket, huh? Well, you'll beat that dead horse some more.....

Jeep Driver

BTW-

With the spring out of the way-

Work the bolt loose with the head intact, the bushing will turn.

Once the bolt is loose........

Then cut the bushing, leaving about 1" of the bolt sticking out of the chassis, that way you can get a pair of vise grips on it and remove the remnant.

BlueRidgeMark

Okay, I gotcha. It's destroy and rebuild time. The spring and bolt are expendable to get it out, then replace with new.

I had to do something similar to get my shocks off. The rubber on the lower end was just about welded to the mount. I cut the shock open down to the rubber and pried it off. Had to make two cutseon one one of them and remove all the metal, then cut the rubber off with a utility knife.

I think my trusty grinder will serve better than a Dremel tool.

Gotta shop around and find the bolts now.

Thanks!

Larry's XJ

Doesn't even take a rust bucket to have trouble. Son's 2000 had one bolt rusted to sleeve. Sleeve spun in bushing and bolt was backing out of frame, but syuck in sleeve.

Lots of PB and several sestions with the torch finally freed it. Wasn't much left of the rubber when done. No clue why I was trying to save the spring, lol.

BlueRidgeMark

Been there, done that. You get all done carefully removing something that is destined for the junk pile and then you and ask yourself "What did I just do?"



My only hesitation was in getting into it and not being able to button it up and have it on the road tomorrow morning. Now that I know what needs to be done, I'll just whack it one Saturday morning. The rear came out with some persuasion from a 1/2" impact, so no problem there.