my rear leaf shims came in and i have a few questions.
do i have to remove the centerpin to install..?
and if i have to remove the centerpin do i have to take the leaf off of the car or can i just clamp it down and hope to god nothing flys out at me?
searched the forum and i cant really find anything that breaks down installing them.

 

simple... guessing that you're referring to angle shims.. to start remove your u-bolts from the axle that way you can actually seperate the leaf springs from the axle's leaf spring perch's.... now i guess it would depend on the design of the shim to be installed, i've seen some shims where you bolt them to the leaf springs with the center-pin, i've seen some that you just slide in between the leaf springs and perch and the center pin passes through it to the center pin hole of the leaf spring perch, and i've seen some that have a recessed hold for the leaf spring center pin then there's a nub that goes into the perch center pin whole.....

so i guess its just a matter of how much shim your actually putting in, but for some direction, just plan to bolt them to the leaf springs with new center pins....
(take 2 c-clamps and tighten them down on the leaf springs about 5-6" from the center pin on either side.... really tighten them down too.... then take a grinder/sawzall and cut the old center pins-head off to release the center pin.... then get new hardware and put the center pin through the shim, then through the leaf spring(s) and tighten it all down)

 

i didnt realize there were more then 1 common type of shim. whoops. anywhays yes they are leaf shims. i wanted to know if i can change out the center pins with the leafs still atached to the car. its a re 4.5inch leaf pack and it was a PITA to get in. after finishing my lift i realized that i had some vibes so i decided to shim it with a t-case drop untill i had enough money for an sye. i googled it and after looking though about 10 pages of uselessness i finaly found something that told me i had to drill out the shim to a bigger size. i dont remember the size but i can find it again. i just wanted to know if i can remove the centerpin with the leafs clamped and still bolted on both sides and not have anything fly out at me.
probably should have worded last post diffrently..
thanks for the info

 

yes you can leave the leafs fully bolted in when you replace the center pins, again just make sure your c-clamps are nice and tight, they are holding all the leaf springs and not just the big ones (hence the 5-6" away from the center pins)

 

awsome. thanks alot man!