That's a great idea, actually!

 

from the answers i have been getting across a couple forums it seems like i should really take up welding...

edit: i was wondering if i could move onto the other side while i contemplated/ordered tools for dealing with this. someone in another thread mentioned you should only do one side at a time for some reason... would it be ok to move on to the other leaf if i have the axle on stands?

 

When my buddy and I put on my new rear bumper, i snapped half of the bolts to the body. Thankfully my buddy's dad was a very skilled welder who worked for the state and welded from the inside nuts to the left over bolt and impacted them out. I had just 4 spare bolts so it ended up working perfectly. You should be fine now that you don't have the leaf or axle attached to the body anymore.

 

just to be clear- you are saying it is ok to have both leafs off at the same time?

 

How else do people pull axles? they all seem to be fine, nothing will change. I believe you are thinking about the front, it's a pain to align all the arms up if you take them all off at once.