Leaf spring bushing loose, how to replace
 

I have a play in my leaf spring bushings where it meets the shackle, the leaf springs are from a 3" RC kit and I'm pretty sure they're not poly bushings but OEM style.

my mechanic told me it would take him a while to replace, and in his opinion not worth it for me just for the clunk I hear when turning. So it got me thinking, if it's a matter of time, and on top of that there is no more rust in that area, I can maybe try doing it (i attempted installing the kit previously but it was so rusted I had to give up, so this time everything is relatively clean and would come apart a lot easier)

Would I be able to do this myself? I don't have a press or anything like that. can i leave the other end attached to the frame or I should remove the whole spring for ease of replacement? What kind of tools would I need and I guess for the replacement I should go with polyurethan bushings? which ones?

cheers

As you can imagine, there are bunches of ways to remove bushings from leaf springs... as you suggest a press is one way. A 6 ton HF press is your friend. I've heard of drilling holes in the bushing enough so it could be beat out with BFH, or burning them out with a torch. How ever you can remove them is the right way!!

And stick your new ones in the freezer for a couple three hours before sticking them in your leaf eyes, every couple thousandths helps.

I am doing the same thing this weekend. I saw a video on YouTube of a guy drilling them out. Seemed to work pretty well. There is no way I could stomach the smell if I burned them out.

I have a set of Rusty's leaf springs & bought the factory style poly bushings to install. I found out that the ones I have are the smaller, exclusively for Rusty's, bushings.

I have a complete set, even includes the shackle bushings. $40 shipped to your door.
Attachment 310939

I have done it and will NEVER do it again. Complete waste of time and money.

4 bushings.....>>NAPA Chassis was $105.00 and took me more than 8 hours.

And still I had worn out springs.


By the time the bushings are toast.......so is the spring.

I did them, it wasn't terrible.

Drilled holes through the rubber bushings till they basically fell out. Pounded the outer bushing sleeves out with a sledge and chisel (this part sucked actually). Froze the new bushings over night then put some grease on them and pressed them in with a regular bench vise.

I did make one big mistake though. I installed the spring and put the jeep down on the ground and left it for a few days without torquing the bolts. This causes one of my bushings to crack before I even moved the jeep. So make sure to torque the bolts right after you put the jeep on the ground.

Thanks for all the suggestions, I'd forgotten about the freezer trick.

What's the torque specs on the springs?

So that means those you posted wouldn't work with RC ones? I need to find myself similar ones that will fit.

I think so but I also thought that they would work with my springs. They will fit in stock springs.