Rear Springs U bolts

O

Oldford59

Member
Hi,
My U Bolts on rear springs are rusted out.
Ordered new U bolts.
Just want replace them leaving rear springs in place on frame.
Can l just C-clamp springs in place with multiple clamps.
Or do l need a leaf spreader?
Any help will be appreciated.
 
I have a 29 ccpu.

To replace those u-bolts, the bed needed to be removed. But I replaced the rear
crossmember at the same time. So bed removal was a given.

Other body styles may allow replacement of those bolts with the body in place.

What body style do you have?

The bolts go through holes in the crossmember, so just sliding them off won't work.

As long as the spring remains attached at the shackles and the center bolt is intact, you should not need clamps or a spreader.

I might use a couple clamps or a chain wrapped around the spring just in case. If the u-bolts are rusted the spring center bolt may be rusted also.

I looked at Bratton's and they now claim that their bolts are the correct length. When I replaced mine they were extra long so needed to be cut off. Of course then the cotter pin holes were gone. I did not re-drill, I just check them periodically...they've never budged.

Bratton's link...

https://www.brattons.com/REAR-SPRING-U-BOLT/productinfo/7470/

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Excellent.

You might just replace one u-bolt and then the other. This should keep everything in place.


Seems that one project always leads to another. Keep an eye on things and if it looks dicey err on the safe side....
 
Are you talking about the clamp that goes around the spring, at each end, or the clamps that actually clamp the spring to the frame? On a pickup, couldn't the metal pan in the bed be taken off instead of removing the whole bed?
 
If the bolts are that bad, I would consider the center bolt also, think it is about 5/16. In a perfect world, restore a complete spring to swap out if finding broken leaves.
 
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