Help, please, with '73 leaf springs!!!

Help, please!!!! I have one corner torn apart on my '73 and I'm not sure what to do. I have a new suspension to go on. I have everything off the left rear and almost back on.

All the leaves are bolted together on the new springs, and there is a stud on the axle that was part of the old springs. I unbolted the springs and tried to put them the way the old springs were. I'm not sure what to do. The old nut won't go back on the stud and I don't know what size it is, and the stud (pointing down) is pointing ever so slightly to the front of the jeep, like the axle is rotated just a tiny bit. This results in a slight gap at the front of where the spring butts against the axle.

At the risk of sounding dumb, does that stud just need to be cut off? Or, is there another solution. Please help!! The wife needs to park her car back in the garage tomorrow night. All my crap is in her parking space at the moment.

I've given up for the day and have just finished my first of the night.

 

I'm not sure what the stud on the axle is you refer to? Do you mean the leaf spring center bolt that holds the spring pack together?

 

That's the one.

 

That's a pretty important item. That little stud coming out from the top of the leaf spring pack not only hold the springs pack together but also must be inserted into the hole in the spring pearch which is welded to the axle tube. It keeps everyting centered and prevents the axle from sliding on the leaf springs. The center bolt (stud) that came with the new springs may be the wrong size by being to long or maybe to big to fix inside the hole on the spring pearch. You can cut the stud shorter if it's to long or grind it down to fix into the hole. If there is a space between the pearch and the spring when everything is bolted together that's bad. You can get new center bolts at a suspension shop or maybe a parts store. Can you use the old one from the old springs?

 

You have it exactly backwards from what I mean. Maybe I need to be a little more descriptive. The centering bolt/stud is part of the spring perch, which required me to take the nut off of the springs and remove the leaves (disassembling the springs themselves) to get them off the jeep. I reckon I could dremel off the stud, use a center punch and then drill a centering hole. What do you think?

 

I believe that you just think the stud was part of the spring perch. In reality, you could have left the nut on, and the springs would have come off together as a pack. You may have had to beat it off with a hammer, if the bolt was stuck on the perch.
So, yes what you need to do now is get that thing out of the hole. Then you will be all set.

 

That's the greatest news I've ever received. I can believe it. It looks like a stud probably because of dirt crammed in there and smoothed off. Now, this should be easy to rectify. Now, I can put the driver's side together and move on to the other side. Incidentally, two of four Omix shackles didn't have sleeves in the packages. 4WD is sending me two more shackles free, and I can keep the old ones. I will have two spare greasable shackles without sleeves, if anybody needs them.

 

Sounds like you've got it now. Good luck.

 

Well, after scrubbing and clawing with a wire brush, we finally saw evidence of a bolt head. Several doses of Freeze-off and a hammer didn't work. So, we dremeled the shaft off the bolt and drilled the head with gradual increases in bit size. We then had to chisel the remaining part of the bolt head out of the hole in the perch. But, we did get it, and it went back together fast.

Unfortunately, only one corner was done this weekend. But, there is always next weekend. By the way, two of the four greasable shackles I have came without the brass bushing sleeves. 4WD was kind enough to send me two more free. So, I have two greasable shackles without sleeves if anybody is interested. I'm not sure what use they are for, except for spare parts.

 

Just a thought. If you plan on off-roading the Jeep alot, then now is the time to actually upgrade those spring bolts. They have a very strong tendacy to break. We usually upgrade them with a slightly larger and stronger socket head cap screw bolt. If it is going to be a street vehicle mainly, then don't worry about it.

 

Thanks for the advice on the bolts. The original bolts were soft, and the drill bits went through them like butter. What bolts do you recommend for replacements, and where do I get them? I don't really feel like dropping the corner I've already done. But, if I need to, I need to.

 

I used 3/8 diameter. They seem to hold up pretty well. Use socket head cap screws because the round heads are good for fitting into the spring perch (even though you may have to drill it out bigger). Also socket head cap screws usually have a rating similar to a grade 8 bolt, which is much stronger than stock. The hardest part in the upgrade is drilling out the hole in the springs bigger. The metal is very hard sometimes. Start with a cobalt dril bit at a minimum, you may need a carbide bit. I have also used those carbide rotary grinder bits in an air grinder, and just rounded the holes out bigger if they were really tough.
Someone on this website I believe mentioned that springs were easier to drill out when they were new, so that might be another reason to do it now.
Try to find a bolt that has a shoulder on it that reaches most of the way through the springs. If it falls a little short, that is still OK. After you are done you can cut off the excess length if you need to. You should be able to get the bolts at your auto parts store, or a hardware store.

Like I mentioned before, If you aren't going to wheel it that much, then don't worry about it. But if you do plan on wheeling 5 or 6 times a year or more, then I recommend the upgrade.

One more thing. If your springs have a military wrap on them, then the particular spring with the wrap on it might have a slot instead of just a hole. If it has a slot, the entire slot should be made bigger.

Good Luck.

 

Socket head bolts are grade 10, not grade 8.

 

Well then......Even Better!

 

Always carry extra center pins for trail repairs.