Axle centering bolts

Does anyone know what size centering bolts are commonly used on a flanged one piece Dana 44 rear end? The spring perch holes are 5/8", but the corresponding bolt portion that goes through the leaf springs (at least the ones on my jeep) is to think for the holes in the springs.

Should the springs be drilled out to match? The centering bolts that will pass through the springs have a head that is two small to work properly in the holes on the perch that center the axle.

 

I would make the holes bigger in the springs. Centering bolts break too easily.

 

Very easy to get new bolts/pins, just replaced one last week.
Far easier to replace a bolt once in a blue moon than drill out 2 or 4 spring packs.

 

It's not too hard really. If you already have it apart. I know some people who are successful just using a drill. But I have used a carbide bit in an air drill that worked pretty easy. The rear axle always seems to be the ones that don't last, I run 3/8 inch pins in those, and they do not seem to break. You can get them at your auto parts store. Making the head fit in the spring mount is very important. You do not want to have slop in that hole. If you have to go to a 3/8 " pin to make the head fit, you will be better off in both areas.

 

I was able to get the bolts easy enough. I needed 5/8" to fit in the hole on the spring perch. The problem with the 5/8" heads is the shank won't fit through the springs. All of the shanks I could find that would fit through the springs had a head that was just to small for the axle.

Are you saying you can get the 5/8" head with a shank small enough to fit through the springs? If so I'll keep looking.

 

I used 3/8 grade 8 bolt with a rounded off 1/2 nut as a spacer on my springs.

 

all the pins do is center the axle. the ubolts hold them in place (why I used 1/2" ones instead of 7/16").

 

The hole in the spring pad on my 44 was wallowed out from movement caused by a broken pin. Ended up welding it shut and redrilling so it fits the bolt head perfect. Worked good.

 

Read this article: http://www.rockcrawler.com/techreports/fasteners/index.asp

 

one of my holes has worked its way oblong. I don't have the welding skills to cover that one. Any other ideas?

 

Yeah. I don't weld either (yet). So . . .

1. Hire a welder. It's such a small job you would probably only have to pay for 1/4 hour of labor ($25 here at our shop). The hardest part would be delivering your rig to the welding shop because you can't drive it with the springs removed. Use a trailer? Have the welder come to your place? Remove the axle and take it to the welding shop?

2. Another idea might be to drill it out to a larger diameter and use a spring bolt with a larger head. I would not prefer this method but it "might" work.

HTH

 

Well I drilled firefighter mikes springs out to except larger bolts. I ended up using a carbide endmill as the spring was so dam tough it burned the tip off of 3 top quality drills to the point I had to grind off about 3/8" to be able to resharpen them right.