hangers and shackles

[brwntom]

i will be doing leaf spring hanger and shackle replacement on saturday. any advice would be appreciated. this is the first time I will ever be taking the bed off. is there anything else I should do or be looking for while under there? I bought all of the parts from autozone today and would like to get all parts before i begin to reduce running back and forth time.

Thanks in advance,

Tom

 

[Sasquatch_Ryda]

Just the rear hangers? I wouldn't waste my time pulling the bed. Lots of room to get at everything on the back ones!

 

[forzda]

Getting the rivets out can be a bitch with the bed on. the best way I found was to grind a X in the head of the rivet to the frame rail ,then use a air chisel to knock the heads off. Make sure you clean the spring eyes well so the bushings will fit in . I ended up making a tool to press them into the eyes while the springs were on the truck .
,

 

[Observer]

Damn, yeah no way I would do it without pulling the bed! So little effort for a ton more working room..

I used 4.5inch bolts (9/16" diam) for the leaf hardware and with washers on each end it worked exactly. Tech library was wrong- 4" was too short.

That, and (1/2" diam) hardware to hold the hangers on. You may need to drill them out to 1/2", same with the frame.


Check the fuel filler hose, gas tank, brake lines,

My truck is older so im not positive if you have the same hangers? Probly yes but grade 8 stuff is pricey so dont buy it till you check!

 

[lil'_big_truck]

use lots of liquid wrench. sometimes the bolts just don't want to budge. also, an angle grinder works well to take the heads off the rivets. then use the air chisel to punch the rivets out. also, make sure to be safe jacking up the truck. make sure its not going to fall for any reason. also, it might be worth trying to get the rust off the frame while you have the bed off and repaint it. good luck

 

[brinker88]

Go with the proper 7/16" hardware for the hangers. Why drill the frame/bracket for nothing? I had plenty of room to get at my hanger/shackles when I did them with a stepside bed on so you should be fine. Just be warned, you MIGHT have to change your spring eye bushing if the bolt's siezed in there. They are pressed in and a PITA if you've never done it before.

 

[brwntom]

I think I'm going to stick with the 7/16" that comes with the hangers. I will be taking the bed off to give me more room. I don't like bloody knuckles if it can be avoided. Is there any risk with grinding so close to the gas tank? I told my dad I was doing this project and hes like don't grind that close to the tanke you might blow it up. Is it a legitimate concern? Is there any precautions I should take with that? Even if the bolts are not stuck in the bushing should i replace them anyways since ill already almost have it to that point?

 

[lil'_big_truck]

I didn't have any problem with explosions. haha. just be careful and move things out of the way if you can. ie: the fuel neck. Its probably not going to blow it up. and I'm sure someone will correct me if i'm wrong.

 

[brwntom]

I didn't think it would but my dad likes being overly cautious. Also what are the torque specs for the hanger bolts? The bolt that connects the shackle to the hanger? the bolt for the shackle leaf spring?

 

[racsan]

i did mine some time ago, i did the rear hangers first, used a torch to remove the rivits/bolts, when i did the rears i left the bed on. a year after doing th rear hangers i did the front ones, tried removing the bed bolts but leaving the rear ones loose & tilting the bed back (like a dump bed) ended up disturbing the fuel lines just enogh to cause a fuel leak, pulled the bed clear off the next day to put a fuel pump in it. used a air hammer with a chiesel bit to remove the front hanger rivits, that worked better than the torch. painted the hanges with areosol truck bedliner spray before installing, i did put in new spring bushings, my hanger kit came with new bolts, self-locking nuts, just tightend them down good, didnt put a tourque wrench to them. painted the frame before putting the bed back on. i recomend pulling the bed off, makes access so much easier.

 

[bobbywalter]

I didn't think it would but my dad likes being overly cautious. Also what are the torque specs for the hanger bolts? The bolt that connects the shackle to the hanger? the bolt for the shackle leaf spring?

dude....your dad is right.


i may not pop the bed off....but i will remove or cover the gas tank with a wet welding blanket if i have to get brutal...

 

[brwntom]

I do not have a welding blanket. Is there any thing else I could use to cover it? i do not feel like removing gas tank.

 

[bobbywalter]

wet rags/towel/blanket.....wet wet.

even soaked cardboard for deflection...

 

[brwntom]

After just 3 days of normal driving the rear of the leaf is ****ing my bed up. I will be parking it tomorrow morning and driving my gpas f150 until saturday, which will be the first day ill have a chance to fix it.