94 Ranger Rear Spring Hanger - Upper Stud Removal Tricks?

[pxbacher]

Had a go at replacing the driver side spring hanger tonight. It's just me so I'm really trying to avoid taking off the bed (and my truck box first). The hanger itself was in decent shape, but with the main shackle pivot nut back behind the hanger and only accessible from above, I opted to just cut off the hanger and replace the whole thing.

Got the two nuts/bolts out without breaking a sweat. Cut the head off the lower stud with a sawzall. Cut about half way through the head on the upper stud before bending a couple of $12 sawzall blades. I don't have access to a torch, though I did try mapp gassing it then hitting it with a chisel - no luck as the mapp just doesn't get it hot enough. I can't get a grinder in there with the leaf spring in the way (getting it out of the way is the next thing I'm gonna try...). Even tried a dremmel. Yeah, you know how that went.

Anybody got any tricks for getting this b*tch out?

-Pete

 

[97RangerXLT]

Having done all four of my hangers and both shackels this summer, you are time and money ahead to remove the bed. just wait until you start putting the new ones on, especially the drivers side by the gas tank. (I also had to undo the gas tank straps and rock shield to slide the gas tank aside)

The sawzall helped cut off all of the rivets and I only went through two blades, the second one is still in good shape. The biggest issue I had was removing the rubber bushings and remains of the shackle bolt from the leaf springs. again, with the bed on, it would have been impossible.

For removing the bed, it is a 15 minute and two man job. literally. all you need is a t-55 socket and a 7mm socket for the fuel filler neck. the taillight harness unclips at the back bumper almost dead center between the drivers tail light and license plate.

It took me longer to remove the bed liner to access the 6 t-55 bolts than it did to actually remove the bed. one guy on each fender well and lift it up about 18 inches and carry it back over the wheels and bumper.

So I don't know what the time and aggravation of removing the topper on your truck would be, but I would seriously consider it.

Plus with the bed off, it is a good time to POR-15 or rust seal the frame.

AJ

 

[pxbacher]

Thanks AJ. I'm only doing the rear - front is rusty but solid. I'm gonna give it another go tomorrow and see how pissed off I get. Can't you just burn out the rubber shackle bushings? Might have to pay somebody off the street to help me lift the bed...

 

[det107]

Can't you just burn out the rubber shackle bushings?

I did the rears w/o taking off the bed. lil_blue_ford has a tip about burning out the bushing. Basically heat it up (safety first; wear googles) & remove the burning/ melted rubber with a (old) screwdriver. Repeat until rubber can slide out or burns out-

 

[pxbacher]

Done + Tips

I finished this job today. For a stupid little job on a reasonably accessible part, it was a major PITFA and took me close to the entire afternoon!

Good news is, as others have posted, it can be done without removing the bed. I learned a few things along the way, so I'll post here hoping I'll help someone else out down the road...

1. If your hanger is still sound, and only the shackle is shot, take a crack at the top shackle bolt. I assumed I would just spin the nut back behind the hanger, but it turns out there's a lock in the back (see pic 1) so if you can get that bolt out it might save you some time.

2. I used a big old C-clamp on the leaf spring to hold it together so it would hang down lower. This enabled me to bang the bolt out of what was left of the shackle connection much easier.

3. I used my 4' cheater to lever the leaf spring lower (one end under the spare tire, over the leaf, and under the fender). It locked in place under the fender and held the leaf spring down pretty nice.

4. I used a Sawzall to cut the head off the lower stud. It worked real well with a nice short blade. It didn't work at all with a longer blade on the top stud. If I had to do it again, I'd probably use a grinder (see next tip)

5. You can easily get to both studs from the wheel well, passing the grinder in along the top of the leaf spring, once you've levered the leaf spring down low enough using #3 above. Plenty of room to grind off both stud heads.

6. Getting the bolt out of the leaf spring was a b*tch. The OE bolt's not threaded all the way, so you can't easily torque it out with a wrench. I ended up alternately whomping and torquing (back in) and spraying with PB Blaster (repeat) until I had it out far enough that I could get a crescent wrench in under the head to pry while I torqued. Once the threads got into whatever crud was holding this thing in, I was able to just torque it out (with a lot of elbow grease and my medium cheater)

7. I found the easiest way to put the new one on was by first bolting the shackle into the hanger, then bolting the spring to the shackle, and finally maneuvering the hanger into place so I could slide the bolts in. I left the two OE rear bolts in place as they were still in good shape, and there was a large bolt under them that prevented me from easily removing them (they're attached to a plate, so you don't need a wrench on both sides when tightening).

8. I disconnected the lower shock end, but I have after market shocks which it turned out weren't actually preventing the rear axle from dropping as far as I needed it to. If you still have the OE shocks, you might need to disconnect the lower end. I didn't need to.

That's all I can think of. Lemme know if you have any questions I might could help answer.

-Pete

 

[PanamaExpat]

I feel your pain. I just dropped the diff on mine a few weeks back. Getting the bolts out of the spring eyes and the shackles plus removing the torsion bar turned into an all day cursing fest. Isn't it amazing how much corrosion builds up in them in 18 short years.

 

[97RangerXLT]

Glad you got them out! Those did not look too bad compared to mine. the drivers side hanger rusted completely through and the leaf spring was resting against the bottom of the bed. The rear hangers were fairly easy to get out, but the bolts were rusted solid with the steel sleeve that went through the bushings on allfour spring eyes. The amount of rust I dealt with was pretty huge, I had a very large rust pile on the driveway after I got done.

Of the 6 bolts for the shackles and hangers that held the springs in place, I was able to remove 2 with a 24" breaker bar and using pb blaster. the two shackle bolts that attached to the rear hangers I had to cut them off with the sawzall, one front eye bolt I snapped off the head using hte beaker bar and the other one I had to cut. a major pain... after cutting all the rivets with the sawzall I was able to grind them down with an angle grinder and then punch the rivets out with a 3lb mini sledge and a large punch.

getting the new bushings in was a chore too, I ended up using a large c clamp and part of the old shackel and an old bolt to press them in, and this was after they were left in the freezer for 2 days and I heated up the springs with a torch. That c clamp is pretty deformed now.

To top that off, I had to wait a few days for all of the parts to get to me from Rock auto, and the truck sat in my drive with the bed off. Some guy in a brand new shiny red Porsche drives up to the house and asks me how long the truck is going to sit like that, going off on how the neighborhood has gone to crap etc etc. and I am like dude, the truck has been lilke this for 2 days, I am waiting on parts. he then asks if he "needs to call the sherriff" to have the truck towed. I am like dude, if you can afford a Porsche like that, you really need to move to a nicer neighborhood if this one is soo crappy...And for what its worth, it is a very nice neighborhood, but I think that a week down with the truck is not unreasonable.

end rant.

AJ

 

[PanamaExpat]

Damn 97 that clown would have been leaving my driveway minus a few teeth. You just gotta love the self righteous richard headleys in this world. I am happy my neighbors don't have such hangups and yes I live in a nice neighborhood as well.

PX... One thing I have discovered if you are going to do much work on old Fords you really need to invest in a cutting torch. Nice photos by the way.