Spring hanger rusted through..

[97RangerXLT]

Sucks to be me...

got all four and the shackles ordered from Rock Auto. 111.85 shipped to my door.

Anyone have any timesaving advice? Bed is already off, looks like I get to grind some rivets down.

AJ

 

[det107]

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, usually the bolts & bushings need replacing too-

 

[Lucifer sam]

If you dont have a right angle electric grinder i suggest getting one, and when you put it back together lather up the leaf spring bolts with some anti seize, to make it easier for the next time (or for the next owner)

 

[lil_Blue_Ford]

My preferred tool is known as Smokey the Blue-Tipped Wrench.....

I usually make an attempt to remove the bolts from the bushings on the ends of the springs, but if they don't come easy, then I take a 4.5" angle grinder with a cutting disk and cut the bolts (or torch the ends off, but since they are under tension that usually results in launching flaming chunks of slag). Torch the rivet heads off, then whack them with a ball-peen hammer to see if they'll punch out easy. If not, I hit them with an air hammer or a punch and try to drive them out. If that doesn't work, they get burned out (I get impatient, done far too many of 'em). If the bolt is stuck in the bushing sleeves, I use the torch to get the bushings burning good (you can use a little propane "plumber's" torch for burning bushings too, but the big torch is a lil more efficient at getting them burning good). Let them burn awhile, it'll push chunks of rubber out, and after awhile it'll start pushing the sleeve in the middle a lil. Once that sleeve is loosened, poke it with a screwdriver and it should launch out. Then you can use the screwdriver to push out the rest of the bushing. You may have to chisel out the outer bushing sleeve.

Then I grease up the new bushings, slide them in, and never-seize the heck out of things.

 

[Andy D]

No blue wrench , so I drilled the rivet heads with a 1/2 drill. Slow, but it worked OK.

 

[Insanejughead]

Earplugs, and happy grinding...


I did that to my ranger last week.

 

[lil_Blue_Ford]

No blue wrench , so I drilled the rivet heads with a 1/2 drill. Slow, but it worked OK.

I have replaced those hangers and other riveted brackets without the help of a blue wrench... but once I discovered it's utility, it's my go-to tool.

I started out using a large cold chisel and a 3lb sledge. It works, but I wouldn't recommend it as anything other than a last ditch effort. (unless you want arms like Hercules that is).

Grinding can be a bit slow and the grinder doesn't always fit in where you need it.

Drilling can be done, but if you're off-center and drill too deep, you start drilling into the frame... which results in a hole that is no longer round in the frame for your replacement bolt.

I have whacked one with a cold chisel a couple times (to establish a good starting point) then sawzalled it off. It's better than beating on it half of forever, but it does require a little talent with the saw.

Air chisels work, but you better have a good air hammer and a proper compressor. I tried it with a HF 10 gallon compressor (with an extra 10 gallon tank daisy-chained to it so I had 20 gallons of air to work with) and a cheap air hammer, but all it did was make a hell of a lot of noise. When I was off at college, I got to see how it works with a good air hammer and shop air, and it actually does work then.