u-bolts help

hey all,

trying to level out the ass of my jeep and i bought 1" lift blocks to do accomplish this. the new u-bolts that came with the kit are 3-1/8" wide and i have a dana 44 axle which is about 2-7/8" wide, meaning they are about 1/8" to wide on either side.

dude at the LAPS (who wasnt makin money off the deal) told me that is just how they are when you get longer ones they get wider and it wont hurt anything.

so far i havent been able to find any u-bolts that were the right width and the right length. all of the ones that are skinny enough are too short.

-Tim

"Dude at the LAPS" (whatever that is) is full of crap. Go to your local auto parts store (Checker, Kragen, Pep Boys, etc) and look for 'Help!' brand, or even the lowering kit section - get u-bolts that fit correctly and are long enough, and cut the excess of if needed.

Yucca-Man said:

"Dude at the LAPS" (whatever that is) is full of crap. Go to your local auto parts store (Checker, Kragen, Pep Boys, etc) and look for 'Help!' brand, or even the lowering kit section - get u-bolts that fit correctly and are long enough, and cut the excess of if needed.

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LAPS= Local Auto Parts Store

i checked the help section and I havent been able to find the correct width/length combo. it seems there are about 3 different "standard" sizes to choose from. with a 6 leaf pack and the block, i need real long u-bolts.

-Tim

The guys at NAPA told me that if I were to give them the dimensions of my existing u-bolts, that they would be able to order what I needed. I would call them and see what they can do for you.

i think they sent me the ones for the chrysler axle since its tubes are 3". i know the guy at the laps wasnt lying, just misinformed. i guess ill be sending those u bolts back to rustys.

-Tim

alright,

i checked every auto parts store in my town and there are two different widths 2-7/8" and 3-1/8" available and the lengths are 6" and 8". the 6" are the right width but not long enough, the 8" are too wide.

when i have it all sitting ready to bolt together there is 1/8" between the u bolt and the axle on either side.

also i heard you are not supposed to re-use u-bolts so what should i do now that the old ones are already off?

-Tim

Stickem in a vise and squeezem down, they will be fine. If you dont want to do that you can visit a spring or truck shop and they will bend a set for you. .

Ray H said:

Stickem in a vise and squeezem down, they will be fine. If you dont want to do that you can visit a spring or truck shop and they will bend a set for you. .

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i had to squeeze them to even get them thru the spring plates, and after that and torque, they were nice and tight to the axle tubes.

-Tim

Oizarod115 said:

i had to squeeze them to even get them thru the spring plates, and after that and torque, they were nice and tight to the axle tubes.

-Tim

Click to expand...

Yep, when you torque them it pulls them right in.