spring pack pin

after re-evaluating my lift tonight i found my center pin was sheared and otherwise altered in many places. any reco's on new pins? (rear spring pack of course)

http://www.rubiconexpress.com/dynamic/mainpage.asp?folderid=229

at the bottom of that page there are a couple of spring pins.

5 bucks for the 5/16 and 8 bucks for the 3/8

Go to hardware store & get GRADE 8 nuts & bolts the same size. About .80 cents/ set & no shipping.

the_cheif said:

after re-evaluating my lift tonight i found my center pin was sheared and otherwise altered in many places. any reco's on new pins? (rear spring pack of course)

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Any auto parts store worth thier salt will have them. They are actually about $5.00 pair.

I put 3/8 pins in the DAK Pak that I built. It was a PITA to drill the XJ stock leafs out to accecpt the 3/8 pin. I also needed to drill the spring perch hole out to 5/8 to accecpt the larger center pin head.

lil' XJ said:

Go to hardware store & get GRADE 8 nuts & bolts the same size. About .80 cents/ set & no shipping.

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Just go this route, dont mess around with regular center pins. oh RE pins are junk as well.......

lowes, grade 8 . four dollars seventy including tax. i hsave no doubt in the strength. thanks

so a regular grade 8 5/16s bolt will work? do you have to grind the head to make it fit?

As I recall, isn't the head on spring pins rather round, and only slightly larger than the shank?

In that case, I'd try to use a socket head capscrew (uses an Allen head) in either 5/16" or 3/8". Try to get a fine thread, it will have a thicker shank under the threads and will be rather stronger (and it will be easier to pass it through the hole - and the nut and bolt will have more thread engagement.)

Since socket head cap screws are typically heat-treated to SAE Grade 8 specifications (borne out by testing in Materials and Processes a couple quarters ago,) you should be just fine on strength.

The spring pins serve to reinforce the job of the leaf clips - and to back them up if they all fall off - and to help locate the springs to the spring perches on assembly until the U-bolts and clamp plates go on (at which time, they take over on keeping the springs from slipping and jostling loose.) Typical spring pins are little more than socket head capscrews - marketed under a different name for twice as much. Once the leaf spring suspension is fully assembled, if the spring pin is being stressed, you have larger problems to deal with...

5-90

Ramsey said:

so a regular grade 8 5/16s bolt will work? do you have to grind the head to make it fit?

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Yup, grinder.

We sell them at Napa , justa couple of bucks a piece

Ramsey said:

so a regular grade 8 5/16s bolt will work? do you have to grind the head to make it fit?

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I didnt on mine they fit into the perches just right....

That last set of center pins I used came from a custom spring shop. They are in fact different than a SHCS (socket head cap screw) that 5-90 suggests. They have the same round head, but no socket in the end.

That said, a SHCS will work perfectly.

Dirk Pitt said:

a SHCS will work perfectly.

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Been there, done that. Easiest way to do it IMHO.

jrsxj98 said:

I didnt on mine they fit into the perches just right....

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yeah same here. pretty good pressure fit. i realize it's a six point but they all contact and sit well. besides, if it screws up don't we expect our jeeps to need work every weekend anyway?

btw, lowes also sells the grade 8 equiv shcs everyone's talkin' about.