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Rear Suspension Troubles

T

Tim00XJ

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Phoenix, AZ
I'm in the process of installing 4-degree shims. Everything was going well until I started to put it back together. I noticed that the original centering pins on the leaf springs just barely made it through the bottom-side of the shim and didn't go into the "centering hole" on the spring perch.

So, I went and got some longer ones. Now, the problem is that I can't tighten it completely because it won't go into the hole on the spring perch. And, as you know, the pin keeps the separate leafs on the leaf spring together. Would cutting the centering pin shorter or putting a washer between the thicker part and the bottom of the shim work, or is there another solution to this?
 
No, it'll fit, it's just that I can't tighten the nut the whole way on the top. If I do tighten it the whole way, it doesn't hold the leaf pack tightly together and the bolt tends to move around.

Does that make any sense?
 
Last edited:
Im really confused by what your saying.

Are you using a C clamp to keep the pack together while you tighten the bolt? Are you sure you have enough thread left on the pin?
 
Alright, there's more than enough thread left on the bolt. It's just that if I tighten it completely, the head of the pin barely sticks through the other side of the shim and doesn't go into the centering hole on the spring perch.

Therefore, if I don't tighten it all the way, it won't hold the spring pack together tight enough, which will let the individual leafs shift around.

Hope that makes more sense to you. It's kind of difficult to explain.
 
Then you do not have the correct centering pin. You cannot use a washer either because then the whole leaf pack will be spacer from the perch via a washer. You need the correct centering pin. It should be a 3/8" with a 17/32" head
 
No. Anything you use to keep the head of the pin from going into the shim will also space the shim from the perch. After visualizing your situation further, I think the hole in your shim is too big, hence the wrong shims.
 
To solve a similar problem I had on my perches. I went to Tractor Supply with one of the old pins and found a Hex head bolt that had the same diameter as the pin and used that.
That was the best piece of advice I had gotten from a friend of mine, Mike, since I had broken my other pins and the new bolts have lasted better than the old ones.
 
We should hve taken photos when we did that, words just dont make the explanation seem right.
 
But still, I don't see how it would seperate the leafs from the spring perch. Wouldn't the head of the pin just go into the hole on the perch. Thus, making the shim/leaf spring rest on the spring perch?
 
I'm not talking about the whole washer thing anymore, though. I'm saying getting a centering-pin where the head is bigger than the hole on the shim. Therfore, the head won't go through the hole on the shim, but will still fit into the hole on the spring perch. This would then allow for the nut to be tightened.

Am I right?
 
If the head wont pull through the shims and will go into the hole on the perch, then yes, you are right. Good luck finding 3/8" centering pins with larger heads than what you already have. What you need are new shims with 3/8" holes so your current centering pin head will not pull through.
 
Ok. Thanks for the help, I appreciate it.

One more question. I looked on Quadratec and 4WD.com, but neither of them really give me any good choices. Do you know of a website I could order the correct shims from?
 
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