rear leaf springs 4 duffers ( pics )

Ok so im a stupid duffer, i cant wire a plug. But im changing my rear leaf springs. Im posting this to show other duffers how im getting on. Hopefully someone will come in and say how i could do it better.

So first up my jeep, the rear leaf springs are sagging. Its also sitting a little lower than stock at the rear.








Right if your also a duffer you should at least know that you need to lubricate your bolts up before you try and unbolt them. It sounds pretty straight forward changing these springs, but many people have had trouble undoing the bolts. Spray them up with a penetrant that also fights rust, and spray them good. You apparently should spray them for a week before you start work. I sprayed mine for a month because im a waster who cant cut or weld and cant afford for someone else to do it for me. The last thing you want is one of these bolts snapping causing you grief.




These are the ubolts, spray them up good. Obviously you dont have to take the wheels off a week before you start. you can hug the tyre with the xj on the ground to do this, its just easier to show with the wheel off.




This is the front spring eye bolt, spray though the frame as it has a captive nut thats welded to the inside of the frame. This bolt apparently gives the most problems. Each night give this a good spary all over, but make sure you also go through the frame like above. (you can also see where i put the axle stand but not sure if this is right???)


the rear spring eye bolt, in this shot you can see where i jacked up the xj initially prior to putting the axle stands in, again not sure if its right). Also i was using wheel chocks in the front to stop it rolling forward aswell as being in four wheel drive.



Theres more to follow in two secs.......

(I did say it was for duffers))

The first bolt i took on was that front spring eye bolt, Its a 21mm bolt and i used a 1/2 inch drive torque wrench with an impact socket. an impact socket your less likley to round the head off on that bolt. My intention was to go round and just crack each bolt loose. That way if i broke one i would know earlier prior to getting it all apart and then having one go.




This bolt took me about 5 seconds with 100 percent effort to crack it. It did make a cracking noise aswell and i thought i broke it, but i didnt it was just breaking loose. I also should have perhaps removed those side steps as i got a problem later on as the bolt backed up and trapped me against it.


Next the rear spring eye bolt. This is 21 mm but i got it from this end so i used a deep impact socket.




And then the ubolts, These were 21mm but again i used impact sockets. You can only see 3 of them in this pic but there are 4 of them one in each corner.




It was at this point that i used my own c clamps to clamp my leaf pack together as my clamps on the jeep are shot.

Then i went for the lower shock bolt. I had to lift up a line (looks like a brake line) just a bit to get at that bolt. I think this was 21mm but again i took no risk and used impact socket.





More to follow......

ok first mistake i said that the ubolts were 21 mm. they are 19 mm.

Anyway.

Here you can see ive loosening these bolts some more.






The front spring eye bolt is almost out



I had problems with the lower shock bolt. it just wouldnt slip off but needed some encouragement. I played with the stock jack that was taking the weight off the springs, and then pryed it with a crow bar like this.



Then i just tucked it out the way like this.




Rear spring eye bolt needed some encouragement because as you can see ive got auto gas tanks fitted in the rear and my bolt was backing into that plate.






more to come....

Next bolts off where those u bolts. When you take the nuts off those two nearest bolts, the ubolt just falls to the ground. The rear u bolt goes through the axle. so just lift that plate up (believe its called the spring perch)





It lifts off like this




That furthest ubolt then just get pushed back out of the way??


front eye bolt then came out




followed by the rear eye bolt.

At this point i was expecting the leaf pack to drop. It hasnt. i played with the stock jack again. and i can see that the shackles are NOT holding the leaf pack in place as its dropped below this point.
This tiny nut is still holding this together i believe. It is in the centre of the picture. it looks very fragile.





The nut is in the centre of the leaf. This is how far i got today. It took me about an hour and a half, thats on my own with no power tools. Not sure what i got wrong, but this is what ive done so far. I got beaten by snow. ill give it another go tomorrow with more pics but any feedback on how i can go forward or what i could have done better would be very welcome.

Your photos don't work...

And what the hell is a duffer.

oops

DOOOH,
a duffer is a retard,

Cant anyone see the pics?? i spend just over an hour doing this today, then spend all night trying to download them!!! so everyone can have a laugh at my attempt. I can see them either logged in or out??

nope...can't see them...

Cant see them either

So how annoying is that. I can see them fine. Ive posted pics on here before with no problem. Now i can see them but nobody else can. RARRRR

So ok, i cant go through it for a fourth time just yet. basically i have all the bolts off. but my leaf pack doesnt want to come out. Theres the center bolt going through the leaf pack still intact. The bolt thats beneath the plate that holds the u bolts in place. Both spring eyes are pretty much clear of the shackles. Do i go ahead and just whip that final nut off? Im presuming its that last night that is holding it all in place?

Ok,
Ive just subsribed to that photo site, any better?

I can see them now duffy.

yep, they work for me now. they werent working a little bit ago tho.

any issues getting the bolt out of the center of the leap pack?

Your shocks didn't want to come off of their lower mounts because you drooped the axle too low and they were completely extended. They had a lot of pressure on them since the axle wanted to droop but they could no longer extend, that's why you had to pry them off. Jack the axle up a little bit next time, they will slide right off.

I can see them fine, duffer (don't worry, LOL). Good job with the penetrating oil. Usually the u-bolts break off for me. Only thing I see so far is that now you'll be trying to get that lower shock bolt off with it floating in the air. My opinion is that the shocks would be easlier to get off first.

if you've still got something supporting the weight of the Jeep attached to the axle (jack, jack stands, wheel on other side) it will never work-- lift the Jeep and support the rear high enough to lower the axle and remove the springs. Do both sides at the same time and drop the axle low enough to pull the springs.
With no weight on them, a small pry bar should unseat them from the spring perches.

Best of luck from a self tought duffer with too many lessons learned the hard way!

Are you using a torque wrench to loosen all those stubborn bolts?

Pick up a cheap breaker bar and go nuts... it'll save your torque wrench the wear and tear not to mention maintain its precision innards.

Looks good so far those springs are wasted. I hope that you are going to be using all new hardware adn a new u bolt plate. The fronts will be easier that the rears thats for sure

Hi,
well at least you can see the pics now. Yeah duffer sounds good, if i could change my name i would!!!

Anyway, yeah i used an torque wrench, but never had it on the highest setting and it just got them. I was going to measure the torque, but that front eye bolt cracked open earlier than i thought:clap:.

Also this is just a temporary leaf spring change like i mentioned in another post. I got a cheap pair of leaf springs that are in better shape than the ones you see. My plan is just to get the feel of how this works before going for a lift later. The new springs im fitting now will last till then. I dont want to be messing too much with something i dont understand fully just yet!!

Also i didnt have to put much force into that lower shock mount. It just didnt slip off like i expected it to. I played with the axle lifting it and lowering it until i could see that a little persussion would get it.

So onto where im at now.

I undone that bolt in the center of the leaf pack. Lowered the rear axle as low as it would go and i just popped the leaf pack out. What i wasnt expecting was the leaf pack had to be lifted up about 1/2 inch to clear the axle perch as that center bolt is seated. It wont just slip out sideways which is what i was expecting. I just pryed it up away from the perch a little, then sideways and out it came.

So i put the new(ish) leaf pack in. I got the front eye bolt done. But i cant get the rear spring eye to line up with the shackle, or the center leaf bolt to line up with the axle perch. It appears that its about 1/2 inch too short??? I only had about 10 minutes work on it today but now i have to go to work and not sure how im going to tackle this.
Ive tried lifting and lowering the axle but still no joy. The gap isnt closing. The only bolt i have connected on that side of the vehicle is the front spring eye. Everything else is unbolted. I havent undone the rear shackle, Any clues anyone.

Dungood Dunbad! LOL! I couldn't resist, at least I didn't call you a duffy!

I'm jealous of the snow, we have not had a good snow here in Virginia for about 2 years:dunno:

And man those springs were sagging bad!

As far as getting the shackles to line up with the spring eye, well the problem there is your new springs have more arch to them. You may need a extra hand and some leverage but they will go in.