anyone know what the size of the leaf springs center bolt are on the 04 2500 4X4 , are there enough thread to reuse them if I take out the spacers.

 

NEVER!, NEVER! re-use center bolts and or "U" bolts!!!!! EVER!!!! They stretch when tightened and seat in that position! By new ones! Never risk a safty issue! Not very expensive parts but, the aftermath could be pricey!

 

I don't remember for sure but the socket was about 3/4" or something close in metric. The bolt is about 1/2". I had my bottom OLs out for a while and I had to add a washer for a spacer. I've done spring work on several of my own, all the way up to class 8 trucks and always reused them if they weren't damaged - no problem. Craig

 

If you move the spacers from under the axle to above, you can reuse your center and "U" bolts. I did this to my '04 to drop the rear. Reused the bolts. Four years and 60K miles later, no problems at all. But, that's just my experience. YMMV! JOIBO!

 

Oh yeh, there's two center bolts. So, I guess they are really off-center bolts !

 

Try using the SEARCH function.That info at one time was passed around a lot.

 

Your right , there is two off center bolts got the job done today out at the hangar. had to use my thread file on two of the bolts to clean em up. I also put on bilsteins shocks all around. and lowered the back down by moving the spacer blocks to the top. Wow what a difference the bilsteins make. dont have that high back end anymore either , looks great now.

 

John,

Sounds like you re-used the center bolts. Glad you like the new look.

If anyone else is interested in the center bolts they are 1/2 x 3" with fine thread. I used grade 8 bolts and nuts on mine. This is the size if you remove the spacer but not if you move it to the top of the pack.


John

 

Ditto, your absolutely correct. Look at some of the U Bolt manufactures web sites. They will tell you clearly to never reuse. Beside stretching, the deep nuts actually deform the threads slightly to hold torque. This is a safety issue. Just because some have done it with no issues does not mean YOU will not have a serious problem. Its your life, do it the right way.

Here is the Dayton U Bolt Information. All you wanted to know about Axle U Bolts. Be sure to read the Service Recomendations on Re-use of Axle U Bolts. Double click on the first page to bring to full screen.

http://imageevent.com/moosecreekmaple/axleubolts

8Valve

 

Not get into a back and forth argument but... I've been around trucks and heavy equipment all my life and been driving TT for 13 years. I've never re-used U bolts or center pins. Even the spring shops say never to re-use! In all my experience in working on trucks it has been common practice. Better to be safe than sorry!<-(sorry for the cliche')

 

Gentlemen, you can do your preaching elsewhere. I have been working full time on On-road and Off-road equipment for 32 years. of course the U bolt manufacturer and spring shop want you to buy new every time. but there are reuse guidelines. centerbolts do nothing but keep the springs in order and if the U bolts were not torque to specs. the centerbolts will show signs of it, U bolts on our trucks and all heavy equipment does not support the vehicle weight like the light duty vehicles. they over compensate in the sizes of the U bolts and we never reach the yield to torque on these bolts. again there are reuse guidelines for these. Now I have destroyed U bolts and Center bolts on disassembly and reassembly and replace them, and many times where I use a one inch impact gun and not come off and have to torch them off and replace them.

 

I'm just saying, Why be so cheap! They're not exspencive! If you're going to be a cheap a$$ then don't do the project at all! Would you re-use a oil filter? I doubt it! Same thing!

 

Not exactly.

I installed new center bolts on mine because the stock setup is a poor design. Full size hex heads fit the axle perch pockets better. Also, the u-bolt nuts are in a new position on the thread after the lifting block is removed. So the tension in the bolt is the same, but the nut is on much farther than stock and holding in a new location. I've re-used u-bolts in this type of application many times and never had a problem, including my third gen, which has been working well for over 110,000 miles of fairly heavy use. I don't really think this is a critical issue that requires a bunch of arm chair critics to get all worked up.


John

 

NOW hold on , only my ex-wife can call me a cheap, this reminds me of lot of tech. out there that know nothing about troubleshooting, they just go around parts swapping til they figure out the problem and in the end they dont even know what fix it. saying that a oil filter is the same as a U Bolts is not the same thing. but I will ask you this , you get a nail in your tire.... do you replace it or do you patch repair it, and I am betting you have patched a tire before. if you patch it, technically it could come apart on you going down the road.

 

Did you guys that are replaceing your soft center pins is not really a good idea. Besides holding the spring pack together and centering it on the axle there is another purpose for them and that is why they are soft and can shear the head off rather easy. They are designed to shear on hard impact to lessen the chance of major damage to the axle housing like bending. also torque the U-Bolts to the proper spec, over-torqueing does nothing but strech the U-Bolt and weaken them. Over-torqueing can also bend the housing. I am speaking from experence and also from a talk I had with a long time spring shop owner in Sacramento. I was talking to him about making the springs and hardware last longer on my RockCrawler.