mike_d

hi all, i've got a tech question for you. my buddy brought his '88 4runner over to my house this weekend in hopes of replacing rear leaf springs (i suggested add-a-leaf to get rid of the rear-end sag, but he was insistant on new springs). anyway, we couldn't get the bolt out of the spring. the nut came right off, but the bolt that holds the spring to the shakle woudn't slide out. we tried every tool we had, including the bfh (after spraying the bolts with anti-sieze stuff). does anybody know how to get these bolts out? what would a real mechanic who actually knows what they are doing do?

thanks!

86toyota

Well there's a sleeve inside the eye of the leafspring that the bolt is seized to. No mater what you do it won't come out unless you torch it out ,or use a sawzaw to cut inside the shackle(front or rear same thing). It's a hardened bolt so it will eat up the blades.

mike_d

that's what i was afraid of. we tried a hacksaw and indeed, the blade was gone in 5 minutes. i was afraid to torch it because it's inches from the gas tank. maybe now is a good time to invest in a sawzaw.

86toyota

I went trou 5 blades on my sawzaw and was using a 5" cutoff wheel at the same time to get through the bolt by the gas tank. I torched out the other three. Once the bolts are out it's cake to replace the springs. I would heat the u-bolt nuts up also to cherry red to get them off. Good luck.

ilion

SAWZALL!!!


Mr. Milwaukee must be rolling over in his grave.




And no, I'm not actually mad. I'm perpetually thinking about adding a Kaymar shackle set to the rear of my 88 4Runner, but have yet to do it.

If you don't mind MikeD, could you link to or explain which add-a-leafs your friend is going with?

86toyota

If I said reciprocating saw you might of been confused. Everybody seems to call them sawzaw around here , so I did to fit in.

ilion

Have I been zinged?

Actually, I get on my gf's dad's case all the time over calling his DeWalt a Sawzall.

I know what a reciprocating saw is.





edit: added to cut down on the likelihood that my post might seem snotty... also to talk in more ridiculous sentences.

mike_d

as a side question....on the '88, the current leaf springs are good (i.e. not cracked or anything). my friend already spent the $70 at the junkyard for the new springs. would it be an ok idea to take one (the smallest) leaf from the new springs and use it as an add-a-leaf for the current pack. that way we don't need to mess with taking the current leafs out.

mike_d

well he just got new springs from the junkyard. he decided not to go the add-a-leaf route. i suggested that he get procomps. from the write ups that i read, the procomps are better than the rancho because they're longer than the rancho. i was hoping to practice on his truck before i tried on mine, but since he decided to go with the new springs, we ended up trying (and failing) to remove the old springs.