ah so i called the stealership with the p/n and it'll take till tuesday to get in... i need it done by monday so i can drive to school. oh well my dad's gonna lend a hand after work, i figure if he can turn it while i hit it from the backside it "should" at least get some horizontal movement

 

I've heard of folks burning out old bushings. I know there is very little space there where the actual bushing is exposed but perhaps if you get the whole thing hot enough and then whack it, you might get it to release. Good luck.

 

Yeah ill give that a try to, il waste the whole bottle, doesnt matter to me lol.
i think its stuck to the sleve that goes inbetween the bushing

 

Had to burn mine, didn't completely work. As the sleave is froze to the pin. I had to bend the hanger out so as to take a die grinder to it and cut ever so carefully. Then used a screw driver and vice grips to split the rest.

Dang sleave.

Probably not the most conventional solution, but it worked when all else failed. Goodluck.

PS FWIW I put one oem spring in then another about 6 monthes later. I reused the u bolts but they were new at same time I put springs on and you should alway recheck your torque values after 100 or so miles.

 

muddpigg, we sound like were in the same situation. That friggin sleave.... my dad's gonna buy some cuttoff wheels tomorrow. So hopefully that'll teach that sleave....

 

A major PITA go figure after 20 plus years. Take it lightly with the cut off wheel as you don't want to scar the bolt, I did and reused bolt just greased really well. I burned the bushing out to remove the spring was mindful of gas tank, I used a peice of plate steel as a sheild. Don't get rid of you old spring pack yet. You may find the need to add another leaf down the road, I didn't trim u bolts down for this reason. I got complimented on the flex the downeys gave.

 

Good advice. I foolishly tossed mine after installing the new ones. Turns out I didn't need them before I moved on to my next big thing, but it sure would have been some nice peace of mind to know I had some extra lift in the corner of the garage if needed. My Downeys were in for almost exactly 3 years and worked perfectly... and I was even able to sell them when removed.

 

AH!! my dad got it out while i was at work!!!
SO HAPPY
just need to get changed and go finish her off, then ill post pics!!
nope, my dad warpped my old leafs in some poly and set them side for when i need them

 

So how does it look with the new springs??? Theres no moving hangers with these right?

 

Right. They are plug and play. (except for the stuck bolt part)

 

haha yeah, ah my truck is awesome!
sits soo perfect now. Rides wayyy better.

 

I have a set of OME's to install this weekend, from previous experiences this is the exact situation I am dreading.

I want to take one leaf pack apart and make a giant crossbow out of it - I want to be able to launch a 2x4 though a cinder block wall

 

This thread is now pointless without...

 

yeah, just order a new bold... and get a angle grinder
you want pics?

only real daylight pic i have

 

Wow, that's tough on the eyes. No before and after pics?

I understand though. I'm one of the worst about that. Once I get going on a project, I'm not stopping to get the camera.

 

Yeah, i wanted to take before and after pics liek you did! but man, it was really pressed for time, on top of that the bolt messed everything up.. so at that point i just wanted to get it done..

 

i had the same issue with my old bushings when i put my shackles in, had to torch the poo out of them.

 

surprisingly the shackles came out easy..

 

I think this maybe the route I got how does it flex? and does the truck sit level?

 

No idea how it flexs, ive beent rying to look for stuff to flex on but ive been outta luck.

Im thinking the po cranked up the tbars a bit, because the 3" leafs make it pretty level.