shim/centerbolt replacement ?'s

[dfcruiserguy]

Hey guys,

In a healthy diversion from the puppy war over in chit-chat, I have new shims and centerbolts coming in from specter tommorow morning. A buddy and I will undertake the operation however, in an attempt at a weak field repair with a bolt holding the leaf pack together we discovered that the axle is too far towards the drivers side for the bolt to align with the hole on the axle mount. I'm not sure if my verbage is correct but i'm essentially asking, how do i move the axle left/right or when i replace both shims and bolts will the axle be moving on it's own? Also, where should I place my jackstands during the project to facilitate free axle movement?

Jason

 

[lovetoski]

Jack up the truck by the axle, then place jackstands under the frame so that the axle hangs free.

Remove the wheels.

Remove the u-bolts. (You have new ones to replace the old ones right?)

Do just one side at a time.

The axle is now sitting on top of the spring pack.

Replace the spring pin, and install the shim.

To refit the axle onto the spring pin takes leverage. Unless your are the incredible hulk...I use a variety of tools, depending on which way things need to move: come-a-long, scissors jack, pry-bar, etc. All you need to do is leverage the spring/axle into alignment, then bolt it up. A 2 lb sledge hammer helps get things aligned too...

HTH