1 The first step is
to properly jack up and support the car. Ideally you should
have four jack stands, two under the frame and two supporting
the axle housing. You can use a jack to support the axle
housing, but you should always have jack stands under
the frame. |
2 Remove the shock
to shockplate mounting nut. The upper shock does not need
to be removed. Note that we have underride traction bars,
we'll move those out of the way next. |
3 A 5/8" socket
is used to remove the four U-bolt nuts. This will allow
the traction bars to swing down. Note, if your U bolts
are old and rusty, soak them with WD40 or similar beforehand. |
4 It's best to work
on one spring at a time to prevent the axle assembly from
moving out of position. Remove the shock plate as shown,
allowing the spring to hang unloaded. |
5 Remove the spring
from the rear shackle. A 9/16" wrench is used to
remove the lower and upper nuts. Shown are stock shackles
with the center pin welded to one side of the shackle.
Most aftermarket shackles use a bolt and a sleeve, in
which case you'll need another wrench to keep the bolt
from turning. |
6 A little prying
of the shackle will enable the spring the to slide off
the lower pin. Spraying silicone lube on the bushings
helps them slide off without much effort. |
7 With the spring
deattached from the rear shackle and shock plate, we can
let it swing down and rest on the ground. |
|
8 All that hold
the leaf spring to the car now is the front eye bolt.
Use a 5/8" socket to remove the nut, and a wrench
on the bolt head to keep it from turning. When the nut
is off, pull the bolt out -it may require slightly lifting
the spring to take the weight off the bolt.
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