Replacing axle leaf spring ubolts questions

[XJI6191]

If your axle needs 3" u-bolts, I suggest ordering those and ditching the 3 1/8" u-bolts.

That must be right - but really understand reluctance to do that so, maybe, in an ideal world . . . ?
Check the nuts in 100 miles &, if you're worried/unsure/uncomfortable, again in 500 miles & at the next tune-up.

"The 6.5" matched the ones that came off perfectly, no way 8" would have worked here, I would have had to chop 2" " I have never understood why U-bolts are so long, they all seem to be at least 1" longer than they need to be.

 

[gba88]

That must be right - but really understand reluctance to do that so, maybe, in an ideal world . . . ?
Check the nuts in 100 miles &, if you're worried/unsure/uncomfortable, again in 500 miles & at the next tune-up.

"The 6.5" matched the ones that came off perfectly, no way 8" would have worked here, I would have had to chop 2" " I have never understood why U-bolts are so long, they all seem to be at least 1" longer than they need to be.

I planned to check them in a hundred miles or so anyway, so for the time being that will be my plan. It didn't seem like there was any amount of "slop" around the axle tube and as I said, we had to bend them to get the ends through the plate anyway. I don't mind spending more $$$ if it's a safety concern, but it's not like they are holding up the vehicle, and all the ones I'm seeing online are grade 5. I think as someone pointed out here, they just keep the spring centered on the axle. I really don't see how the extra 1/8" could have a catastrophic effect on anything.

The good thing is, if I do decide to replace them or ever do the job again(unlikely due to the condition of the rest of the jeep), it should go 10x smoother. I've yet to find an online site that sells exactly the 1/2 20, 3, 6.5" bolts. I'm seeing much longer lengths (7+), so they would need to be cut anyway. I said the 6.5 were a "perfect" match, but upon checking again, the ones that came off of it were more like 6".

 

[jeep ride]

You can have them made to your specs at a spring repair shop fwiw.

 

[gba88]

You can have them made to your specs at a spring repair shop fwiw.

I actually saw some on rockauto.com that were 1/2 20, 3, 7.5. What I might do is just buy those and have them "in case". It's only gonna be about $55 shipped for 4. I'll just cut the length to match the old ones.

 

[XJI6191]

You can have them made to your specs at a spring repair shop fwiw.

Isn't that a bit extreme to replace the stock ones on something as common as an XJ? (although OP did seem to have more than his fair share of bad luck locating any)

 

[gba88]

Isn't that a bit extreme to replace the stock ones on something as common as an XJ? (although OP did seem to have more than his fair share of bad luck locating any)

I ended up ordering the ones from rock auto for peace of mind. I will need to cut them down but no big deal. It's at 70 miles from when I replaced them, so I pulled the wheels after work today. They are all still torqued down and nothing looks weird or anything. I'll only use the ones from rock auto if for some reason I feel the need after checking them again or something happens.

I figure I'll just keep them as "spares" just in case. Like I said, I really can't see how big of a difference 1/16th would make on either side and they were bent to go through the plates so I will just keep an eye on things.

Thanks for all of the feedback in the thread to everyone who posted! This has to be a RECORD for such a simple job LOL

 

[jeep ride]

Isn't that a bit extreme to replace the stock ones on something as common as an XJ? (although OP did seem to have more than his fair share of bad luck locating any)

I guess so I thought read he didn't want to cut the bolts to length now he says he going to cut them off .

 

[xcm]

I have never understood why U-bolts are so long, they all seem to be at least 1" longer than they need to be.

Because in the real world, people use shims, blocks, thicker than stock leaf packs, etc, and it takes seconds to cut them…

If there is any appreciable gap between the axle tube, and your 3 1/8 unbolts, replace them with the right ones. You want the axle tube touching the ubolts from 3 to 9 o’clock.

Crushing axle tubes is a very real concern on Toyota and Suzuki axles, not so much for Dana stuff, but it’s still possible with enough torque. 45 in/lbs is low, I usually go like 70-85 for 1/2 ubolts.

 

[XJI6191]

Because in the real world, people use shims, blocks, thicker than stock leaf packs, etc, and it takes seconds to cut them…

I can't believe Jeep anticipated that & thoughtfully fitted bolts long enough for any mods. Besides I didn't mean just Jeeps or even leaf sprung 4x4's generally but just about everything.

(took longer than that when it meant using a hacksaw - which, I suppose, why nobody did

 

[Runnin'OnEmpty]

Wise move, getting the correct fitting
bolts. I like to use blue thread locker on
critical fasteners like these.

Over torquing is not good either, I'd use
the 55 lb specs...

 

[gba88]

Wise move, getting the correct fitting
bolts. I like to use blue thread locker on
critical fasteners like these.

Over torquing is not good either, I'd use
the 55 lb specs...

Yep... they arrived the other day. I actually just checked torque today and at a little over 400 miles they are still holding fine. They all touch from 3-9 o clock on the tube as xcm suggested to check.

I originally torqued all to 55, but that one had imploded on itself and destroyed the threads at 55 so that's why i dialed it back to 45. Today, I tried all 8 and made sure they were at 50. I figured if one broke it didn't matter since I have the brand new ones now. For the time being I'm leaving things as is and keeping a couple in the car with me. This is just a DD, no off road or anything so I'm not really worried about it.

Just wish I would have ordered the right ones to begin with it would have saved about 6 hours of labor, 50 bucks and having to cut off a broken bolt. It just goes to show you never know what you're gonna get into...I thought the biggest issue would be removing the originals or knocking the jeep out of alignment!

 

[Anak]

Having the right parts on hand is becoming more and more of a challenge, largely on account of the lack of quality. You think you are all set to go, and then you discover problems with your parts.