Greetings everone,

I have a 1986 4Runner and I am about to replace the rear springs ( tired of the rear droop )

Looking to go to a stock or slighly over stock ( 1in lift )

Ive got the TR20 Skyjacker on the way , Ive got Poly bushings on the way
http://www.summitracing.com/parts/SJA-SE35T/
and some lube for it .

Question is this ( and I have searched the forums ) .. I want to replace the U Bolts and the Hanger pin Bolts . What size do I need? are they "U" or "Square" U bolts on the spring seat ?

Replace the shackes? if so .. have a suggestion?

This is my DD with seasonal Offrroad beach use.
I want to keep this truck for a very long time , hince the 'overkill' off replacing bolts.

I would love any help


Thanks

 

if your rear axel is obove your leaf spring (sitting on them not under them) then you will need round U bolts, but if your axel is sitting under your leafs (normal on most yota's) then you will need square U bolts.
the square ubolts grasp onto the leaf therefore needing a flat surface, whereas the rounded Ubolts grasp onto the axel itrself so they need a round surface to match.
hope this helps

 

Take your old U-bolts down to a shop, and have them make you some new ones.
Or just re-use your old ones..
Why don't you just do an AAL or search for the Zuk mod..
Significantly easier than changing out leafs..

 

Get these.
But youll have to find another way to mount the shocks (weld on shock tabs?)



http://www.trail-gear.com/u-bolt-flip-kits

 

have you done an AAL?!?!?!

you have to take the pack off the axle, and take the pack apart. i would rather just take it off the axle and take out the shackle and hanger bolts AND have sexy smooth ride afterward

 

i will admit, aal's ride rougher, but i didn't have to take my packs off to put the aal's on. just a lot of clamping and jacking

 

you didnt take the axle free from the leaf pack? i know you can leave the pack on the truck when you do an AAL, thats how i did mine. but instead of all the clamping and jacking, that i also did, i dould rather take out 2 bolts, one from the hanger, and one from the shackle, put them back in with the new leafs, and put that axle back one with NEW U bolts(i would recommend new) and have no sag, and ride like brand new

 

here's how i did mine. i did take the axle away from the pack, new u-bolts and hardware. now that i think about it, taking out one side might have helped a bit

 

thats exactly how i did mine too but, if money played no factor in the choice, i think it would be less work to unbolt the spring from the truck and swap a new set in, instead of all the clamping and cutting off the bolts and whatnot. see what im saying?

 

yep. time was also a factor for me.since i only have weekends free, i needed to get it done

:endthreadjack:

i have seen some good results with aal's and 4runners

 

Please remember this statement when you are at your wits end with one of those two bolts. That is if it hasn't been removed in twenty years. Goodtimes.
I had to torch the bushings out and cut the sleaves off with a dremel. Have something to sheild the gas tank if you don't want to remove it. Couople years later it was easy to remove the hanger bolts but that first time was a different story.

Hopefully yours is easier than mine was.

 

Yea im just swaping out new springs. I stared this thread to see what the stock bolts sizes were so I could have everything ready and sititng on the driveway when I do this swap.. I too only have weekends and a spring weekend was going to be slotted to this.

 

I looked into these.. almost got them too.. Peoblem.. I cannot weld.. everything ill be doing will be " bolt on "

 

I looked into the Zuk mod.. Not sure how much easyer modifying that area to make a spring perch.. Way i see it.. Stock replacement " Should " be easy out easy in ..

IM sure Ill be proven wrong when Ido it heh.

 

if you want a u bolt flip kit someone, i cant remeber who, makes something out of exhaust clamps that bolt around the axle for shock mounts. maybe someone with them will chime in or post a link, otherwise you can try searching. just a thought

 

i had a thought today: u-bolt flip kit, but instead of the kit's plates, use the stock plates (flipped and from the opposite side) with the shock mounts. it seems like it would work. and no welding

 

I have some bolt-on rear shock mounts that I used to use:
http://www.4crawler.com/4x4/4R_suspe...shtml#R-Shocks

Basically bolt under the springs (like a 3/8" tall block) and the shock mount between the tabs:


Or try:
- http://www.budbuilt.com/new/shock_mounts.html

 

AHA! those budbuilt ones are exactly what i was talking about! thanks 4crawler!

 

Yeah? I have an AAL in my truck..
Unbolted the U-bolts, disconnected e-brake, lifted the truck up off the axle, loosened the Spring pack bolt, put the AAL in, used a C-Clamp to compress the pack again, put in a new longer bolt, and rebolted my U-bolts..

My AAL rides fine, rides like a truck. Hauls my dirtbikes fine..

 

My 2 cents:

Forget about the u bolt flip kit. The gain is minimal and unless you are doing a lot of rocks it probably isn't worth it. Also, shocks work better in an upright position rather than tilted in.

The hardware is going to be a tough one depending on the condition of the stuff you have now. I'm in AZ and it all came apart relatively well. As Muddpigg mentioned it can be difficult. My spring hanger bolts (the ones at the front were a PITA to get out even here in AZ with no rust to contend with. I didn't have to resort to a sawzall and torch, but it was a bitch. The passenger side one was my bugaboo because you can't get at it with a hammer due to the gas tank. Therefore I would recommend greasable bolts for the spring hangers at least. I re-used my stock shackles because a) I'm a cheap son of a gun and b) I wanted to see how the truck sat before I spent $ on shackles without knowing what length I would want. As it turned out, I was happy with the stance on stock shackles. If you stay with the stock shackles you can't get greasable bolts for them because the shackles are actually a side plate welded to the bolts and the second side plate is attached with nuts. Pic here:

http://www.utoyot8.com/FullImage.asp...6%23%2cVZN6%23

Also keep in mind the bushing set you bought only has 8 bushings and you need 12 if you want to replace everything. I made the same mistake with mine. I got springs from Downey that came with bushings but didn't realize I would still need the 4 that go in the shackle to frame attachment.

Marlin has the bushings.
Trailgear has the bolts.

Also, the link I gave you has the pin and u-bolt numbers as well. I was able to re-use all that stuff with mine, but again, that was in a nice, dry, rust free climate.

Good luck.