mono leaf springs are the dark side of the force

[bigtigga84]

Ok, so i did the TT to where the front and back are about level. but i was going to go all the way and move the spacers on my mono leaf springs HELLO. I had everything apart, I was to the point of taking the bolt out of the spacer pack and spring to move the pack. Here's the funny part, the head of the bolt is round, not rounded off, plain round. Thoughts of just grounding the head of the bolt off flashed for a second, but I thought twice and put it all back together. Soooo, ummm, HELP, please!!!!! Is their either a way to get the bolt out of the spring that i couldn't figure out, or could i grind it off and replace it with a regular hex head. Thanks.

 

[bigtigga84]

whoops

Sorry, forgot to add this to the last post. My Ex is a 98 Sport 4wd

 

[Ritsui]

Sorry, but I would (and did) just buy new bolts and grind them off

 

[bigtigga84]

hehehehehe, that works for me. power tools mmmmmmm

 

[SkanlaxJMO]

have you thought of just getting 4-door leaves?

 

[SmoothKriminal]

Put a vise grip on the round end, and remove the nut.

 

[Halfnuts]

Just be sure to buy minimum grade 5 hardware. I'd go with Grade 8 if it were me.

 

[bigtigga84]

Yeah, after I posted the first time, I started looking at the thread about the "gangster lean" the sport has. Granted I'm lowering it, but I really don't like the lean to the left, that's what got me started on all this, trying to get rid of that. So I'm probably going to do the 4door leafs. Just right now it's one of those things where I started doing something, and I want to finish because I really like the look. Vice grips, never thought about that, of course when I was to the point of figuring out how to get the bolt out, there were two kids under ten fighting in my garage, gotta love siblings. Thanks for the help!! I really appreciate it.

 

[greg s]

Whats with the monoleaf spring? I have a ranger with them on it and am looking at lowering the truck and noticed that you couldnt do a flip kit because the top of the spring area isnt flat and it looks like the parts are riveted together. Is there any benefit to this type of spring? Does the truck sit any higher or lower than regular springs?

 

[bp1506]

yeah my sport also has the lean to the left. i hate it. I like the stock height since i dont go off road that often. Is there an after market set of leafts that will keep it at stock height but dosent have a monoleaf design?

 

[SkanlaxJMO]

the pack froma 4-door is a direct fit...and it is multi leaf.

 

[bp1506]

i thought a pack from a 4-door will lift the back a few inches.

 

[Ritsui]

It might if the monoleaf it's replacing has gone completely flat, but brand new they should both be pretty much the same height.

 

[bp1506]

well looks like a project for the summer Yea my monoleafs need replacing the back sits a little lower then the front. Well i also have tools back there. But its time to change them anyway so maybe i will go with a 4 door leaf pack.

 

[bigtigga84]

Whats with the monoleaf spring? I have a ranger with them on it and am looking at lowering the truck and noticed that you couldnt do a flip kit because the top of the spring area isnt flat and it looks like the parts are riveted together. Is there any benefit to this type of spring? Does the truck sit any higher or lower than regular springs?

the only benefit i've noticed for the mono leaf is to give us something to do (changing them because they are s**t) and to bug the crap out of us because it looks dumb....oh wait that's not a benefit.

 

[bigtigga84]

i love when i think of stuff after i've already posted something on here. this doesn't have to do with the mono leafs, but it does deal with suspension. i was ready my handy dandy Haynes manual and it says that the ball joints from 95-01 (i think, the books in my truck) aren't serviceable and to replace the upper and lower control arms. i know there's a million and one threads on here about changing them, just thought it was funny that the a diy service manual says that they can't be changed. i would if chiltons says the same thing??

 

[bp1506]

Well i bought a crappy haynes repair manual and that thing is the most useless thing i spent money on, every time i want to find out something i look in there and cant find it. So i just end up posting on here and getting answers. This place is the best without it i would be lost.


Thanks everyone.

 

[bigtigga84]

yeah pretty much

 

[bigtigga84]

aight, all lowered. now im happy, well slightly satisfied. not gonna be happy till i get my rims, new heads and tails, and paint this bad boy. but dropping it will do for now, it only cost me 7 bucks for the new bolts.

 

[99SportX]

Just for reference, when I swapped the spacers above the leaf on my sport, I completely removed the leaf springs, put the head of the "bolt" in a vise, used penetrating oil, and a propane torch and they finally came off just fine. If you live in an area where rust on vehicles is a problem, then you will probably have similar difficulty when removing this pin while it is on teh truck. Nothing would work when trying to loosen it with the leafs on the truck.