So the nylon spacer is just a ring that goes between the backside of the crossmember and the rear bushing. Looking more at how the crossmember hole is punched through with a big lip, I guess you'd screw up the rear bushing over time if you were to just tighten it against the metal lip around the hole.
FYI, the Energy poly set says to reuse the nylon spacer, the washers and the nut. I just wanted to make sure I didn't start the job without all the parts and then start swearing at myself I even managed to find some 7/16' grade 9 bolts in my collection..now all I need is some nuts, washers, and lock washers to go with them. I got my grinder, air chisel, and drill ready. Fortunately, the passenger side is already bolted on mine.
Also, here's a trick I use for frozen fasteners- I get a can of that dust off canned air stuff with the little tube on the end, flip it upside down (so the liquid stuff comes out) and spray the fastener for a bit until it's really cold and then work on it quickly before the cold wears off. It gets it cold enough so the fastener shrinks just a bit to give you that bit of advantage. It works pretty well on bolts, now I'll have to try it on rivets.
Tip: If the CAT is in the way (or you can't get a socket on the RA nut) just jack up the TTB which will angle the nut down and the socket will slip right onStillKicken said:I'm sorry. I meant combination wrench (open end / box end). I had to. My cat was in the way and could not pry it up out of the way to get a socket on there.
Eraser said:i have some quick questions... where do you put your jack stands?
under the axle?
on the frame? if so, where on the frame? does the front suspension need to have no load on it?
i am going to do the bushings this weekend, and use the grinding method to get the rivets off. wish me luck!
also, it's perfectly ok to use a big crescent wrench / adjustable wrench to get the nuts off the RAB's, right?
thank you!
DeRocha said:Jack stands go on the frame rails back far enough so they support the vehicle and don't get in the way of the RA; For additional safety I use a second pair of jack stands along the frame. Yes the front suspension should have no load. I place a floor jack under the axle beam I'm working on so I can raise/lower it to make removal/installation easiser. You won't be able to torque the bolts down with an adjustable wrench, but it can be used to remove the nuts (provided you can get enough leverage with it).
CorrectEraser said:so just to clarify:
the jack stands will be right past the RAB's on the frame rail so they aren't interferring with the job but are still able to support the front of the truck off the ground (far enough so that the tires are at full droop).
thanks again
Eraser said:i got the energy suspension ones, but since those don't come with the other parts i also purchased an el-cheapo version from napa that comes with all the parts...