just replaced my torque rods

[JTugwell]

well after spending a couple of hours the other weekend pulling my axles back straight with a tow strap, because the rods fell off the bushings i decided they probably needed to be changed. i started on it tonight, and replaced the lower torque rods. i am going to tackle the uppers tomorrow. i just wanted to make sure i wasn't missing anything. i removed/replaced one at a time with the whole rod with new bushing already in it. i removed the brackets (i figured that it would be easier that way.). installed the brackets with the new bar on it, and tightened all the bolts down. after everything else was secure I tightened the nut that secures the rod end to the frame last. everything looks ok. i just wanted some expert opinons to make sure i didnt screw anything up. i will post some pics up later on tomorrow. the old torque rods were so bad that when i threw them an the floor the rod ends just fell out! out of all six only one was still good. it will definatly be good piece of mind knowing that my axles wont come loose again.
thanks everybody!

 

[hole]

We will be doing the 4 of the 6 on my truck this weekend, should be a hoot....

 

[JTugwell]

i did it by myself, so it wasn't extremely bad. good impact gun, and a 5 foot cheater bar got the job done. I didn't even have to take the tires off. its sitting out back right now with the leaf spring u-bolts soaking in penetrating oil. from the looks of it thats where the fun will really begin. good luck with yours this weekend.

 

[hole]

Thanks ! Been soaking the U bolts for a week already. Hope the rest of yours goes well !

 

[groundog]

Hole--did you pick up your tralers at Barstow yet? my EUC was approved in 1 week---amazing---I have a trucking company picking up my M-818 today or maybe tuesday---Groundog

 

[hole]

My EUC is clear too but I cant get there until tuesday or wednesday of next week.

 

[WillWagner]

Oh hole, you are gonna hate me! I went out and gazed at mine for a bit tonite. Got to thinkin'...a dangerous thing...I have a socket that can sneak in there and bust those uppers loose w/o taking the u-bolts out

 

[Firefighter294]

I don't know this first hand ... when I read that you were removing U bolts I remembered reading something about not reusing them. I did a search and this is what I found.

I found this thread.
http://www.steelsoldiers.com/cucv/31175-u-bolts.html
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In post number 7 Elwenil said

Always replace leaf spring U-bolts. They stretch to fit and can fail if reused. The nuts are one use only also. NAPA carries a good selection but I have run into a few that I couldn't find. For the oddball large one for my front D60 I went to these guys and they got me fixed up very well:

Leaf Springs and Air Ride Suspension specialists offering Timbren kits, helper springs, and Air Lift kits.
========================

Note that this was a discussion regarding CUCV and I don't know for sure that it is something that applies to a deuce. Hopefully Elwenil or someone else will chime in.

Regards,
Rick

 

[WillWagner]

I knew that, that's one of the reasons I told him to get two new ones...that and I didn't think I had a socket to get in there.

 

[bigmike]

be sure to post pics. this would make a good sticky.

 

[hole]

No problem bro! I wasnt real excited about pulling U bolts to tell you the truth. Dont mind having spares in case either of us need them in the future See you sat am.

 

[Dominican Driller]

I just redid my torque rods w/ new bushings without removing the wheels or brackets. Just insert the center end enough to start the nut then use a pry bar off the spring bracket to work the axle end into place. Take care not to damage the threads.

 

[FM5332FF]

If you need another set of torque rods for spares I have a whole set of them in good shape that came off of my duce when I bobbed it.

 

[hole]

Thanks, I hope to not need any for a long time ! How much do you want for them? Shipping might get alittle pricey from Fl. to CA.

 

[SEAFIRE]

I have a socket that can sneak in there and bust those uppers loose w/o taking the u-bolts out

That's what we did when we replaced all of our torque rod ends. We jacked up that side of the truck a little bit, found a thin wall socket at NAPA that fit. Didn't need to remove the spring packs. I should have taken pics.......

 

[WillWagner]

Here's some pics from last weekend. Had them done, including running around a bit trying to find another pickle fork...just ended up "modifying" mine...in 3.5 to 4 hrs. After the first one came out easy, it was a biatch to get it back in. The second one went mucho easier...give a lazy man a job and he'll find the easiest way to do it! We used a ratchet tie down and pulled the ends together. Also have a pic of the socket we used to get the upper out w/o taking the u-bolts out. Not too bad of a job. It would suck to do on the side of the road though!

 

[cranetruck]

After reading the "torque rod" posts, I took a look at the 8x8 set-up and noticed some differences.
FWIW, one end is mounted with two bolts, one on each side and the other end similarly to the deuce, with the ball and bushing. There is a difference in that the bushing is secured by a bolt and dimples in the rod end. The added details must be to prevent a catastrophic failure...