mcarbine
Boostaholic
Tools needed: jack, jackstands, 21mm wrench and socket, 24mm wrench and socket, 15mm socket, 1/2" ratchet, vise grips, 3/8" impact or bigger, cutoff wheel, C-clamps, and some PB Blaster (penetrating oil)
Alright to start raise the vehicle and support it on jackstands (pic 1). Remove the tires. Support the axle with a floor jack (pic 2) and raise it slightly to relieve the tension on the leaf springs. Remove the 4 U-bolt nuts (pic 3) the spring plate and the two U- bolts (pic 4). Lower the floor jack to allow the spring to unload. At the front of the spring, remove the nut and bolt from the hanger (pic 5). At the rear of the leaf spring remove the upper bolt and nut from the shackle (pic 6) Remove the spring assembly and be careful it is heavier then it looks. Now you should have your leaf spring and hardware all laid out (pic 7) Spray the bolt that holds the leaf spring pack together with penetrating oil (see pics 8 and 9). Take your C-clamps and clamp the leaf springs together (this is a safty precaution incase they were to shoot apart for some reason) There are two clamps just to the left and right of the leaf spring bolt you will have to cut these off (pic 10) so when you remove the bolt you can take off the bottom 1 or 2 leafs, whichever you choose. Now put your vise grips very tightly on the round head of the leaf spring bolt and lay it on the ground so they will not spin (pic 11). Take your impact and remove the nut slowly. Pay attention to which way your shim is facing so you can reinstall it the same direction. With the nut off and the bolt removed you should now be able to remove the bottom two leafs (or one if you prefer)(pic 12). You will not be able to reuse the leaf spring bolt since it is not threaded all the way down. I went to my local hardware store and bought 2 Grade 8 7/16" x 2" long bolts and 2 grade 8 nuts and bolted my remaining leafs back together (pic 13) (the 7/16" bolt had a small enough head that it still fits inside the perch on the axle). Now you are ready to reinstall everything in the reverse order (pic 14). Torque the leaf to hanger bolt (which is the front) to 157-212 ft. lbs, the leaf to shackle bolt (which is the rear) to 73-97 ft. lbs, and the U-bolt nuts to 73-97 ft. lbs in a criss cross manner. It is very important to check your pinion angle when you are finished to make sure it is in spec. I dont remember off the top of my head what the spec is but I will find out and post it. Thats it. Its a pretty simple process and can be done without removing the leaf springs I just chose to so I could get pictures and have an easier time explaining. Pics 15 and 16 are of my final product. This is my 03 with 2 leafs removed and I have JLP shackles that Im using the middle (3") hole on. Just so there is no confusion the 03-04s have heavier duty springs which is why our rears sit up so much higher. You may want to do some research before removing leafs on the 99-02 since they are not as high from the factory and from what I understand removing two will affect your ride drastically. Feel free to PM me with any ?s you might have. Also this is my first write up so feel free to make comments/suggestions. Matt
Alright to start raise the vehicle and support it on jackstands (pic 1). Remove the tires. Support the axle with a floor jack (pic 2) and raise it slightly to relieve the tension on the leaf springs. Remove the 4 U-bolt nuts (pic 3) the spring plate and the two U- bolts (pic 4). Lower the floor jack to allow the spring to unload. At the front of the spring, remove the nut and bolt from the hanger (pic 5). At the rear of the leaf spring remove the upper bolt and nut from the shackle (pic 6) Remove the spring assembly and be careful it is heavier then it looks. Now you should have your leaf spring and hardware all laid out (pic 7) Spray the bolt that holds the leaf spring pack together with penetrating oil (see pics 8 and 9). Take your C-clamps and clamp the leaf springs together (this is a safty precaution incase they were to shoot apart for some reason) There are two clamps just to the left and right of the leaf spring bolt you will have to cut these off (pic 10) so when you remove the bolt you can take off the bottom 1 or 2 leafs, whichever you choose. Now put your vise grips very tightly on the round head of the leaf spring bolt and lay it on the ground so they will not spin (pic 11). Take your impact and remove the nut slowly. Pay attention to which way your shim is facing so you can reinstall it the same direction. With the nut off and the bolt removed you should now be able to remove the bottom two leafs (or one if you prefer)(pic 12). You will not be able to reuse the leaf spring bolt since it is not threaded all the way down. I went to my local hardware store and bought 2 Grade 8 7/16" x 2" long bolts and 2 grade 8 nuts and bolted my remaining leafs back together (pic 13) (the 7/16" bolt had a small enough head that it still fits inside the perch on the axle). Now you are ready to reinstall everything in the reverse order (pic 14). Torque the leaf to hanger bolt (which is the front) to 157-212 ft. lbs, the leaf to shackle bolt (which is the rear) to 73-97 ft. lbs, and the U-bolt nuts to 73-97 ft. lbs in a criss cross manner. It is very important to check your pinion angle when you are finished to make sure it is in spec. I dont remember off the top of my head what the spec is but I will find out and post it. Thats it. Its a pretty simple process and can be done without removing the leaf springs I just chose to so I could get pictures and have an easier time explaining. Pics 15 and 16 are of my final product. This is my 03 with 2 leafs removed and I have JLP shackles that Im using the middle (3") hole on. Just so there is no confusion the 03-04s have heavier duty springs which is why our rears sit up so much higher. You may want to do some research before removing leafs on the 99-02 since they are not as high from the factory and from what I understand removing two will affect your ride drastically. Feel free to PM me with any ?s you might have. Also this is my first write up so feel free to make comments/suggestions. Matt
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