The Ford Barn

Tom Grz · 08-19-2024, 09:08 AM

I just wanted to share a quick story about my recent experience as I was getting ready to remove the rear end from my 31 pickup. In preparation, I read a lot of the posts and articles about being careful with the springs, so my plan was to remove the u bolts, drop the rear and immediately put the u bolts back on the spring for safety. Before removing the u bolts, I decided to check the nut on the center bolt just to see if it was frozen. As soon as I put a little torque on the nut, the bolt snapped with a loud bang and the broken piece flew off, but the u bolts obviously kept the springs from going anywhere. Apparently, the nuts on the u bolts had loosened or were loosened a little by a previous owner, so the tension was mostly on the center bolt. Had I not tried to loosen the nut a little while the rear was still in the truck, it could have let loose while I was removing it from the truck. Looking at the broken bolt, it was obvious from the corrosion pattern that the bolt had developed a crack long ago thru half its diameter and was just waiting to let loose. So I guess if you have an original or older center bolt in your spring pack, it would be wise to replace it before removing the u bolts and dropping the rear.

08-19-2024, 09:08 AM	#1
Tom Grz Junior Member Join Date: Apr 2023 Location: Mahwah NJ Posts: 27	Spring Safety I just wanted to share a quick story about my recent experience as I was getting ready to remove the rear end from my 31 pickup. In preparation, I read a lot of the posts and articles about being careful with the springs, so my plan was to remove the u bolts, drop the rear and immediately put the u bolts back on the spring for safety. Before removing the u bolts, I decided to check the nut on the center bolt just to see if it was frozen. As soon as I put a little torque on the nut, the bolt snapped with a loud bang and the broken piece flew off, but the u bolts obviously kept the springs from going anywhere. Apparently, the nuts on the u bolts had loosened or were loosened a little by a previous owner, so the tension was mostly on the center bolt. Had I not tried to loosen the nut a little while the rear was still in the truck, it could have let loose while I was removing it from the truck. Looking at the broken bolt, it was obvious from the corrosion pattern that the bolt had developed a crack long ago thru half its diameter and was just waiting to let loose. So I guess if you have an original or older center bolt in your spring pack, it would be wise to replace it before removing the u bolts and dropping the rear.