Oliver LEII standard axle shackle bolts and bushing replacements

[GraniteStaters]

I am in the process of replacing at least 3 shackle bolts and bushings on our 2019 Oliver LEII.  I am attempting this because last fall before we headed out on our 6 month trip, I was replacing the original zerks with 45 degree zerks to facilitate easy greasing of the Dexter axles.  During the install process, I broke three zerks off completely and now believe because of another Oliver owner post about how some Dexter axles shackle bolts have two different zerk size requirements.  Anyway, when I removed the front bolt on the front curbside axle with much difficulty, I removed the bolt and push what was remaining of the bronze/brass bushing.  Even though there was plenty of grease, the top half of the bushing was gone.  This bolt was one of the bolts that had the broken zerk.  I will finish the replacement of this bolt soon and then will check one of the bolts on the EZ-Flex shackle on the rear curbside axle.  I am wondering if anyone else has any thoughts on the condition of the zerk or thoughts about alignment of front bolt.  I assume I need to maneuver the EZ-Flex joint for that spring somehow to align  the spring with the attachment holes on the frame.  

[Geronimo John]

For hull 342, I have recently purchased  the Dexter Bronze Bushings.  Per their sales Order Confirmation:

8 each cost $47.76 plus tax.  Their part number is D014-077-00. 

They are .57" ID  X .690 OD X 1/74 long.  

Can't help you with the Shackle bolts themselves.  

Hope this helps a little.

GJ

[rideandfly]

Found this Dexter EZ Flex installation instructions:

https://www.dexteraxle.com/user_area/content_media/raw/059-A45-00E-ZFlexInstructionSheet.pdf

 

[ScubaRx]

13 hours ago, GraniteStaters said:

…some Dexter axles shackle bolts have two different zerk size requirements.  

Some zerks are 1/4-28 UNF tapered thread, but they fit a straight 1/4-28 tapped hole. Others I've seen lately are metric M6.

Do not drive the bolts from the shackle straps that have two pressed in. If you do, you will have to remove the zerks and place the bolts back into the shackle straps and drive them in with a large sledgehammer until the knurls under the head completely seat. Do not attempt to  pull them home with the wet bolt nuts. You will ruin both the wet bolt and the nut.

[GraniteStaters]

Thanks for the great suggestions.  I had ordered a complete set of bolts and bushings last summer for this project, so parts weren't going to be an issue as long as I didn't need to do both the curbside and the street side.  I successfully installed the first bolt today.  It was probably the worst to do.  I had to support the axle with a screw jack, lift the spring with a small hydraulic jack, and for my final alignment, pull the axle forward a bit with a strap to allow for the final alignment for the new bolt.  I had installed the new bronze/brass bushing in advance before attempting this today.  I still need to do one of the bolts on the EZ-Flex on the rear axle same side and based on Steve's response, it looks like I may need to remove both bolts, shackles and nuts and replace all at the same time to insure the spline seats into the new shacI know from reviewing on the forum that I need to torque the nut to 40 ft lbs while holding the wet bolt end to insure the spline stays put although on the front mount,

[Geronimo John]

2 hours ago, GraniteStaters said:

I need to torque the nut to 40 ft lbs while holding the wet bolt end

This is huge "Gotcha" of the process.  Glad you did your homework!.  

Damaged splines must be repaired.  But that for sure is another thread.  Any owner with damaged splines may want to PM me.

GJ

[GraniteStaters]

Today, I finish the install of the first wet bolt on the spring on the first axle.  I had to thoroughly tighten the new bolt to draw the splines into trailer and then torque to 40 foot pounds.   I grease the fitting afterwards and grease the other 3 fittings on the forward axle.  Later this weekend I will do the EZ-Flex shackles and wet bolts and complete the install.  I will be replacing both wet bolts and installing new shackles  on the rear spring at the point of connection to the EZ-Flex.  If I don't find any suspicious damage there, I will just grease all the zerks on the rear axle and call it a day.   I do need to grease the street side zerks, but that will be later this week and shouldn't involve any bolt replacement.

[GraniteStaters]

Today's installment of the shackle wet bolt replacement on the rear axles where the spring connects to the EZ-Flex.  I supported both front and rear axle with my jack stands.  Both wheels are removed to give me easy access to the rear EZ-Flex connection on the rear axle.  I used a screw jack to take pressure off the EZ-Flex joint closest to the rear axle.  I used a small hydraulic jack placed under the leaf spring to assist in adjusting pressure on the shackle wet bolts.  Because I have to replace one bolt because the zerk broke, I will be replacing all the shackle components on that connection.  During disassembly, I left the nuts on the existing bolts so they would protect the threads and tapped the wet bolts a little at the time until I had enough space to gently pry out the bolts and link assembly.  The nuts were removed and when I pried out the bolts the inside link fell off as expected.  I adjusted the screw jack pressure on the EZ-Flex to facilitate removal of the wet bolts link assembly on my side of the spring.  After removal, I found that the EZ-Flex didn't have any bronze/brass bushing and the spring eye hole had deteriorated and there looks to be just a small sliver.  The wet bolt on the spring was greased last fall before our 6 month long trip.  We had 11K towing miles so it was over due for greasing, but I suspect that with the amount of grease in the wet bolt and spring eye that just the mileage wouldn't account for the wear, but I defer to others on that question.  The bolts looked fine, but I intend to replace them and the links as long as I have them disassembled. 

[GraniteStaters]

I ordered a whole new set to Dexter HD bolts and plan to replace all the bolts and bushings.  While I have the entire curbside of the trailer open for access, I will be repacking all the bearings too.  I should receive the new sets of bolts later this week.  My bushing on the EZ-Flex was about 40 percent gone after over 34K towing miles on our LEII.

 

[GraniteStaters]

I received my replacement parts ordered from Amazon directly from Dexter.  I assembled the shackle bolt assembly for both sides of our Oliver to insure that all the components were correct and discovered that the Shackle assembly with the wet bolts already pressed in on one side wouldn't line up with the other shackle on just one of the 4 assemblies.  I reached out to Dexter for assistance as I assumed they would either replace the incorrect shackle assembly or authorize me to make a minor adjustment to the alignment of the bolts to correct.  Hope to hear back from them today as I want to complete the install on the street side of the Oliver tomorrow or no later than Friday if they don't ship immediately.  I did finish the curbside today and am waiting on new seals to complete the reinstall of the remaining hub on the curbside.  The install of the wet bolts when well, but required elaborate adjustments to jack stands, hydraulic jack, screw jack and stabilizer to line up all the holes.  The chassis attachment required me to lower spring eye hole to remove the mostly warn out copper bushing and to install the new bushing and naturally to realign everything to install the new wet bolts.  I had one wet bolt that didn't show grease at the far end of the wet bolt due to pressure so I did adjust to loosen same and it allowed me to complete the lubrication.  I suspect the other side will be quicker.  I expect that due to the deterioration of the bronze bushings that we will need to disassemble the spring eyes every 36K miles to replace the bushings.  None of my bolts showed any wear, so the bushings did their job.