Made in USA leaf springs

[johnwen]

7 minutes ago, jd1923 said:

I generally prefer working on my own vehicles (and home) vs. contracting trades. However, the reasonable amount Alcan charges for labor is well worth it! This is not as easy as it looks! 🤣

Both axles are in today. Torque the wet bolts and brake wiring yet to do. Friday I have new E-Z Flex equalizers coming.

Looking good JD :)

[Patriot]

Jd, 

Nice work on your new running gear. If I am looking at this correctly, I see you installed your wet bolt zerks facing out or towards the inside of your wheel/tire. This makes it a more difficult to get the grease gun in that much tighter space. While having my leaf packs installed, I had the techs at Alcan reverse my zerks for much easier access when greasing them — now facing the opposite direction.

Hopefully you are not too far along and can reverse your wet bolt zerks to face the inside for easier access. I promise it will make it super easy greasing those zerks later on. 😊

Patriot 🇺🇸

 

Edited September 5 by Patriot

[rideandfly]

22 hours ago, jd1923 said:

I generally prefer working on my own vehicles (and home) vs. contracting trades. However, the reasonable amount Alcan charges for labor is well worth it! This is not as easy as it looks! 🤣

 

Agree, if we install Alcans, this will be a good reason to head west to Colorado! 🙃

 

 

Edited September 5 by rideandfly

[Patriot]

4 minutes ago, rideandfly said:

Agree, if we install Alcans, this will be a good excuse to head west to Colorado! 🙃

 

 

Bill, 

We dropped our trailer off at Alcan Springs at 0730 and went to breakfast. Approx 2.5 hrs later we got a call from Lew at Alcan that our Oliver was Alcan’d!! 😄

Well worth the trip to Grand Junction and put that new Beautiful Super Duty in the wind! 🇺🇸

[rideandfly]

53 minutes ago, Patriot said:

Bill, 

We dropped our trailer off at Alcan Springs at 0730 and went to breakfast. Approx 2.5 hrs later we got a call from Lew at Alcan that our Oliver was Alcan’d!! 😄

Well worth the trip to Grand Junction and put that new Beautiful Super Duty in the wind! 🇺🇸

Alcan has a competitive labor charge. It's worth it letting them install the springs when in the area!

Already have all the break-in miles needed on the Superduty for towing. Towed Ollie earlier this week with the Superduty, it handles Ollie easily. Have some family commitments this year, not sure if we will make it to CO, but plan to head west next year. Have most of the farkles (accessories) installed,  finishing touches this weekend.

 

 

 

Edited September 5 by rideandfly

[jd1923]

1 hour ago, Patriot said:

Nice work on your new running gear. If I am looking at this correctly, I see you installed your wet bolt zerks facing out

I thought about the mod many of you have gone with and decided to go with the standard configuration.

The end bolts are easier forward facing and the shackle bolts are easy enough with an elbow fitting and power grease gun. Takes a bit of extra reach or climbing under when the Zerks are facing inwards.

Half the time when lubing, I’ll likely have the wheels off anyway to check brakes, adjust the “self-adjusters”, check the tires thoroughly, pressure wash the backsides, and remove all the annoying gravel (when doing so, I’ve found countless nails and other metal objects in tire treads.

BTW, pulling and replacing wet bolts is NOT easy, as the bolt alignment is not always there. 🤣

[John and Debbie]

12 hours ago, Patriot said:

Bill, 

We dropped our trailer off at Alcan Springs at 0730 and went to breakfast. Approx 2.5 hrs later we got a call from Lew at Alcan that our Oliver was Alcan’d!! 😄

Well worth the trip to Grand Junction and put that new Beautiful Super Duty in the wind! 🇺🇸

We did the same.  Grand Junction has a few nice restaurants.  

John

[jd1923]

Finally done!  Worked on this every-other-day this week. Looks great, doesn't she?! Alternate days are for Pickleball. My body can only take one kind of daily trauma! 🤣

Days on the court cannot be combined with hours climbing under truck or trailer! How many times did I get down on the driveway, sitting on a milk crate, craning my neck to fit under the Oliver fenders. or lying down on the ground, and then climbing back up? Way too many times, no matter how well I plan having parts and tools required!

UPS came early yesterday allowing me to finish with new E-Z Flex equalizers from eTrailer (2-day ship only $6.50 extra, adding another $316 to the grand total)! You should check your equalizers. Some may have upgraded leaf springs without the equalizers being removed and cleaned up for inspection (it's the right time to do it).

Details on this and other concerns soon. Look for a new thread on this subject. All that's left now is to torque and grease the wet bolts (our son Adam will power the torque wrench under the trailer and the DeWalt power grease gun makes this easy). Mount wheels & tires and test drive. I'll tow some miles on local highways and hilly/winding roads, then retorque the U-bolts upon return. Park the Oliver to free up my driveway again. Another trip to Southwestern Colorado is just 3 weeks away!

Edited Saturday at 06:35 PM by jd1923

[Tom and Doreen]

22 hours ago, jd1923 said:

...Way too many times, no matter how well I plan having parts and tools required!

 

That is some fine work, John, excellent job!!  You'll not only have the confidence in your equipment going forward but you'll also have the knowledge (and tools) to tackle any situation that comes along should something go wrong.  

Regarding having the parts and tools required at hand I still struggle with that as it seems like no matter how simple the job I find myself running back and forth to the garage several times to retrieve nearly all of the tools I own!!