Made in USA leaf springs

[DanielBoondock]

Did the curbside yesterday. Took longer than I expected so it’s two days overall. Went fine once I figured out the tricks. 

The one thing is the springs (or at least one) center top, where the center tie bolt of the spring goes into a centering hole on the cradle plate, isn’t quite sitting flush. I haven’t torqued everything down yet and I’m not sure why it’s not fully nestled in there yet. Hoping that once I do the other side it’ll all settle out, but if anybody has an idea. 

[Tom and Doreen]

That's a tricky part of the job for sure.  I remember using a bottle jack under the axle and also under the spring pack to help  center the pin in the hole. I also jacked the other side of the trailer up a bit to allow the axle to be manipulated a little.  It's tricky doing it by yourself.  The important thing is to make sure the pin is aligned in the hole all around, any remaining gap will be taken care of when you tighten the U-bolts.  It also helps to put a bit of grease on the pin.  

[2008RN]

3 minutes ago, Tom and Doreen said:

I also jacked the other side of the trailer up a bit to allow the axle to be manipulated a little.

I totally agree I had the same problem.  Having the opposite side down I noticed that the axles were slanted side to side, but also skewed a little front to back.  If I had to do it over I would have raise the whole trailer  up and level with no pressure on all 4 hubs/tires.   I did buy 2 cheap scissor jacks from Amazon to fine tune the height of the axle I was working on helped a lot.  I could adjust the height of the scissor jack by hand and get things exactly where I needed them.

here is the jack I bought

https://www.amazon.com/TCE-AST10202SU-Torin-Cross-Scissor/dp/B0CP78MZMK/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2H17OYSVYKERR&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.bwqlOzBbCSEQIvYLwTJphg.4A7CLcc1r9OBfO4aqVO_k8xMRyWPESElnwC8J8uQsm4&dib_tag=se&keywords=TCE%2BAST10202SU%2BTorin%2BWide%2BBase%2BCross%2BCar%2BScissor&nsdOptOutParam=true&qid=1789315759&s=automotive&sprefix=tce%2Bast10202su%2Btorin%2Bwide%2Bbase%2Bcross%2Bcar%2Bscissor%2Cautomotive%2C238&sr=1-1&th=1

 

[DanielBoondock]

Problem solved. I hoped (but didn’t expect) that maybe when I did the other side it would settle in, but it did and looking good!

All four done, wheels torqued but I’ll save the final torque suspension for tomorrow when I’m rested, then take it for a few test drives. Street side started going really fast but then ran into some drama, an axel slipped off its jack (why didn’t I strap that to the jack?) then the very last bolt was a troublemaker. The Dexter bolts are sized down at the very end for a smaller nut. Weakest link in a chain kind of thing, but it does make it much easier to mount - the Alcan are same size throughout so alignment is more critical. Anyhow after moving the jacks a million times taking pressure off here and there finally got it done. A lot of work! Definitely a job where the right tools make the difference. Having a lot more jacks would have helped (also working on pavement, at my brother in law’s in the dirt as I can easily keep it hitched and work in peace.)

Oh and guess what? One of the old shocks is dead. Bought this in March so only six months old 🙄

[DanielBoondock]

Question: I’ve got 65 ft/lbs on 1/2” u-bolts. Not doubting them but it seems light (I accidentally manually tightened past that on initial setup), probably back in this thread but anybody put a backing nut on it (if there’s thread), witness marks or loctite?

[jd1923]

10 hours ago, DanielBoondock said:

Hoping that once I do the other side it’ll all settle out, but if anybody has an idea.  

 

9 hours ago, 2008RN said:

I noticed that the axles were slanted side to side, but also skewed a little front to back.

I spent a lot of time making sure the leafs were in line, square / plumb front to back, before mounting the wet bolts. Actually, I did this on my garage floor prior to mounting new axles, but you’re doing springs only.

If you feel they’re not square, what I would do after you’re finished is get somewhere on a big flat level parking lot, loosen all U-bolts (somewhat) and the wet bolts with no torque at all, drive 100 ft or more steering wheel straight ahead! Then re-tighten the U-bolts first, then torque the wet bolts.

Ya think the “Professional”installers would worry about this? I love Alcan and everybody I met who works there. But when you get this job done in 2-3 hours, you get what you got! 🤣

I spent 3-4 days fussing over our new axle and leaf spring installation.

Was watching the tires over speed bumps the other day. This suspension is a moving work of art! Back home, time to torque again! 🤣

[DanielBoondock]

I 

23 minutes ago, jd1923 said:

I spent 3-4 days fussing over our new axle and leaf spring installation.

Good because that’s where I’m headed! 😅

Agree with all your points, and also I like the self reliance. That’s the idea with this for me, having independence. And now instead of being a mystery I’m confident and aware of what the suspension is doing and know what to look out for. 

[jd1923]

1 hour ago, DanielBoondock said:

Question: I’ve got 65 ft/lbs on 1/2” u-bolts. Not doubting them but it seems light (I accidentally manually tightened past that on initial setup), probably back in this thread but anybody put a backing nut on it (if there’s thread), witness marks or loctite?

U-bolts or wet bolts?

The U-bolts MUST be 90 ft-lbs MIN, 100 would be good, but not more.

IMHO, the Alcan torque numbers for wet bolts are more than high enough, I went about 10 ft-lbs less on these.

The original wet bolts were shoulder bolts where regardless of torque, the shoulder allows play on the leafs so the suspension can move nicely up and down. Certainly do not over torque these or the leafs may bind on the bolts which could cause the tires to skip and bounce.

Before I did our major suspension install, I had no idea! Our OEM suspension was barely hanging on! Like it was never torqued in so many years! 🤣