Lower control arm shaft U-bolt installation

[Railroadman]

Like Waylon said - If it ain't one thing, it's another one on the way!


'66, 3/4 ton, wanting to assemble the suspension. I wound up with U-bolts which are too small - they are 2" across the open end instead on 2 3/4". OK, that's not the end of the world, but a frustration regardless.

My question is, is it safe to assemble the lower control arm shafts to the crossmember, using 1/2" bolts (I have some in there now just to mock everything up, they are even Grade 8), and go ahead and install the springs, spindles etc? And when the right size U-bolts arrive, change them out one U-bolt at at time?

If everything is assembled it should in theory be possible to just remove 2 of the standard bolts, insert 1 U-bolt and torque to spec, then repeat on the other end of the shaft. Or am I asking for trouble getting one half of the shaft unbolted? If so, should I run a floor jack up with a block of wood to keep pressure on the shaft? The motor is out and the whole front end is stripped off so there's not a whole lot of weight there to compensate.

Thanks!