factory springs

[slanty12]

does anybody have any advice on how to take the factory springs off of the rear of a 71c10? it took me and my dad about 3 hours with a breakerbar just to do one side and now im stuck like this over night lol so i figured before i attempt the otherside in the mornin i would ask here.

[70c10]

Do you know anybody with air tools?. I would spray the bolts ahead of time to penetrate the rust!

[Old Money]

in wi. wehave alot of rust so reusing the bolts and nuts isnt worth it. i used a grinder and ground off most of the nuts till i could tap them gently with a3 lb. hammer once or twice and they would fall right off. the grinder also works with axle u bolts. or a really big cheater bar ,a large bowl of wheaties and ajock strap so the wrong items dont break loose. murphys law. Old money.

[Arad68]

If they are not rusted too badly, oil them with penetrating oil ahead of time and clean the threads up with a wire brush. Go slowly working them back and forth and use lots of oil. They are definitely not easy.

[slanty12]

yea tell me about it lol they aint rusted to the point where i cant reuse them but the top one expicaly is a real pain to get to and out air ratchet isnt strong enough to really get them loose

[flat68]

I had to weld the nut to the coil clamp on mine and twist the bolts until they broke off. new clamps and bolts are 20$ for the kit. well worth it

[smn69]

Just did mine yesterday. Let a rust penitrant sit on them for a while than used a 1/2" ratchet and a 1/2 breaker bar. I put the ratchet with a standard socket on the top and used the breaker bar with a deep socket fit into the spring. Held the ratchet steady and ratcheted the breaker bar back and forth. Worked really good.

[hgs_notes]

Cutting torch. Buy new bolts. How much is 3 hours of your time worth?

[PanelDeland]

I used penetrating oil(PB Blaster not WD40), a wire brush and a wrench and long arm breaker bar.The breaker bar was the right tool since i broke them to get them off.Use a die grinder to cut the nut and buy new.It's suspension don't cheap out.

[slanty12]

yea i would cut the bolts but i just lost my job n i dont have any money to spent really

[jorgensensc]

Originally Posted by slanty12

yea i would cut the bolts but i just lost my job n i dont have any money to spent really

If it is that hard to take off. It is rusted beyond reuse. The last thing you want is for your suspension to come apart when you could have replaced the worn out rusted bolt with a 1.00 bolt and been safer. This is just my opinion, but if you can't afford to buy a 5.00 worth of bolts to protect your safety, them maybe you shouldn't be working on the truck right now. In the past when I have been broke or need extra money fast I go down to a labor pool (legit ones, not on the corner by Home depot) They can get you quick simple work. It might be labor intensive, but it is quick money. This is just my opinion and I'm not knocking your tough times or getting on your case, but suspension and brakes aren't where you want to be cheap. Be cheap on the stereo or interior.
Shawn

[slanty12]

if they were in that bad of shape i would go and find some way to get the money but their really not in bad shape just got enough surface rust on them to make it a pain in the arss