So, while noone is home today I thought now would be a good time to finally get those damn leaf springs off the car. Currently, the front I bolts are the only things holding them up. I got out my 5" cutting wheel and cut the bolts in half on the sides of the eyes towards the outside of the car, but I still need to cut them on the inner side of the eye for them to drop down and out. Problem is, with the bolts nestled down between the eye and railing, the head of the cutter hits before I can barely cut the bolt inside. Any advice on this? I tried an airchisle too but it didnt do much of anything.

 

You cut both ends off of it allready? I think I hit my leafs with a sledge and the backed the bolts out with a wrench and then used a pickle fork and a hammer to get them the rest of the way out. If you cut both ends off and can't get inbetween I don't think you want to bend that metal too much. stry sticking something in the hole like a screw drive and pounding the bolt out? use some kind of lubricant as well. Only thing I can think of.

 

I had to use a hacksaw on one of mine... I didn't have power tools of any kind that day! Yes, it took a long time, but it worked. The middle of the bolt didn't come out of the spring, either. I had to hacksaw both sides. Good luck!

 

Oh and use your jack or something else to help relieve the pressure off the bolt as well.

 

Its hard to explain and my camera isnt here right now, but I only cut the bolt in half between the eye and bracket. I still need to cut it in half between the eye and frame rail for it to fall downward. My cutting wheel's "head" hits the framerail before I can put it in the crack far enough to cut the bolt.

I cant back it out the hole like it was put in becuase its froze to the bushing sleeve.

Ill see if I can put a hacksaw up in there. I just remembered I have a battery powered sawzaw, but I dunno if itll be strong enough, Ill go see..

 

Sawzaw cant do squat

Rina, we must be thinking of something else becuase theres no way in hell any straight blade is going in there..

Ive barely gotten anything done since struggling with the innersides. The onlyway I can think to cut it is if I can get a bigger cutting disk. I dont feel like paying 100 bucks for another cutter, perhaps I can take the shield off it long enough to fit a bigger disk.

 

I am stuck at the exact same position. I was able to get a short bladed sawz all in between the inside of the leaf and the frame and cut about half of the bolt, but I cant get enough of an angle to get the rest of the bolt cut. These two measly damn bolts are the worst part so far of the rebuild. I wanna pull my hair out!![:@]

I am taking a break and letting it sit til tuesday. Taking the Mrs. out of town for a few days. Trying to keep me out of trouble

 

Steven, I know EXACTLY how you feel. It was so damn hot today and the work didnt help any. On mine, I was able to spin the bolts in thier holes, but not able to back them out of the hole. If you cut some, then rotate, cut some more, rotate, etc... you might be able to get it all...

 

Would anyone be upset to hear that my son removed the stock springs from his 66,,, he pried the front bolts out with a medium sized screwdriver, no hammer, no WD-40.

I have heard all of these stories about getting these bolts out so I put that job off for a while. Turns out for no reason.

The majority (like 90%) of the bolt still has the zinc coating. If the kit would not have come with new bolts I would have reused them.

 

ok I did this myself without the help of power tools, because well... i have none [:@]... anyways, what i did was jack up the leaf itself (as close as possible to the eye) this will take the tension off the bolt, and will make it easier to drive out in the end. Then i took a sledge and drove out the bolt.

Take a sledge to that puppy and beat it out, you could pound it from above (would not recommend as it could destroy the mounts + you may not have the clearance to hit it with enough force) or push it thru the hole with the screwdriver and a hammer (i would try this one first because it worked for me ) I have gotten used to taking the long way to do things such as this simple task, and it can get very aggravating but don't give up on it. I once spent 2 whole hours trying to get a single brake line off of a splicer [:@]. LoL goes to show u that stupidity and determination CAN go hand in hand. Also i would recommend spraying some type of lubricant (ie WD40) 15 minutes before you try to "pry" it out.GOOD LUCK, and let us know how it goes!