Another thing to consider once the steel sleeve is removed is that the spring eye opening can be expanded slightly with the use of a muffler expansion tool on one end of the spring eye opening. I've done this to install poly bushing on leaf springs. I've expanded the spring eye on one end, lubed the poly bushing with Super-Lube and pounded the bushing into the spring with a dead blow hammer. Once one side is in, the other side goes in much easier.

 

Update: sorry for the delay, I started a new job and this is the first weekend free to continue tackling this since starting.

I got the sleeves removed in about 15 minutes with a sawsall, the new bushings greased and installed, and now I'm trying to get one last bushing lined up. The passenger side front and rear (shackle) bolts lined up perfectly but the front of the driver side is still about an inch too high and half an inch too far to the rear of the vehicle. I hooked up a rathcet strap that got me this far but short of banging on the rear wheel hub with a mallet to get see extremely incremental movement I don't see how to get this aligned properly. I tried removing the bolt on the rear driver side shackle but that didn't give me any extra room. My only other thought is loosening the u bolts connecting the leaf spring to the axle, but then I fear I'm going to have some difficulty getting those aligned and re-bolted. Anyone have any suggestions?

Before ratchet strap with rear shackle bolted in and passenger side leaf springs bolted in.

Movement after using the ratchet strap and current position.

Before ratchet strap with rear shackle bolted in and passenger side leaf springs bolted in.

Movement after using the ratchet strap and current position.

 

The shackle should allow the whole assembly to move forward some... can you just pull the axle forward with the strap?

 

The ratchet strap was wrapped around the axle and I tightened it until I physically couldn't any further. I decided to remove the u bolts and separate the axle from the leaf springs and was able to get the bolts on the springs lined up but now I'm having difficulty getting the axle aligned and the leaf springs into the little peg holes on the axle. It seems one side wants to be either to far to the left/right or to far to the front/rear. I'm also working on an incline which doesn't help because my driveway isn't level; the jack and stands slipped when trying to wiggle the axle into place and it pulled out of the transmission so now I also have fluid everywhere. The joys of working in a driveway 🙄

 

Update: Got everything put back together and bolted on, just did a road test after alignment and everything feels muuuuuch better than the OE 205,000 bushings and shock absorbers. Removing the driveshaft made aligning the rear axle onto the pegs of the leaf springs much easier and in hindsight should've probably just bitten the bullet and done that from the start to make everything less cumbersome.

 

U-bolts are technically never to be reused. I see lots of guys get away with it but won't do it myself. Good luck. If you stop posting we know what happened.

 

When I did resto work on my truck, one of the U-bolts on the rear axle was nearly rusted through on one side. I found that this place will ship you new U-bolts (whatever type, length and diameter you need, along with bolts) at a fairly reasonable price - https://uboltstore.com/

 

I guess you learn something new every day; I'll get some new ones ordered then. The ones on the truck had no rust whatsoever and the threads looked and felt intact when I torqued everything down, and even after I re-checked the torque after my initial ~25 mile drive everything was a-okay, but I suppose it's better to be safe than have my rear end fall apart at highway speeds!

 

Thanks for the recommendation! Do you happen to know the size of the u-bolts for a 2WD truck off of the top of your head?

 

I typically order from Alcan Spring or if you have a local spring shop they'll bend 'em up for you.

You need to know spring width (should be 2.5" on a 1/2t), stock diameter (probably 14mm or 9/16?) and leg length which can be approximate. Also specify square or round bend. Since Dodge chose the stupid spring plate under the axle you should need square bend.

Don't order anything Husky Spring from RA. Total garbage. Note aftermarket will likely be longer and you can trim to length once snugged. Aftermarket also runs the threads much "higher" so you're less likely to run out of threads if you order a little long.