Keeping iron/steel on a vehicle from rusting to some extent is easier said than done. There's no amount of cleaning that will stop this - sealing or coating is the only way to go as long as you're in an atmosphere that contains water vapor. If the nuts and bolts that you have removed aren't too bad, there's no need to replace them. I would clean them with a steel brush to get all the loose stuff off, clean the threads as best you can, degrease the nuts and bolts and spray them with a rust converter (there are various products on the market that come in a spray can - easy to use & most of them work.). This pacifies the bit of remaining surface Iron Oxide (often it's converted to Iron Phosphate) and forms a coating on the steel that can be used as a paint primer. Then you can give the parts a light coat of some rust preventative paint and let all this dry for a day. Now, the parts are ready for assembly - use a liberal amount of anti-seize compound and that's about all you can do. Using an oil based undercoating will also help to keep the moisture from creeping into the bushings etc., at least enough so you aren't plagued with seized components.

 

Hey thanks man! I was thinking of painting my suspension parts since I had them off. I'll be sure to let you know how it goes. I appreciate the advice. I love spring and being able to do this stuff without having to worry about getting to class or doing homework. So, stress free to spend days on end with her getting worked on...now I just need a 2nd car or bike so I could still get around lol without needing a ride

 

Yeah, so my uppper strut mount was totally wasted...

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Ok so real quick...I think I already know what I'm gonna do, but what your input...

Which rubber bumper should I use, the new one looks thin and flimsy, the old one is a lot thicker, doesn't really seem that worn, and also has a cup to go on the inside of the coil spring.


New on Left Old on Right

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New on Left Old on Right

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I would go with the old since the other side still has the same size bumpber. Otherwise the truck may sit at a funny angle. This could and most likely will affect ride height. although slightly.

 

with the old one, was a little bit of a pain to get it in since I was using a rigged up spring compressor with ratchet straps instead of a real one... I will say though that even though I was able to clean it up good I'm probably gonna swap out the bottom strut bolt.

DON'T try this at home lol

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Dirty bolt

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Cleaned up a bit

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I think what you're seeing is deterioration from rust on exposed threads. If you measure where that part of the bolt resided, you might find that it was inside the bushing where the moisture couldn't dry. From that point outward, the threads are still fairly good. Packing the inside with grease or anti-seize will help keep this from happening. This bolt might still be OK, depending on where the nut would sit when tightened - it it's not on the section with the threads eaten away, it will still hold.

 

I think you're exactly right. I do plan on taking my suspension apart again in a few weeks, just because I want to paint everything and make it look pretty. Plus, since the driver side went, I can only imagine that the passenger side might be getting worn as well, so if I clean everything up I might as well do that at the same time.

I also noticed that some of my bushings are getting worn, so those should get replaced as well. Before I do all that tho, I'm gonna definitely get a spring compressor set, using ratchet straps worked, but took a while and definitely not as safe.

I did use anti-seize on all the bolts before I put them back in so, it should be easy to get it out when I do it again...packing with grease would be a great idea, should definitely help keep water out of there.

 

Well, she is back on the ground and riding soooo smooth, feels like a new truck. I definitely need to replace some other bushings soon, but for now she is riding good and I'm liking it a lot.

 

Should you decide to replace bolts, be sure to get the correct strength. Fasteners from the dealership will follow OEM specifications, but if you choose to use a more generic bolt, get the ones with at least the strength of the originals. On metric bolts, the strength is shown on the top of the head, (8.8, 9.8, 10.9, etc) while on SAE bolts, the strength (grade) is depicted by radial lines on the top of the head - a bolt with 6 radial lines would be a grade 8. For generic bolts, I'd suggest getting strong washers and nuts as well, washers especially, since you won't find flanged general purpose bolts or nuts.

You'll find quite a few different compressors available - a lot of them won't work on this truck. The "floor model" spring compressors are usually more compatible than the screw type, but if you want the more portable screw type, ensure you get the ones with a pair of screws and the "hooks" that grab onto the coils need to fit the radius of the whole coil and each of the grabbing fingers needs to fit over the spring. What I mean by all that, is that most of the twin screw compressors are made for smaller coil springs.

These days, I prefer the anti seize. I think it sticks better and doesn't harden on exposure to air like grease does, but in the absence of the anti seize, I would use grease. There are 2 commonly used grades of anti seize and both are equivalent for most applications, but the "copper" anti seize will handle higher heat while the "silver" is the general purpose variety.