Critique my rear lift plan

I've put some coilovers on the front and it looks great. Now for the rear, just gonna bring it up a little bit since I'm ~1" nose high now and a heavier rear bumper is in my near future.

Let me know what you think about this plan:

-OME N182 rear shocks
-1.5" AAL
-New 7.5" U-bolts (I read it's not good to reuse U-bolts, correct me if that's wrong so I can save $)
-Not going to order shims unless I have problems after install

I read Chris4x4's AAL install but did not see any rear shock install tutorials...I'm guessing it's pretty straight forward. Pretty much any info you experienced guys can give me is very much appreciated.

 

I got new long u-bolts and trimmed them with a sawzall too. Be forewarned though, I burned through about 4 blades between the u-bolts and the centering pins. No big deal, they're cheap, just be sure to have several on hand. You can buy flat top, 2.5" u-bolts from random websites much cheaper than Toytec. Toytec is like $40, I think I remember seeing them for like half that price on other websites.

The set-up sounds great.

By the way, Chris's write-up on AAL installation worked just fine.

 

What's the draw back for reusing factory u bolts? If installing a 1.5 in AAL, is the stock U bolt too small to properly fit?

 

I'm sure millions of people have re-used them without incident. Some say they stretch (and therefore weaken), but IDK. Like MJP2 said, it's just not the place to skimp. They're all that are holding your axle to your truck and they're quite cheap in the big picture.

 

The factor of the u-bolt stretching is not at all out of the question. It is called elongation, and the metal is having high torque applied, which in turn places the bolt into a tension system. The reasoning behind millions reusing the factory one without incident is due to adding more space for the nut. If a bolt has enough torque applied to elongate it, the elongation occurs past the friction point, which in this case is a washer. If a leaf were removed, then it is most likely that the nut will cease movement around the area where it was previuosly tightened to. It is still possible to go past this point, but it risks cross threading now or further down the line. If a leaf is added, the elongation point is past the area needed to acquire the proper tension specifications.

My theory is that the factory u-bolts could be re-used without incident as long as the new leaf is thicker. But if it were my truck, I would buy the new ones.


Just my $0.02.
Hope this helps!


NT

 

Thanks much for the info guys. I just ordered all the stuff, can't wait to install it.