Frozen Leaf Spring Bolts - Will it lead to a bumpy ride?

Hi All,

I have a 2013 double cab Off-road that is fully built up. I.e. for weight puposes: Front/rear bumper, winch, tent, fridge, OME BP-51 suspension etc etc - you get the idea. Its got everything on it you can possibly think of.

The issue is this - there is a full dakar leaf pack on it and I was going to replace the leaf spring/shackle bushings and most of the bolts are frozen/rusted in place. Seems like this means that when the leafs compress under a bump, a lot of that movement will be translated directly to the body because the bolts are frozen in place to the eyes of the bushings.

In colorado we have some roads that are poured in sections and going over them, the suspension does not absorb it for a flat ride, but rather is an up and down motion the entire time making my passengers ask me what the hell is wrong with my truck (yes, a stiffer suspension rides stiffer).

If leaf spring bolts are absolutely frozen in place, what would you feel while riding?

Thank you!
Anthony

 

Fix it and report back with results.

 

The bolts aren't supposed to move. The bushings hold in place and twist with compression. Seized bushings are only an issue for replacement, not for driving.

You have a very typical complaint of the dakars unloaded

Is it the pack that you can remove the one leaf spring from?

 

Hmm. Good question. It is a full Dakar Hilux leaf pack. It was actually built by Mountain State Overland a while ago and I bought their built truck. Even when it is fully loaded for camping, it is better but still not great.

 

Guess you could get fatter friends.

 

haha thanks. I live in Denver and we're pretty active, so unless I move back to the south again it wont happen here

 

Yep, it’s hard to not be active there. I’ve done plenty of hiking there.

 

@Bishop84 is right, shouldn't much matter unless your bolts are so over-torqued that the shackle itself is frozen: really unlikely, but easy to test. Check the shackle angle, jack up the truck, and then recheck the shackle angle. If it pivots under the axle weight, it's moving on the road.

The other thing to play with (before tearing down your leaf pack) is the adjusters on those BP-51s. Try decreasing your compression and maxing your rebound - costs you 5 mins of time and a test drive.

Softening the compression will take the edge off those bumps; increasing the rebound should slow spring return and control the vehicle rebound. If you're near your rebuild interval, it might be worth stopping by Filthy or another shop and seeing if they can revalve when they rebuild.