Change the front bushings in your Dakars

Not sure when that changed. Mine are about a year old and came with them installed. Helped @2015whitetaco install a set in December that had none.

 

I wonder if wheelers knows about the problematic bushings and sells the leafs without them. Maybe that's why they recommend you get their bushings when buying them? Either way, it's been a week and a hundred miles on mine and they're great! A little stiff, but great. Huge improvement over my flat oem leafs.

 

No problem Eric. It's a fairly easy swap for the mechanically inclined so you should be good. Because of the lower torque settings, I used blue loctite on the bolts front and rear so that should prevent them from walking out. As an aside, I'd also say be careful when you're putting everything back together: when you push the bolts in, grease from inside the inner bushing sleeve could get in the threads and give you a false torque reading or prevent the loctite from being able to cure and dry.

 

Thanks for the heads up op I have Dakar's waiting to be installed perfect timing!

 

It is done. My experience was a little different; my bushings really wanted to stay put in the eyes. Enough to where I had a nut jump thread on the piece of 1/2"-13 threaded rod I was using. Thanks again for the advice.

 

No problem bud. Glad it got done even if they did fight you a bit. One thing I noticed on mine was that the bushing that fought me a bit had a much cleaner outer sleeve than the one that came out easier. My suspicion is that the cleaner sleeve meant it had a tighter fit in the spring eye that did not allow dirt/water/debris in there. The other side of that is that if there is enough room for water to get in, the bushing could rust and seize in place (which could be a possibility with yours). They also look really dry in your pictures. Again not sure if the PB blaster I used helped at all, but there's always that possibility.

Either way-you'll be really happy with the new bushing. I noticed a ride difference right away.

 

I don't know, the stock bushing design seems to allow for some slight rotation of the leaf pack at that end. Keeping that end tight inside the bracket with the poly bushings might put more stress on that bracket or the leaf pack itself from the twisting.

 

There is still room for the new bushing to rotate freely in the front hanger. When completing final assembly and torqueing everything down, I didn't tighten down the bolts to the point of bending the bracket and compressing the bushing and front spring eye. You'd have to really crank on it to do something like that so it's not something that can be done accidentally- you'd have to mean it. What the wider bushing with the outer shoulder help with is lateral movement of the rear axle. Now, I know it's impossible to believe that the measly poly bushing will keep the axle from moving at all, but it helps prevent any metal to metal contact that was evident by the witness marks/worn paint in the first post after disassembly. You rear axle is located laterally by the leaf springs and center pin as opposed to a link suspension that uses a panhard bar to keep the axle centered, so there will be some play in the side to side movement especially with the weight of our vehicles and when turning/cornering off-road at speed. Rubber will flex more than polyurethane and my suspicion is that the higher flex rate coupled with the high tolerance in the spring to bushing sleeve is what allows the bushing to walk out of place.
That being said, the front mount has very little rotational movement in it to begin with, being that it's a fixed mounting position and most of your spring articulation comes from the rear eye and shackle that work together to allow droop and compression in conjunction with spring flex. Grease at all these points also helps greatly.

 

Sub'd because @GHOST SHIP is a genius and pretty decent shooter...

 

Those with the Dakars installed ~ has it reduce / eliminated the axle wrap / cluck these things have? Most notable when releasing the brakes following a hard stop? Ordering Dakar package from Headstrong which includes the bushing kit, hoping it stops the annoying weak spring / wrap...

 

Dakars are much stiffer than stock leaf springs so I would imagine they would be an improvement but as far as how much is subjective because I'm almost positive no one has done a scientific comparison on that characteristic. I've mentioned before that I'm not as sensitive to what I would consider the minutia and "charm" of owning these trucks especially once they're modified so I couldn't say if there was axle wrap to begin with. They are stiffer though so that might be of some comfort or concern depending on how you look at it.

 

I'm looking at replacing my front bushings also this weekend ARB is kindly sending me a new set. Question tho can I just let the front eyes down after I remove the tires and pressure off the rear wheels?
I plan on pressing the old bushings out like I see you guys have done here great info and pics
Thank you

 

Thank you. You can do this while the leafs are still attached to the rear shackle, that's how I did it in the OP. Depending on a few factors though, you might have trouble on the driver's side. First, the brake lines are on the driver's side which if you don't have extended lines, might make it difficult to drop the axle so the front eye is low enough to clear the gas tank (also on the driver's side). I have 3" over lines and they were barely long enough, but still close enough where I had to be careful with my hammer strikes. In hindsight, that might be why I couldn't get to it as easily, that and a lefty swinging a hammer with his right hand makes for goofy body contortions. I had even removed the u-bolts on the driver's side and still couldn't get the clearance I needed for a comfortable approach. If I were to do it again, I'd remove the driver's side completely and work it on the bench, but leave the passenger's side attached. With the amount of disassembly required to get to the front bushings, one more bolt to remove the rear shackle isn't really asking much.

 

Ok thanks for the advice I don't have extended lines but I'll take my time and see how it goes I'm just excited to get rid of this squeak lol I'll update you after we finish this weekend
Thanks

 

As a secondary piece of advice, if you do remove the driver's side u-bolts and maneuver the leaf pack off the perch to gain more clearance, be extremely careful as the hard brake lines that run on top of the axle just behind the drum at that end are right where you'd be tempted to let the leaf pack rest while you work on it. The weight of the leaf pack (guessing around what, 60lbs?) on the thin walled brake lines will turn a simple project into "fuck this piece of shit" project in no time.

 

I was there and helped when installing these leaf springs I know what you mean anout the break lines and that is my biggest worry I plan to keep a jack under the axle and keep it steady!
Thank you for the reminder! What kind of grease do you recommend when installing the new bushings? Just the red high pressure grease I use on my UCA's and driveshaft ?

 

I managed to do it without removing the u-bolts and with stock brake lines. To pick up some extra slack in the brake lines, unbolt the brake line brackets from the frame rail and the axle. Keep a close eye on them when you are lowering the axle so the eye clears the gas tank. Close, but it can be done.

 

After finding this thread accidentally I decided to check my leafs. The dakars on the drivers side are rubbing on the hanger. Gues I'm going to do this fix. Thank you op.

 

Where are you getting your bushings if your leafs aren't that old ARB may send you a set for free call them and ask for the tech assistance line like I did
Fed ex 2 days I'm expecting mine today
(425) 264-1391 ARB Washington USA