Well I just got in from working on the truck. It's a 91 Trooper, 4-door, 2.8 V6 bla bla bla. Anyway, the new shackles and new bushings (complete leaf spring and shackle) arrived today from INDY4X and I couldn't wait to jump to it. :D Everything went pretty smooth considering these parts had never been loosened or taken off before. Damn they were tight as hell. Anyway, the only problems I had were getting the old larger spring bushings out and trying to get the U-bolts back in once removed. First off, the bushings. Thank the good lord above me that the guys next door at Alfies automotive were working late. Once I got the leaf springs off, I couldn't fiqure out how to get the old bushings off with the limited tools I had with me. So I walked over to Alfies and he had this 20 ton hydraulic jack thingy that was made to remove leaf spring bushings. I seriously don't think they would have come out any other way. If anyone has fiqured this one out without the jack, please let me know. Second of all those mutherfacking u-bolts. :mad: Both driver side U-bolts seemed sprung or something. They did not want to go into their holes. After about an hour of squeezing, grunting, prying, removing shocks, grunting some more and then some more prying and cussing, I finally sat down and thought about it. :idea: I took the u-bolts out and put the nuts on them til they were flush with the bolt end. Took the factory jack from under the seat and sat it down on the floor under the truck frame. Placed the u-bolt ends between the frame and the jack and proceeded to bend those suns-a-bitches until I thought it was enough. Had to do this about three times on each one until they would drop freely back into the shock plate holes. :bounce: So anyway, I just wanted to share these tidbits in case anyone runs into similar problems. Have a good one. :flipoff2:

JC

Both driver side U-bolts seemed sprung or something. After about an hour of squeezing, grunting, prying, removing shocks, grunting some more and then some more prying and cussing, I finally sat down and thought about it. :idea: I took the u-bolts out and put the nuts on them til they were flush with the bolt end. Took the factory jack from under the seat and sat it down on the floor under the truck frame. Placed the u-bolt ends between the frame and the jack and proceeded to bend those suns-a-bitches until I thought it was enough. Had to do this about three times on each one until they would drop freely back into the shock plate holes.
JC


Mine were the same way when I did my spring upgrades. Similar to you, I put the nuts back on to protect the threads....... then I just put them in the vise and clamped down on them. Took like 45 seconds per side :p

Congrats on the new lift :beer:
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hey sorry J.C. ................... got your messages, but i was swamped yesterday.

glad to hear that you got it all done!

let me know if there is anything else i can help you out with.

then I just put them in the vise and clamped down on them. Took like 45 seconds per side
uh yeah....wish I had access to a vise last night for sure. The homemade version worked out well I suppose. Gald to hear I'm not alone on this one.
i was swamped yesterday.
Hey man swamped is a good thing when you're operating your own independent buisiness. Glad to hear that. But yeah it worked out pretty good 'cept for the minor headaches with the u-bolts and pressed bushings. Although it didn't make a huge visual difference, I love the way it feels. The old shackle bushings were toasted and have been for a while apparantly. I'll post some new pictures as soon as I get some on disc. No access to a digital camera so it takes me a while to keep updated on the puter. I just got home from a tire shop not far from my hometown. These little po-dunk towns and their prices on tires kick my ass man. $125.00 each on 31x10.50x15 BFG Mud Terrain radials :bounce: . I love it. Mounted and balanced - $534.00. I ordered them yesterday morning and had 'em on the truck by 1:00 pm today. I'm definately one happy lil redneck right now.. :D ..new lift, new bushings and new tires. Bring on the winter. :smokin: Thanks again Matt for the sticker. Looks good my back door.

JC