I blew it up, :nuke: . After several hard days of mudding my drag link adjuster sleeve fatigued and failed while I was on the freeway. I bounced off a white sedan and went into a guard rail @50mph at about a 20 degree angle. The force of the impact crushed the bolt that connects the front right brake line to the caliper. I replaced it and bled the brakes but when bleeding driver side the the bleed bolt sheered off in the caliper. I gotta buy new calipers dont I?

My other question is the front axle does not look perpindicular to the frame. The rear axle looks fine so I dont think frame is crooked. The passenger side leaf spring(where I hit) is sagging bad but both the shackle and and the front bushing housing look fine. The axle housing looks strait. Is the axle not perpindicular to the frame because the leafspring is sagging? If the frame is strait and the leaf spring mounts are all in proper location it must be sagging leaf right?

Charlo

:eek: :eek: Sorry to hear about the guard rail. The chances are high that you "sprung" that spring during the impact. Measure your frame from rail to rail on the inside near the front and see if the frame is "tweaked". New caliper......YES they are only $12.00...:beer: ;)

Yeah I replaced the calipers on the truck about a year ago when one froze on me. I could not believe how cheap they are(I heard some honda calipers go for $180 a piece), but are the $12 dollar calipers as good as the factory calipers? The ones I got rusted to shit in about 3 months. Man my truck is falling apart. Needs some tlc. My parts list is climbing in price, I may have to make a claim to insurance. What do 6inch lift leaf springs go for? bout $200? Thx


Charlo

6 in. lift kit....around 400.00 :D :D

There's a good chance you sheared the centering pin in the springs. Fairly common, cheap fix.

As cheap as the calipers are for those trucks, its not worth spending much time trying to fix one. And they are the same as OE calipers, they are just rebuilt.

My guess is you should be able to get a pair of 6" lift springs for under $250.

Pete

If you hit a guard rail at a 20 degree angle @50MPH, I wouldn't be suprised if the front of your frame isn't out of wack......Getting a frame straightened will run at least $300.....:skull:

Getting a frame straightened will run at least $300..... Shit, I always assumed getting a frame straitened was in the 1000s.

as for the centering pin(that what lines up the spring pads to spring right?) It does not look like axle/u-bolts/springpad slid or adjusted itself. There is no new unrustedleaf spring showing or anything like that but it is still worth looking into.

Thx guys

That $300 was a low estimate, it depends on how bad it is. Labor is whats gonna kill ya. It takes time to chain the frame down and get it tweeked just right. It's got to be straightened to factory specs, or you will never get the alignment correct. Another problem is finding a shop that will do it, frame straightening shops are not easy to find. Normally if the frame is way out, the insurance companies total out the vehicle.
Its usually cheaper to get a straight frame and swap everything over! :skull: