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Leaf spring bushings

5K views 7 replies 3 participants last post by  kevinjohnson3216 
#1 ·
Does the leaf pack need to be removed to change leaf spring bushings on my 01 2wd XE CC?

I know the rear shackle bushings will be no problem if I leave the u bolts bolted up but the front leaf spring is mounted inside the frame. Will I be able to jack up the frame to seperate the leaf spring from the frame mount?

Any tips for this job?

I plan on just burning the rubber out and then cutting out the metal sleeves the hard way like I did all my other bushings. But if I need to remove the spring packs then I need to prepare better because the u bolts are pretty rusted out(the bottom exposed threads)

Thanks
 
#2 ·
I have '98 and 2004 Frontiers, but no crew cab, so I don't even know if mine are similar to yours. But I did replace the leaf spring bushings on my 1988 Mazda B2200 truck, the first time I ever did anything like rear suspension work, and it was straightforward. I was able on that to simply push the old bushings out with my hand. 1.5 hours for first side, 30 minutes for second side, as I got smart and used wood shims to hold the shackle in alignment so didn't have to manipulate a jack to help with that. So experience helps.

Those rearmost 8 old bushings were U-shaped they were so worn out !
 
#4 · (Edited)
I have heard people us a bottle jack or the stock scissor jack between the frame and spring to push it down. If you do it that way, I would suggest wedging in a large piece of something so that it can't pop back up while you are working on it as the jack could pop out. I expect it will work much easier if you remove both front bolts before to start to push down. Also, the only thing keeping it from swinging to the floor at that point would be your shocks as the diff would likely just pull off if it went too far down.

The other option may be to take the bottom bolts out of the shocks while the weight is still on the truck,(If you want to have the wheels off, put jack stands under the axle) then raise it up until there is little pressure on the springs and take the front bolts out and then raise it some more, I expect they will swing down as to take the pressure off.
 
#8 ·
For future reference, do not attempt this job without being prepared to remove leaf springs and it's pointless to do the job if you're not going to clean in between the leafs

Simple job but it was a time consuming job,

I hate the way I have to deal with outer bushing sleeves but I can't find a better way ... Time consuming to burn out the rubber , clean it, then make sawzall cuts, then chisel it
 
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