Excellent work! Lucky for me down here in GA we don't have rust problems like that, however I've always liked a clean underside to avoid mud sitting under the skid plates and what not. On my 76 F100 4x4 we had several rust spots from mud (it's a hunting/mud truck) and took on a similar project. It's a lot of work but worth it. Kudos for you. Our bed was toast so we left it, I'm waiting for to finally give and just add a flat bed.

 

Looks great, can't wait to see more progress pictures!

Wayne

 

There was a decent size hole in the passenger side floor pan.





I scraped and cleaned the area to get ready for a patch.



It was in a tricky spot... had a few compound bends and took some time to get the patch piece shaped just right. Sometimes I weld in patches, but sometimes I use 3M metal bonding adhesive... it can be stronger than a weld in some cases.... so I chose to use the adhesive in this instance. Really made the area solid.




Dropped the rear axle assembly.



The shackles were in pretty rough shape... I don't think they are supposed to have holes in them?



Springs out and ready to be disassembled.





I sandblasted each leaf, replaced the bushings, coated with Chassis Saver, then finished with some Rustoleum satin black paint. Ready for re-assembly.

 

Very impressive, you're definitely going the extra mile!!

 

How bad was it pulling the springs like that? I think mine are in need. lol

 

It's not really that bad. Put a jack under the diff, remove the bolts at each end of the springs, lower the axle assembly, remove the u-bolts and the springs lift right off. There's a bolt that runs through the middle of the pack that holds them together, take it out and the leafs can be separated. It's a good idea to mark the front of each leaf so you don't get them mixed up.... and keep track of the rectangular spacers that are between each leaf. You may want to replace them as they seem to wear out easily (they are aluminum)... I recommend replacing the pack center bolt as well as the round plastic insulators located at each end of each leaf.

 

Thank you very much. Mine have shifted and aren't even lined up completely. My isolators are ummm... well... gone and going down a rough road is the painstakingly loud. So Im hoping this makes a difference.

 

Anybody remember the guy that got it on his man parts? That thread made the rounds a while back and got shared on many a forum.

Great thread, sub'd.

 

That was Herculiner on an Explorer forum,I found it when I was trying to figure out how to get this stuff off! I posted it on here somewhere.

 

Yea, once the spacers wear out, both springs squeak like hell. They sound like little bitchy ball joints on a gravel road. If anyone can reflect lol.

I've purchase them from the dealer in the past, they're fairly cheap believe it or not. If you don't feel like going out, you can make some up real quick. -