W200 Spring Shackle Bushing / Leaf Spring Arch

[68Mowag]

Hello

I am fairly new to Dodge Trucks and have recently bought a 1968 Dodge W200. On the Drive home I noticed a pretty bumpy ride, which by closer inspection was due too the front leafsprings hitting the bump stops. It was clear to me that the springs need to be re-arched. I don't like old rubber so I decided to replace everything bushing-wise in the front.

This led to another problem as Rockauto only lists the leaf spring bushings (Moog SB266, which are the correct ones) but not the spring hanger/shackle bushings. Those were worn out bad so they needed replacement the most. I found a post on this forum of a guy replacing these bushings, but he only listed a NAPA PN (NAPA Proformer HB860), where I cant order because I am based in Europe. With a lot of searching I was able to track down the correct rubber bushings:

- MEVOTECH MS404125 , used by a lots of Fords between circa 1950-1960

This is how I replaced the Bushings in case some other poor soul has to do the same task:

Warning the inner sleeve of the bushing shouldnt be damaged, I searched long and couldnt find replacements!

Dissassembly:

First the Front spring shackle/ leaf spring needs to be removed or lowered.

After that I used a 3.5mm drill bit and drilled about 10-15 holes in the rubber between the outer sleeve and the inner sleeve (where the bolt sits). Then I used penetrating oil, flooding the drilled holes and using a "U" shaped pick to remove some of the rubber to release the tension on the inner sleeve. After that you can pretty easily take a pair of pliers and just pull out the inner sleeve. In my opinion far less messy and a fire hazard than using a torch to burn the rubber.

There are two bushing per spring hanger, so for the inner one, that isn't accessible with a drill, I just drilled from the outside/wheel side with the drill far out in the drill chuck. I was too lazy to get a long enough drill, so the results where not as good as they could have been when you drill through the whole bushing.

Then I took a 1/2in socket extension where the square drive for the ratchet is and hammered the inner sleeve out.

Assembly:

Blow out any rubber pieces left in the frame with shop air. Then clean with brakeclean, as the penetrating oil used before hinders the bushing from doing its job. It should be completely dry between the new rubber and the outer bushing shell, as this is friction is the basic of the principle of this bushing.

Next I got some tire lube because when it dries out it is non slippery, thus not messing with the friction. Coat the inner bushing sleeve with tire lube and stick it about 5mm in the bushing, that part is a little tricky but doable by hand. After that position the combination of sleeve and bushing in the hole and use a C-Clamp to pull it in. You can see that the bushing then expands and sets itself right. For the inner bushing repeat the same. Remount the spring shackle/leafspring. Tighten shackle bolts only, when there is a load on the leafspring, eg. Final torque when Truck is on its wheels or resting on axle stands. -> Done!

I had driver and curb side done in under 1 hour so it is an easy job. I have good pictures, but i am unable to upload due to file size.

On another note, the springs get re-arched, but I am unsure about how much I should get them re-arched. They were sitting in the truck with a pretty negative arch of about 1 inch; center of eylets to highest point of the leafsprings. I told the company to re-arch them to about 1.5 to 2 inch of positive arch but I dont want to have a lift. It should be as it was stock. I read in another post that the leafsprings are supposed to be flat and or only have slightly positive arch, is that true? Or does someone have a good set of front leafsprings of a W200 that can take measurements?

Thank you for your Help!

Mike

[712edf]

Welcome!

1961-1968 springs definitely had a positive arch.

1969-later W series trucks sat lower. If you look at any factory brochure from the era you can notice the tall stance.

w200.jpg (10.39 KiB) Viewed 3509 times

Bucky

[Wildergarten]

have recently bought a 1968 Dodge W200.

the springs get re-arched,

Most Welcome! IMO you picked the best looking truck of the product run.

My experience with re-arching has been less than wonderful. Why not get them new?

[68Mowag]

have recently bought a 1968 Dodge W200.

the springs get re-arched,

Most Welcome! IMO you picked the best looking truck of the product run.

My experience with re-arching has been less than wonderful. Why not get them new?

Hi, thank you for the warm Welcome! Yeah I think so too! At first i was kinda unsure about the looks of the truck, but it has grown to me!

I have collected the re-arched springs yesterday and im impressed. I told the guy to give it an additional 2 inches, which he did perfectly! I paid 250 dollars for disassembly, heat treatment, re-greasing, pressing in new bushings and then paint. I think that is a killer deal. I myself have never re-arched springs before, but that shop has about 80 years of experience and is recommended by everyone in the business, even other spring specialists. So hoping for the best

I did not buy new ones, as the shipping to Europe would have taken about 3 weeks and cost about 800$, that money I rather spend on wheels or something else ;)

Does anyone have torque specs for the U-Bolt and the leafspring eye mounting bolts? I did a quick search in the forum but didnt find one. In the meantime i torqued all the bolts to 80 footpound (standard torque for grade 8 5/8" bolts). Does anyone have other numbers for these?

[Wildergarten]

I paid 250 dollars for disassembly, heat treatment, re-greasing, pressing in new bushings and then paint. I think that is a killer deal.

It certainly is!

Does anyone have torque specs for the U-Bolt and the leafspring eye mounting bolts? I did a quick search in the forum but didnt find one. In the meantime i torqued all the bolts to 80 footpound (standard torque for grade 8 5/8" bolts). Does anyone have other numbers for these?

You can probably find a reprint Factory Service Manual on eBay.

From the TIGHENING REFERENCE section P4 for SPRINGS:

Spring "U"-Bolt Nuts, 5/8-18, 175-200 ft-lbs
In my 1967 FSM copy, the Spring Shackle Bolt Nuts 7/16-20 have TWO DIFFERENT specifications!!! 45-50 and 35-40 ft-lbs. It's got to be a typo.
Spring Bolt, 5/8-18, 150-175 ft-lbs

[712edf]

$250 sounds wonderful.

I hope she sits high & proud now.

Bucky