U bolt question...

zach1990 · February 20, 2013

1st off yes I searched ok guys so due to my truck sitting on jack stands needing all new ball joints all around I've decided to lower the front from 2.5" of crank to 2" of crank. My problem is I've got a 3" block in the back and I don't want that whole 1" of rake. Seeing as I still have the stock 2" blocks can I just pull the 3" ones out and reuse the u bolts? They are only a couple months old... I want the truck level I just don't want rake or another fiasco like this again

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zach1990 · February 20, 2013

Bump

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kstruckcountry · February 20, 2013

I can't imagine it would hurt anything to reuse em. As long as the threads go far enough.

zach1990 · February 20, 2013

I bet I could put a whole new leaf pack on top of what I got with the amount of thread these things have

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yukon25008.1 · February 20, 2013

They say not to because they stretch, but I have...

zach1990 · February 20, 2013

They say not to because they stretch, but I have...

See I was looking for experiance because these u bolts are only a couple months old..

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Matt_ · February 20, 2013

It's not that the bolts themselves stretch, the threads deform when properly torqued. This maintains necessary tension during the cyclic loading as torque is applied to the wheels and the axle tries rolling off the springs.

Seeing as how you're removing the block and replacing it with a shorter one, you'll be torquing down on a different section of threads and should be OK.

I personally would still prefer to replace them.... cheap insurance IMO. But if the trucks up on blocks and you want to get it back together, you could always swap the ubolts out later on if you wanted.

Edit: just a clarification- as with any torqued fastener there is some "stretch" as torque is applied; that's how all bolts work. Technically they're a really really stiff spring. So i wasn't saying they won't stretch, just that the primary concern is the threads are one-time use.

zach1990 · February 20, 2013

It's not that the bolts themselves stretch, the threads deform when properly torqued. This maintains necessary tension during the cyclic loading as torque is applied to the wheels and the axle tries rolling off the springs.

Seeing as how you're removing the block and replacing it with a shorter one, you'll be torquing down on a different section of threads and should be OK.

I personally would still prefer to replace them.... cheap insurance IMO. But if the trucks up on blocks and you want to get it back together, you could always swap the ubolts out later on if you wanted.

That's a pretty darn good explanation matt. Thanks. Guess I will just use em for now and replace em later on

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