crazzywolfie's 93 RC

[crazzywolfie]

Dodge really should have put drain holes in those shackle mounts.  The leaf spring mounting pads under the axle should have one too.  They are literally cups that hold crud that will rust it out.  In your case, it is salt.

Do you own an air hammer to drive those rivets out. As for the bolts, go 5/8" and enlarge the bolt hole in the mount.  May need a carbide bit.  The leaf spring eyes, if I'm not mistaken, are the same size and the bushing/sleeve is thinner for 5/8".  Bushings are fairly cheap as well. Nickels and dimes add up though on a job like this unfortunately. 

i don't know if drain holes would have help in my RC's case. according to the PO he had the thing undercoated twice a year and from the looks of it ya he did but he also never washed any of it off which trapped in all the garbage.

would it be ok to just go with the 1/2" bolt one tho? i was more so just thinking to keep it easy and not have to drill out the holes. i don't understand why a d150 would have the 1/2" shackle bolt but the RC has the 5/8" bolt even tho you would probably haul more weight in the d150. i think as of right now if i get it all through stengelbros it should come in at under $100 unless i am missing something

Welding machine

did that already and it didn't last long. not enough metal left to the mounts

[SixGun]

1/2" should be fine. Check the spring eyes to be sure. A call to Stengelsbros or email might confirm that all spring eyes are the same size with bushing/bolt being the variable.

[crazzywolfie]

crap. i was was out measuring it it seems like i might have no choice but to drill out the shackle mounts to 5/8". the bushings on the RC are 1.5" diameter an the parts truck is 1" and i don't see any bushings available that would work with the 1/2" bolt and are 1/5" diameter. i guess it is no big deal but just another time consuming project. hopefully the 81 can go a month or so without any issues popping up. might need the time to fix the RC

[SixGun]

I don't know how tough the factory steel is but when I did the shackle flip on the 76, the new steel brackets wouldn't drill out.  I had to use a my die grinder with carbide bit. Die grinder was fairly cheap and comes in handy on many projects.  The bit I picked up from http://drillsandcutters.com/carbide-burrs/ . I picked up one bit and use it for everything lol. They make short work of metal of any strength.

[crazzywolfie]

well i might try drilling them out with my step drill bit first and if that don't do the job i might try using the die grinder on them. i don't think the metal is that hard but i guess i will find out. thanks again Richard. i appreciate the help. hopefully things will start going smooth with the RC for once

[bullboy0852]

You might haul more on the 150 but the rc is prolly a good 1000lbs heavier just factory

[crazzywolfie]

i still would not see why 1 would be different than the other. i would think both should be the same since both would haul about the same amount of weight. i know i will haul about 2000-3000lbs in my truck fairly often.

[rjtx667]

I would guess its probably more to do with the year models than anything.

Always changing and improving things as they go on.

[crazzywolfie]

maybe. it just gets annoying sometimes. a simple difference is going to cause more headache. the ramcharger might be sitting for a while until i can fix this properly. i really almost need more space to do it and had i thought of it the other day we could have just moved the truck box ahead and cut about 4-6 feet off the 89's frame to get some driveway space back but didn't.

[rjtx667]

I will have some shackles that will be coming off (hopefully) in the near future if you need some.

I bought the jungle upgrades.

[crazzywolfie]

thanks for the offer but they seem cheap enough new through the link Richard provided. i am just hoping they will turn out to be decent like they pictures they have posted

[crazzywolfie]

well it has taken me a while to make up my mind but i finally decided to try fixing the RC. ground the rivets flush and pounded them out of the out of the shackle mounts. had to hammer on them a bit harder than i liked but they all came out. now i just have to order the new shackles, bolts and bushings and i should be on my way to putting this thing back on the road. i renewed the plate a couple weeks ago so it would be a bit of a waste it i spent the $100 for nothing. i am just hoping nothing big breaks anytime too soon after i fix it. my credit card is already getting a good workout this month without even adding in the parts needed to fix the RC.

[SixGun]

Nothing like diving head first into a project and your wallet. 

[crazzywolfie]

ya. i am hoping since i got the parts truck sitting in the driveway i can keep the cost of repairing my RC fairly cheap. now that i think of it i remember that my RC also needs new strut rod bushing. i am hoping to start tearing apart what is left of the front end on the parts truck and start swapping the parts over as i need them. i also need to get the toe and possibly camber on my RC fixed. i really almost need to start a list. it has been so long since i use it that i am forgetting exactly what it needs. it also looks like it has started leaking power steering fluid since i parked it. i guess i will see when i start driving it again.

[crazzywolfie]

so i need grade 8 bolts for everything right? going to see about getting the bolts locally before i order the shackles and bushings. $3.09/bolt will get expensive quick. that is about $40 for the 12 bolts need for the job. i am pretty sure i should be able to get what i need locally for cheaper than that.