[wixthedog]

Updates were promised and updates you shall receive! (even if they are not that impressive)

As expected the ol' girl has been fighting tooth and nail. It appears untouched in her 44 years so I knew this was coming. Torches, big hammers, air hammers, and presses are all employed to make the immovable move again.

I found that several leaf springs are cracked in half in the center but fortunately these happen to be leafs that are being removed anyway. A cleaning and critical inspection of the leafs that are staying revealed they are good to go, sans bushings. If you have never replaced leaf spring bushings you are missing out! There really is no easy way. My go-to method is to drill out the old rubber bushing until you can drift out the center bushing. I then insert a hacksaw blade and make two cuts into the old outer bushing so it can drift out a little easier. Then I clean the prep the ID of the leaf spring, add a little grease, and then press in the new bushing. I have an actual press but I found a large hammer makes quick work of it as long as you prepped correctly and have a solid work bench.

New 3/8x16x2" allen head cap screws were used to bolt the leaf spring packs back together.

I'll continue on and replace all 6 leaf spring bushings and then do reassembly between Christmas and family stuff.