Correct track fix

[artfuldodger]

Got home with our /2017 Legacy from the national rally and next day went to grease the wet bolts. The rear left side bolt and correct track yellow plates were missing. The spring was not attached to the rear spring hanger. Contacted Lippert tech and he sent the required parts by UPS with no hassle. Thank you Lippert. Installed this AM. Dealer is 2.5 he's away so by doing it myself I saved the time, diesel fuel, and dealer wait (usually weeks).

[BuilderBob]

That's not the first time I'v heard of that problem it needs to be one of the things to check before for going on a trip!

Bob & Carol
Washington St
2017 352RL 2008 Dodge 3500 DRW crew cab 4x4 LB 6.7L

[Golfmedik]

My buddy with an identical rig as mine lost his right rear one this fall in Montana. I will be ordering replacements. And yes, he had torqued his as I do twice a year.

[Ram Montana High Country]

I had a '56 Lincoln - there was a switch the driver could hit to grease the whole car except the drive shaft ... be a neat addition to 5er ...

Why are these wet bolts loosening? Question for those that have fastener experience, "Could Loctite be added to wet bolt nuts? Usually torque is backed off a little due to lube value of Loctite before setting,"

Thoughts please Loctite

[beeje]

I also found a missing bolt on one of my spring ends. I replaced the whole suspension because it was worn out. The brass bushings were worn through and the spring eyes were egg shaped.

To prevent a bolt from backing out again, I double nutted all of them. Short of a bolt breaking, they will not be missing again.

[artfuldodger]

beejee, Good point. I will double but mine as well with lockwashers between if space allows.

[denhammkc]

Has not happened to me yet.I will add one more thing to my pre trip checklist.
What is the torque spec for the shackle bolts?

[dieselguy]

There are several different lock nuts available from most any hardware or home improvement store. Nylocs ... distorted thread ... interfering thread nuts just to name some. I prefer the nyloc nuts as they will not back off. No grease worries, no need to Loctite these, and no need to have some double nut concoction that looks like something you'd see on the Clampett Moblie. 30 - 50 ft lbs on the shackle bolts https://www.lci1.com/assets/content/...ifications.pdf

[beeje]

One issue with the nylock nut. There is only about a 1/4" of treads to put a nut on. Nylocks wont work, they will not tighten enough to get to the nylon part.

[Idalogger52]

How did you double nut the bolts with only a 1/4” of threads to work with? They do make thin nylok nuts but you usually have to to a fastener store to get them. I have that same set up on our 3155 ... will be looking at a fix come spring time.

[Dam Worker]

Blue Loctite should be more than sufficient. Do not use the red Loctite as it is the real deal and you probably won't ever get the nut off without heat or a die grinder etc. I also like nyloc and we use them for a lot of equipment where I work.

Tom Marty

[dieselguy]

I too am a bit confused on how you can double nut your shackle bolts, but not use a single locknut. If you only have 1/4" of threads to put a nut on ... there's something wrong with the shackle bolt length or the shackle has spread on you. Like I mentioned ... there are other styles of lock nuts that will work maybe better in short thread situations. No matter what you use ... the bolt should be one to two threads past the nut for adequate engagement.

[rohrmann]

On the high voltage towers of the utility I retired from, there were countless numbers of bolts and nuts holding these things together. The method used to keep the nuts from coming loose, yet allowing them to be removed if needed was to use a center punch and upset the thread of the bolt next to the nut, enough to keep the nut from unscrewing on it's own, but not so bad that it couldn't be removed with a couple of wrenches. This process of 'dinging' the threads of the bolt might work for the suspension nuts on these rigs.

[beeje]

The mor ryde wet bolts have a shoulder that the nut bottoms out on leaving only a small amount of threads left to get a second nut on. Simply tighten one of the old nuts against the first nut. There is nothing wrong, its just how it is. The second nut locks to the first, preventing both from loosening.

[Dam Worker]

If there is not much extra threads you could use an old fashioned positive lock system. We shear some light to medium gauge sheet metal, put the correct size hole for the bolt that we are using. This is usually square and over sized, you then use a chisel and hammer to bend one or two corners over the nut and the other corner bent around the plate. These can probably still be bought at Fasteners or other retailers.

Tom Marty

[dieselguy]

I understand what you were trying to say now ... due to the step bolt used on your shackles, there is about 1/4" past the OEM nut, not 1/4" total for any nut. Mine are about what you describe. I was just offering an alternative nut to fix your dilemma ...

[Ram Montana High Country]

Interesting to see where rust is forming - only area I noticed of thought was where the brake wires enter the axle