Wild Horses 6 Degree Axle Shims

[broncosam]

I got a set of 6 degree axle shims from Wild Horses to install on my 3.5 inch rear springs and have run into a minor problem. The shim kit came with 2 sets of center pins, one set 3/8" and the other set is 7/16". I got the old pins out with no trouble but the 3/8" pin seems too small, it wallows around in the hole in the spring pack, the 7'16" pin is too big in diameter. I am not sure about trying to drill the hole in the spring pack out, leaf spring steel can be pretty hard. Any suggestions? The fellow I got the springs from said they were from Tom's Bronco Parts.

 

[Jdgephar]

I would use the smaller bolt, and then make sure to re-torque the u bolts after 100 miles.

Sent from my SM-G981U using Tapatalk

 

[SHX669]

I drilled the spring pack for the larger pin - and yes it wasn't easy . I went slow and used a lot of cutting oil.

 

[DirtDonk]

There might even be a fairly easy-to-source sleeve with the right dimensions to take up the space left by the 3/8" bolts in a McMaster Carr, or Grainger catalog.
Might delay things a bit waiting to get it, but depends on how you feel about drilling springs. The larger diameter bolt is an advantage, but not a critical piece especially if you're not over-taxing your vehicle with hard use.
It's not a large discrepancy between a 3/8 bolt and a 7/16 inch hole, and a sleeve might be super thin and harder to find. It just seems better to fill the void than to not.

An alternate solution might be to simply source bolts of the correct dimension. Maybe they're metric? Get them long enough in an Allen head cap screw if you have a choice, and grind the head down just enough to fit into the perch. A hex head bolt can be ground too. Just thought it might be easier starting with a round Allen head.
Could work...

Paul

 

[jamesroney]

The Toms Off Road spring center bolt is 10mm (.39 in) diameter. This 3.5 inch lift spring was purchased in December of 2021. The second picture explains why it is metric.

 

[armynavy17]

https://www.4crawler.com/4x4/ForSale/Shims.shtml#CenterBolts

sells center bolts. Looks like they may just carry standard, but thought I'd throw the link out there. I used them for custom shims a while back and was pleased with their product.