Yow! That was borderline disasterous. You need to take the weight off of the suspension by lifting by the frame and it should come out. That will be a hard bolt, you will need to get one from a dealer or somewhere like a NAPA store.. grade 8. It's so hard that you may find that all you need is a new nut if the bolt isn't broken off. Maybe lifting by the frame will allow you to push it back in, you'll have to get the height of the jack just right.

I can't say that I ever saw that happen before, my truck experience has always been the opposite and I had to air hammer them out with a blunt tip.

 

Thanks for the quick response. I'll try to get the bolt back in but I hope it's not bent. If I can get the bolt out will the leaf springs "POP" off of the mount? Are they under pressure?

 

When you lift by the frame there will be no pressure on the spring. Typically you can raise and lower the frame to get the bolt to align with the hole. I highly doubt that the bolt is bent, they will usually break before they will bend. Your issue may be that the threads are boogered up from rubbing against the inside of the spring, or the end of the bolt broke off and is still in the nut.

 

So the threads look worn down so I'm going to have to replace the bolt as well. Back on the jack, Jack! LOL

 

Okay guys, I jacked it up and got it aligned and used a crow bar to gently move the bolt back into the hole and "POP"!!! The sucker went back in and I tapped it back in. Now, I'm going to need to find the right bolt to go on it to keep that from happening again. Anyone know what it might be?

 

Sounds like you have it under control, just don't drive it. You my friend dodged a bullet with that one. If that bolt would have come out, it would have been ugly!

You will probably need a long punch or a long bolt that you can beat up to get that old spring bolt out. Getting the jack to the proper level will be key in getting it out easy. This is one of those times that an air hammer pays or itself. Hey, at least you know it's not rusted in!

Be sure to get torque specs on that bolt before you tighten it. Overtightening I read can cause the spring pocket to pull in tight and will create a squeek. I have purchased those bolts from NAPA if the dealer isn't convienent.

 

That was very nearly a disaster! Good thing you went looking for the cause of the squeak. Great advice from HotRod53. Some hardware stores have hardened bolts. You may want to use locktite on the nut, or buy a locknut -- or both. A third option is to double-nut. Anything to help ensure that never happens again. Oh, and check the other suspension hardware while you're under the truck.

 

Great advice and I just checked. Everything else looks good. I have to say that I think I've been driving the truck for 6 years without the nut and it just recently popped out. The reason I say that is the only work done on the suspension was when I first bought the truck in 2007. I had seen the TSP on upgrading the suspension to TRD and that is the last time the truck was touched.

 

More likely it loosened on its own over time. They probably forgot to torque it or didn't torque it to spec.

 

Hey Badlees, Parts Rx for ya:

That bolt is probably a class 11 JIS and had a washer and class 11 JIS nut too. Call the stealer and ask for these parts:

90080-10138, bolt
94622-51400, washer
90178-A0050, nut

 

So that bolt is a class II? I have a class III at home with washer and nut that will fit the one that is in there. It's a gold class 3 bolt.

 

And let us know if you need one of us to look up the torque spec on it. I have to do that from the computer rather than the phone.

 

^^^ Done. From the FSM torque on that bolt is 89 ft.lbs.

 

Shouldn't this application use a self-locking nut (the all-metal type C kind), that is "squashed" so that you have to use a wrench all the way on or off? If the thing had never been messed with, I'd be filing a defect report with NHTSA, just so it can be recorded, in case there are other cases.

 

You may have an issue with the holes in that mounting flange. If they have been hogged out by being hammered by the bolt, that is another issue to resolve beside replacing the bolt and nut.