Now that the paint finally dried I can hang the springs. The bushings go in first.
Then the end plate and nuts. Finger tight for now.
With both springs hung I lowered the axle down. The idea is to get the bolt head on the spring to go into the hole on the spring perch. This went easier than the front did. I might be just getting better at this stuff.
Then the other side. At this point the axle is fully sitting on the spring.
Next the spring plates and the u-bolts. I stupidly put the spring plate on backwards the first time but figured it out before things got too far along.
Once both plates were on I cranked them down tight. I think I nailed the length on these. Weirdly the four u-bolts I bought (all the same brand and part number) have two different nut sizes.
Axle and springs are now one.
I put a jack under the axle and raised it up to around ride height then started tightening nuts.
Shackles are cranked down tight.
Last step is the shocks. I double-checked all the nuts at this point.
Wheels back on. These wheels are really dirty. It seems weird to wash this car but I am heading that way now.
Its a car again! The car is a lot quieter now going over bumps. The doors still rattle but everything else is tight now. I will not say the Jeep rides well but it sure is a lot better.
Now that I am actually putting miles on the car I am going to start recording mileage for these little projects. And now I can get front end properly aligned and the steering wheel lined up again. Mechanically the car pretty close. Which means I need to start patching holes in the metal soon. Too bad I don’t know how to weld yet…