The shop did have the replacement shackles, bushings, and bolts. And the time and equipment to get the job done quickly (and probably in a safer manner) so I had them install them. The holes in most of the shackles were elongated so I had them replace all the shackles, bushings, equalizers, and bolts. All of them were pretty worn.
Here are the old shackles and you can see that the bolts just tore out of the holes in the shackles plus you can see the elongated holes. After they broke, the eyelets of the springs (the ends) were up against the frame. There was minimal rubbing on the frame so this happened near Tok. The road was much worse on the Alaska side of the border with numerous frost heaves and potholes.
The repairs were done at a small shop and between parts and labor, it was under $500. And we basically have a new suspension. The mechanic mentioned that the leaf springs were in great shape and we must not run the trailer overloaded. They get a lot of people with broken leaf springs, broken hanger brackets and a lot of cracked frames. All because of overloaded trailers and driving too fast. I’m glad they were able to get it done. With only one screw jack it would have been a challenge.
I'll have to examine the leaf springs setup on my rig....I think mine are held together with different hardware. Under $500 these days?!, good deal especially as there was really no waiting.
ReplyDeleteI must admit that it was pretty convenient.
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