afp1
07-10-2004, 09:59 PM
Whoever said "experience is the best teacher" was an idiot. SOMEONE ELSES'S experience is the real "best teacher". So begins my tale. Where I will have to settle for my own experience as a teacher in this case, all the rest of you can use make use of the better teacher as I relate this.............
I have adjusted my t-bars a great deal. A very great deal. First was 1.5" of lift with Hill Country adjusters beginning in Nov '03. Then I went to 2" of lift when I changed tires and wheels last Fall. When I installed the Rancho lift kit in Mar, I messed with the t-bars again, and then again when I installed the Realift T-bar Relocators. Next, I smacked a curb head on at 20 mph avoiding a pedestrian, which ruined a t-bar and a relocator. The re-install of the new relocators generated more t-bar adjustments.
After all this adjusting, the lock feature of the cross piece threads were gone. No big deal, as the force of the adjuster on the bolt keeps it from moving.
However, it as a big deal that I was getting lazy when adjusting to t-bars. The proper way is to jack up the nose of the truck, then install either a t-bar unloading tool or a good 8" gear gear puller, and relieve the pressure on the adjuster bolt before turning it. The service manual itself says to do it this way (with the t-bar unloading tool.)
I had fallen into the habit of just cranking on the adjuster without unloading. My solution if the bolt was getting hard to turn was to get out the breaker bar, and maybe squirt some penetrating oil on the threads. This is a STUPID thing to do.
I had noticed the left bolt was getting difficult to adjust, and an occasional circular metal shaving was coming off. This is such a huge warning signal to miss it is pure buffoonery. What was obviously happening is pieces of bolt thread were coming off.
Yesterday I installed some 1" blocks in the rear of the truck, bring the total rear lift up to 3.5". I decided to fine tune the front suspension while I was at it--the left side was 1/8" low, meaning it would need about 1/2 - 1 turn.
I couldn't turn it with the 1/2" ratchet, so I grabbed the breaker bar. I knew I was pushing things a bit, but after all I had done this a hundred times already, and I only needed 1/2 to 1 turn. Because it was so hard to turn, I positioned myself more directly underneath the adjuster bolt than I normally do to get more leverage. Did I mention how STUPID this is?
I got about a 1/4 turn, and really laid on the torque. All of a sudden something whacked me very hard in the fore head just above my right eye. It knocked my glasses out of position. I was dripping blood. I knew the blow was hard enough to cause more than just a scratch.
After I got the bleeding pretty much stopped--which wasn't hard--I looked back under the truck to see what happened. The adjuster bolt was stripped of threads in it's middle. What happened is the bolt had stripped, and being under full load of the t-bar, the adjuster slammed the bolt through the cross piece threads until the end of the bolt was flush with the top side of the cross piece. Since the socket was on the bolt the socket was forcefully slammed as well, and the end result was the breaker bar was forcefully slammed into my fore head.
My wife made me go to the ER. At first, the wound looked like it was staying closed, but when I opened it up for her to look she said it was deep. It eventually swelled and opened up on it's own. It took 5 stitches. The worst thing was not the stitching, the the 5 hour wait as they sewed up a couple guys who had been in a knife fight.
Today I ordered a new pair of cross pieces and bolts. Cost was around $35.&nbs
I have adjusted my t-bars a great deal. A very great deal. First was 1.5" of lift with Hill Country adjusters beginning in Nov '03. Then I went to 2" of lift when I changed tires and wheels last Fall. When I installed the Rancho lift kit in Mar, I messed with the t-bars again, and then again when I installed the Realift T-bar Relocators. Next, I smacked a curb head on at 20 mph avoiding a pedestrian, which ruined a t-bar and a relocator. The re-install of the new relocators generated more t-bar adjustments.
After all this adjusting, the lock feature of the cross piece threads were gone. No big deal, as the force of the adjuster on the bolt keeps it from moving.
However, it as a big deal that I was getting lazy when adjusting to t-bars. The proper way is to jack up the nose of the truck, then install either a t-bar unloading tool or a good 8" gear gear puller, and relieve the pressure on the adjuster bolt before turning it. The service manual itself says to do it this way (with the t-bar unloading tool.)
I had fallen into the habit of just cranking on the adjuster without unloading. My solution if the bolt was getting hard to turn was to get out the breaker bar, and maybe squirt some penetrating oil on the threads. This is a STUPID thing to do.
I had noticed the left bolt was getting difficult to adjust, and an occasional circular metal shaving was coming off. This is such a huge warning signal to miss it is pure buffoonery. What was obviously happening is pieces of bolt thread were coming off.
Yesterday I installed some 1" blocks in the rear of the truck, bring the total rear lift up to 3.5". I decided to fine tune the front suspension while I was at it--the left side was 1/8" low, meaning it would need about 1/2 - 1 turn.
I couldn't turn it with the 1/2" ratchet, so I grabbed the breaker bar. I knew I was pushing things a bit, but after all I had done this a hundred times already, and I only needed 1/2 to 1 turn. Because it was so hard to turn, I positioned myself more directly underneath the adjuster bolt than I normally do to get more leverage. Did I mention how STUPID this is?
I got about a 1/4 turn, and really laid on the torque. All of a sudden something whacked me very hard in the fore head just above my right eye. It knocked my glasses out of position. I was dripping blood. I knew the blow was hard enough to cause more than just a scratch.
After I got the bleeding pretty much stopped--which wasn't hard--I looked back under the truck to see what happened. The adjuster bolt was stripped of threads in it's middle. What happened is the bolt had stripped, and being under full load of the t-bar, the adjuster slammed the bolt through the cross piece threads until the end of the bolt was flush with the top side of the cross piece. Since the socket was on the bolt the socket was forcefully slammed as well, and the end result was the breaker bar was forcefully slammed into my fore head.
My wife made me go to the ER. At first, the wound looked like it was staying closed, but when I opened it up for her to look she said it was deep. It eventually swelled and opened up on it's own. It took 5 stitches. The worst thing was not the stitching, the the 5 hour wait as they sewed up a couple guys who had been in a knife fight.
Today I ordered a new pair of cross pieces and bolts. Cost was around $35.&nbs