Removal of rear leaf springs

[WHFred]

I need help!

I've pulled the body off my SRL311 and decided to strip the frame bare and get it cleaned up before reassembly. I mean once you pull the body, engine/trans, there isn't all that much left to get to a bare frame. Since this was once a Michigan car I really want to closely inspect this frame and make sure it doesn't need any patches.

I had no issue getting the rear leaf spring shackles out. Now just the front bolt on each side is holding the rear end to the frame. Taking the nut off was easy, but no matter what I do I cannot get those bolts to come out. I really don't want to resort to cutting them out, so I thought I would stop and get some advice from those that have been here before.

I've got the rear half of the frame suspended by hoist and the rear axle sitting on blocks. Shocks are off and the control arm dogbone is out.

I did note that the bolts don't really have a normal bolt head on them. They have a flat side and a metal tab that gets bent over to hold them from spinning. That should not cause the bolt to not move outward, though. I've sprayed plenty of penetrating oil on it, hit it with impact hammers. I'm out of ideas.

[JohnnyRoadster]

I just removed mine to replace. I just loosened the nut, but kept it on so I didn't strip the threads. Then hit it a few times with the hammer and it slid out. The different head on it just sits against a stop so it doesn't spin when you tighten it. Maybe spray with lubricant? I am posting photos if you need to look at anything. Just look at my signature for link.

[WHFred]

Oh I am so envious of how beautiful your ride is! Glad to know that the bolts do just slide out. Thank you very much for the advice.

I'll hit with more oil tonight and hope that tomorrow brings me luck. As I mentioned, this car was a MI car (now in CA) and has had a hard life. I've had to do extensive body work to replace rotten areas, but the frame looks to be solid except for the very rear cross support is a bit crusty.

[Nissanman]

Just in case you don't have a guide: -

[D P]

Air chisel on the end to try to blast out?

But you may indeed need to get out the grinder. Not a big deal since you’d want to replace the bolts anyways…

[ADR]

I just removed mine to replace. I just loosened the nut, but kept it on so I didn't strip the threads. Then hit it a few times with the hammer and it slid out. The different head on it just sits against a stop so it doesn't spin when you tighten it. Maybe spray with lubricant? I am posting photos if you need to look at anything. Just look at my signature for link.

Thank you for the pic links. Beautiful project!

[WHFred]

Thank you for the reference material. Always welcome.

Rather than risk deforming the welded bracket that holds the leaf to the frame by hitting it too much, I opted to cut the bolts and I'll replace with new hardware.

[Daryl Smith]

Have you tried taking the weight off ? That may be holding it in place......

[Wrencher52]

How about some heat with a mapp gas torch?

[WHFred]

The body is off the car, and I had already got the rear shackles out, so there was zero weight on the springs and they did move up/down fine. I tried heat but the rubber bushings are a good insulator so not so easy to heat the inner sleeve of the bushing.

In the end I cut the bolts on both sides of each leaf spring, then used a 15 ton press to push out the pieces stuck in the leaf. Man they were really stuck! Fortunately zero damage to the frame brackets leaf, and even the bushings. I'll source some new bolts and good to go.

[Nissanman]