The snow got to me!

So the snow has hit REALLY hard here in my town, it has forced me to miss work this week! Its up to my knees, and I'm plowing snow with my truck on the roads!

I cannot do this in the winter! lol...

Its been 11 years since we had this much snow and we also had a coldsnap at the time which was called ice storm. In 11 years the city's school district has'nt closed its doors and today was the first!

Just to give you a perspective on how bad it is! So, I figure, well now is the time, raise her up!

I'm gonna take out my 4" blocks and crank the torsions up! Auto places won't crank my torsions for me, so I'm left to do it myself!

What I need to know is:

1. What is stock height? I'm running stock tires right now... Will have them at 34 psi.
2. Do I need to jack the truck up first then crank on the bars? I just use a long ratchet on it right?
3. I don't remember what I did when I put my 4 inch blocks in, but how do I take them out? Lol! I just remember something about the leafes and whatnot hey they popped out...

So ya, if you guys are interested, I'll post pics of how much snow we got! The plows plowed the main roads and their chains created bumps from hell! I was trying to get out of town today and I hit my head on the roof everytime! Not to mention how bad my truck must have been hurting!

Like I keep saying....Snow is evil.

For taking your blocks out,jack up the back of your truck and put jack stands under the frame. Then,put a jack under your diff,and start loosening the nuts for your U bolts,but do one side at a time.

After you get the 4 nuts off,and remove the U bolts and bottom shock plate,start jacking the diff up,and it will lift the axle off the block. Pull the block out,and then lower the jack so the axle comes back to rest on the leafs like it should. Put NEW U bolts in place of the old ones,and bolt it all back together. Same thing goes for the other side.

For the front,use a 17mm socket and TIGHTEN the torsion bars to raise the front. Just crank one side until it starts raising up a bit. Try and keep track of how many turns you do to keep it even,but I usually just eyeball it. Just crank it up till the front looks even with the back.

Pretty simple stuff. Just a pain in the ass in the snow.

OH! Amen brotha...

I'm going to be one cold puppy tomorrow! All I have is a dirt driveway with no garage. Yet the driveway is covered in snow and mostly ice!

It will be nonetheless one of the moments I would rather pass up when working on my truck!

Now, what is the reason for new U-bolts? I dunno where the heck I could get them...

Get them at like Pep Boys or Advance or something. You want to use new ones because your old ones will have been weakened over time from stress.

It's just a rule of thumb. Don't reuse U bolts. You wouldn't reuse a condom would you? lol

Plus the ones for the 4" blocks are WAY to long after you take the blocks out.

yeah,and even if you cut them down you wont have much thread left.

Well, today I took the blocks out and that was it! lol.. layin' on cardboard in the snow is no fun! I also ran out of light since I came back in cause of being cold, wet, and hungry!

I then could'nt go any further because this dinky 10gal. compressor I've got wont run on an extension cord! So air tools are no good anymore, lol.

As I was trying to snug the ubolts up, I see that I'm either going to be borderline or no good on getting the nuts tightened. There simply just wont be enough thread anymore... sigh!

So, I called Schucks and they said its going to be about $11 a side for ubolts!

What I need more specifically is what our axle size is and how long do you think I should get them at?

After that, hopefully I will be able to get under and crank on those torsions without any trouble... I hope so! Then it will be onto Les schwab for an alignment! Weee! NOT!

Did I mention no one will do an alignment if your truck is bagged?

Since you are doing this in the snow ... i would jack the front up some to take a little weight off the torsions to make it easier to crank them up. I just measure how much bolt you have on each side to get you close. I have stock u bolts outside......in the snow i might be able to find one if i do ill measure it for ya.

you could always go and measure the ones that are on your truck and then add/subtract whatever length you think you need to fit nicely,and also take one out and measure the diameter.

Now you've worked in the snow and cold like me. Told ya it sucks.

Lol, mikey, trust me, I know what its like! I had to spend about 4-5 hours one night in the winter with the wind blowing installing my weber carb! I've had plenty of times to know, lol...

I was thinking the same thing about jacking it up to take weight off, we'll see though.. If you could get a measurement for me, dirtracer, I would appreciate it!

I could go out and use the ubolt for a measurement and all, just thought you may have had it off the top of your head...

Lol, now, tomorrow, I have to take one out and walk 8-10 blocks to schmucks for new u-bolts! In bad snow with crazy ass people that dunno how to drive in this snow! :\