Momentum 376THS Leaf Spring Attach

[RV Tech Ret]

So was in the process of repacking my wheel bearings and lubing my shackles when WOW look what I found....

The left rear leaf spring attach point, the greaseable bolt is inaccessible. The head with the grease fitting is almost touching the sewer drain pipe.....

My real concern is if I need to remove this bolt (broken leaf spring as an example) it would have to be cut off and the new bolt installed in the opposite direction.

I'm still under warranty and plan to share this with GD - may want to be proactive on this and fix now rather than on the side of the road...

If you own a 376THS take a look at yours and post here...curious if this is a one off...

Mark

[TucsonJim]

So was in the process of repacking my wheel bearings and lubing my shackles when WOW look what I found....

The left rear leaf spring attach point, the greaseable bolt is inaccessible. The head with the grease fitting is almost touching the sewer drain pipe.....

My real concern is if I need to remove this bolt (broken leaf spring as an example) it would have to be cut off and the new bolt installed in the opposite direction.

I'm still under warranty and plan to share this with GD - may want to be proactive on this and fix now rather than on the side of the road...

If you own a 376THS take a look at yours and post here...curious if this is a one off...

Mark

I'm heading back to GD for a technical training conference the week of the 22nd. I'll take a copy of your photo to share with them.

Jim

[Jlawles2]

TucsonJim I remember another member talking about having a similar issue along with a missing Zerk fitting. I do understand wanting to protect the fittings, however its quite an easy thing to miss since they are all on the inside and require crawling under the unit.

[RV Tech Ret]

I'm heading back to GD for a technical training conference the week of the 22nd. I'll take a copy of your photo to share with them.

Jim

Thanks Jim.....

I'm also going to see if they will do something about this under warranty...

Mark

[tortuga]

why can't you just replace the grease zerk with a 90 degree one?

[TucsonJim]

why can't you just replace the grease zerk with a 90 degree one?

Or you can use a 90° fitting on the hose. But the real issue is bolt removal. In order to remove the bolt, I'd tap it out until the splines were clear, cut the head off, then pull it back through. Of course when installing a new bolt, I'd insert it from the other side.

Jim

[RV Tech Ret]

Or you can use a 90° fitting on the hose. But the real issue is bolt removal. In order to remove the bolt, I'd tap it out until the splines were clear, cut the head off, then pull it back through. Of course when installing a new bolt, I'd insert it from the other side.

Jim

Jim,

Your spot on about the real issue and also what I plan to do. The only minor concern is if I can get it out past the splines (hope to remove the grease fitting to gain a bit more room).

Mark

[TucsonJim]

Jim,

Your spot on about the real issue and also what I plan to do. The only minor concern is if I can get it out past the splines (hope to remove the grease fitting to gain a bit more room).

Mark

Mark - Here's a shot of one of my wet bolts including the spline. From what I can see, after you remove the zerk fitting, you should be able to get it out far enough to cut the head and splines off with a reciprocating saw. But it might be a challenge to get the new nut in place and properly torqued to 40-45 ft-lb.

[Jlawles2]

I would look at making a sleeve for the head end to try and protect that zerk. Road grime will be all over it since it's now in the "line of fire".

[JBill9694]

Mark - Here's a shot of one of my wet bolts including the spline. From what I can see, after you remove the zerk fitting, you should be able to get it out far enough to cut the head and splines off with a reciprocating saw. But it might be a challenge to get the new nut in place and properly torqued to 40-45 ft-lb.

Venturing into the unknown, at least for me, but here I go anyways.

It looks like the splines on the bolt stand a little bit proud of the face of the bolt cylinder. Is the bolt hole chamfered on one end to accept the splines? Is it even possible to insert the wet bolt from the other end?

[Jlawles2]

The raised splines are there to prevent the bolt from turning. All leaf spring bolts are like that even the non greaseable ones.

[TucsonJim]

Venturing into the unknown, at least for me, but here I go anyways.

It looks like the splines on the bolt stand a little bit proud of the face of the bolt cylinder. Is the bolt hole chamfered on one end to accept the splines? Is it even possible to insert the wet bolt from the other end?

You can insert the bolts from either side. The bolts are inserted into one of two places; the shackles, or the hangers. When you torque the nut, it pulls the splines into the opening no matter which side you pull from. The holes are the same on either side. The holes are in pretty soft metal, so the splines pull in easily. In most cases, the bolts are pulled from the inside out in order to give access to the zerk fittings and make lubrication easier since the tires would be in the way. But in this particular case, it should have been the other way around.

Jim

[Cate&Rob]

The splines to hold the bolt are a “convenience” but not a “necessity”. The bolt is secured when the (single use) crunch nut is torqued against the shoulder on the bolt. In this case, I would grind the splines off the bolt so that the nut could be held with a wrench on the restricted access side and the bolt torqued into the nut from the accessible side.

Rob

[Sickday]

I have the same issue on my 2021 376ths..

[Guest]

First be sure you lift by the frame, use a jack stand and support the axle with a floor jack.

Since the hangers tend to be wider than the spring I would attempt to pry the spring to one side at a time and cut along the sides of the spring and simply drop the spring out of the hanger and remove the three sections of the pin. There is a blade you can buy called a "Torch" from home depot which will cut the pin in short order. Once the pin is removed install the new pin in the opposite direction and hand tighten the nut the best you can to the torque spec. The use of red loctite will build confidence in the nut being a permanent install.
It would be best to not remove the knurling on the new pin as this prevents pin rotation under use which would wear at the hanger over time or can loosen the nut. A real torch would be a plus but this should only be done by someone with skill with that tool.

Jim