I'm going to hijack this thread with another question.
I want to replace the rear leaf spring bushings on my '75 GMC K25, and I've been trying to figure out how to safely lift the rear high enough to get the rear tires fully off the ground by about 5", then let the axle droop so I can remove/replace the leaf spring bushings. It worked on the front springs with a fairly short stack of cribbing under my hydraulic floor jack, but the frame and crossmember there is much lower than in the rear of the truck. I do not have a high lift (or farmer's) jack and probably wouldn't want to use one.
Removing the old bushings will require drilling out the old rubber bushings and then working under the truck beating on the bolts until they come out. Its not the kind of work you want to do under the truck unless things are very stable.
Possible choices for lifting the rear enough to have the axle hang free.
- Lift at the end of the truck with the jack under the receiver for the Class 3 trailer hitch. However, the bottom of the receiver is about 18" off the ground, and since its at the far end of the truck it takes quite a bit of vertical movement before you get the wheels off the ground. It will require a lot of cribbing to get my floor jack to lift high enough to bring the tires off the ground. It also raises both rear wheels at the same time from a single point, which is not very stable from left to right.
- Lift it under the frame, forward of the front spring eye. I have to go quite a distance forward of the axle to ensure I have space to place the jack and then remove/replace the front spring bushing. The one advantage is that it should allow me to do one side at a time, which keeps the truck more stable.
Thanks. I'm open to any input.
