LouisvilleMike previously posted:
"What is the significance of the gap that you found in the jeep, U-bolts to axle?"
The purpose of the U-Bolt is to hold the axle to leaf spring together. It needs to pull the axle to the spring. If there is an air gap between the u-bolt and the axle it tends to indicate that the u-bolt is loose. Such looseness could allow the axle-to-spring connection to move or slide / not be tight.
The axle / spring setup in the picture is called "spring over" where the spring is over or on top of the axle. In many vehicles the stock setup is "spring under". In the spring on top setup, the spring is sitting on the axle. The weight of the vehicle is sitting down on the top of the axle. In this case, the U-bolts are not suspending the weight of the vehicle - but the u-bolts do need to be tight to counter axle wrap / rotation. When you go to drive forward and have the wheels rotate "forward" the axle will want to rotate in the other direction - and the connection to the springs needs to be solid to counter this rotation.
Bottom line - no matter if a spring over or spring under setup - the U-bolts should be TIGHT / I have not encountered (in my limited world) a U-bolt setup that by design had an air gap between bolt and axle. I think his bolts are loose.
I ran Mosquito Pass with Tom and others many years back. I recall following Tom from Leadville down to I-70 and noticed a slight "adjustment" in tracking or looseness at highway speed as I gently went from coast to decel to accel. I pulled over (Tom, ahead stopped and came back to me) and checked and found out my left rear u-bolts were loose. A quite unusual issue - once tight they tend to stay tight. Anyway, I pulled out tools and tightened them (5, maybe 10 minutes) and continued on.
Newbie Ride Up Yankee Hill
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