U-bolts are common bolts that are used for building construction and/or vehicle suspension like leaf springs. Considered one of the major parts of your leaf spring installation, u-bolts will provide a permanent tie between the spring leaves. When describing what a u-bolt is, one can just look at the shape. With a letter U shape, the bolt features two threaded arms. The primary use of the U-bolt is to connect the axle of your vehicle to the leaf spring pack within the suspension system.
When you remove your existing u-bolts for maintenance, we highly recommend that you replace them with newer bolts. The new u-bolts should be equal measurement. Another reason to replace your existing u-bolts is rust. During time, your u-bolts can become rusty or bend out of shape causing your leaf springs to loosen or your exhaust pipe to rattle. Never reuse your original u-bolts because by doing so can cause fatigue and stretching. Considering u-bolts are a major part of your leaf springs, it is important to replace them when needed.
Functions of the U-Bolt include:- Primarily, the U-bolt provides the force required to clamp the leaf spring and related components firmly together. In addition to the leaf spring, these components include the top plate, axle seat, axle and bottom plate.
- The properly installed U-bolt eliminates any flexing of the leaf spring in the area between the U-bolts. This is particularly critical since the hole for the centerbolt in each leaf acts as a stress concentration which would lead to rapid leaf breakage if spring flexing was not totally eliminated by the U-bolt clamping force.
- By firmly clamping the spring to the axle seat the horizontal forces acting on the centerbolt are greatly reduced which in turn prevents shearing of the centerbolt.
- Proper clamping of the spring by the U-bolts provides the desired spring stiffness and contributes to maintaining the vehicle ride height and handling characteristics as originally specified for the vehicle.