eHoefler wrote:
You need to get a new center bolt. They are long and used to assemble the spring stack. It is very unlikely you will get the spring pack compressed enough to get the nut started. When assembling the spring pack with a new bolt, it is cut off after tightening it.
If you can not install your shocks without removing the spring plate, the shocks compressed length is too long. You will bottom out the shock and break the mounts. I had this happen to me last year when I rebuilt the suspension on our fifth wheel. I was able to install the shocks since the axles were hanging from the frame while I had the frame supported by jack stands. Long story short, I had bent all the mounts and broken one mount and the shock wound up between the tire and frame.
I'd have to remove the leaf springs to get a new center pin in. There is 1/4" or more of the center pin threads sticking out and I could get a nut on there.
The compressed length of the new and the old shocks matches. Only the studs on the ends are a little longer and they extend past the mount. All the gaskets are the same.
