71 leaf spring center bolt

[Robert G.]

Hello,
Is the bolt and nut in the photo 1971 correct, for a standard 9 leaf spring?
Its the shaft is 2 13/16ths
Thank you

[Gary B.]

[Timothy B.]

Re: 71 leaf spring center bolt

The bolt looks good to me but make sure to double check that the bolt head does not bottom out inside the rear when tightening because it will crack the housing.

When I replaced the center bolt on my 9 leaf spring I had to grind the head just for this reason.

[Gary B.]

Re: 71 leaf spring center bolt

Bob, Tim,

Based on an old posting, I think by Joe Lucia, my notes say the spec on the height of the original bolt head is 0.253”. I’ve measured originals up to 0.260” tall. When I measured the depth of the hole in my rear diff case, I got 0.297” at the periphery of the hole, with a greater depth at the conical center. The bolts heads on some repro bolts are too tall, as Tim mentions, but the one in your photo looks fine to me. Also, repro bolts tend to be fully threaded, whereas originals are not. Measure the height of your bolt head and tell us what it is.

Gary