spring hanger rivets

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I will be replacing the rear leaf spring hangers on my F350 soon....The originals are riveted in.whats the best way to get them out?  Grind the tops off them and bang em out the other side?or put the gouge tip on the plasma cutter and cook em off? just got the plasma... haven't used the gouge tip yet....  just wondering if that would be and appropriate use....  or would it just make a mess/spark shower... ? Attached ImagesMiller 211Hypertherm PM 451961 Lincoln Idealarc 250HTP 221  True Wisdom only comes from Pain.
Reply:Personally, I prefer plasma gouging in general, but in this case if you have the oxyfuel gas tip made for washing backing strips or rivet heads, i would use it. i have had a great deal of sucess using such tips for these types of jobs.
Reply:Originally Posted by weldingliferPersonally, I prefer plasma gouging in general, but in this case if you have the oxyfuel gas tip made for washing backing strips or rivet heads, i would use it. i have had a great deal of sucess using such tips for these types of jobs.
Reply:We just torched them off the truck last fall. I can't remember if we just sliced thru the hanger and then blew off the rivit heads or just cut the heads from the front. They were getting replaced anyways and I know we didn't want to F up the frame by accident. Plasma should work just as well..No government ever voluntarily reduces itself in size. Government programs, once launched, never disappear. Actually, a government bureau is the nearest thing to eternal life we'll ever see on this earth! Ronald Reagan
Reply:I went another route. I used an air chisel to take the head off the rivet with a flat tip. Then I used a pointed tip to push the body of the rivet through the frame. No heat was used and it was quick work. I was reusing the hangers though. But I took them off, cleaned off rust, powdercoated them and put them back on.Lincoln Power Mig 210MP MIGLincoln Power Mig 350MP - MIG and Push-PullLincoln TIG 300-300Lincoln Hobby-Weld 110v  Thanks JLAMESCK TIG TORCH, gas diffuser, pyrex cupThermal Dynamics Cutmaster 101My brain
Reply:When I re-did all the hangers on my ranger last summer, I used a 4.5 angle grinder with a heavy cut wheel and ground the heads off, then used an air chisel to punch them through the frame. I'd have to say that you'd want to be careful with either a plasma or oxy-acet torch as not to make the holes any bigger than what they were to begin with...-Millermatic 211, Powermax 380, and way too many other tools to list....-Unofficial, professsional, garage tinkerer...
Reply:Just a tip. Once the heads are off by your favorite method if the rivits don't come out with 1 or 2 reasonable hammer blows have someone hold a 3 or 4 lb hammer against the frame right next to the buck tails. This way you won't be flexing the frame when you really smack it.Tough as nails and damn near as smart
Reply:thanks,I took off the reese hitch today, that should give me room to get an angle grinder in to all 4 rivet heads.  once I let the rear of the spring lower down out of the way. the rear fuel tank is on the inside of the frame rails, leaving only room for 2 fingers to get in there and get a nut/bolt started. no big deal.... nothins every easy.  Miller 211Hypertherm PM 451961 Lincoln Idealarc 250HTP 221  True Wisdom only comes from Pain.
Reply:Take your torch, melt the heads off, or give them a little air to finish the job.  Do it gentle, don't try to do it in two seconds.Then heat the rivets, and knock them out with a drift.  Red hot on the rivets, while keeping the heat out of the surrounding frame.How you choose to handle the replacement fasteners is up to you.  I knocked out some rivets on my C-30, drilled the half inch holes out to 9/16, then put bolts in making sure I had long enough bolts where the threads didn't touch the frame, and shimmed/washered from there to make the distance right so I could tighten the bolt.  No threads touching frame to wallow it out."Any day above ground is a good day"http://www.farmersamm.com/
Reply:With a slightly longer bolt, you can make sure that the threaded portion is beyond the frame.  Longer bolts are generally smooth near the head, and threaded further out."Any day above ground is a good day"http://www.farmersamm.com/
Reply:Get the plas out and wash the heads off.  No point in eating grinding dust when the plas will do the job faster.  Don't beat on the rivets for too long or they'll mushroom.  If one or two hits won't do it, change the plan.My name's not Jim....
Reply:Originally Posted by Joker11I went another route. I used an air chisel to take the head off the rivet with a flat tip. Then I used a pointed tip to push the body of the rivet through the frame. No heat was used and it was quick work. I was reusing the hangers though. But I took them off, cleaned off rust, powdercoated them and put them back on.
Reply:I took them off by gas torch, I just washed off the heads, then blew the shanks out from the centers outward. The holes were fairly clean, they could be drilled out and bolted if need be. It was short work that way. City of L.A. Structural; Manual & Semi-Automatic;"Surely there is a mine for silver, and a place where gold is refined. Iron is taken from the earth, and copper is smelted from ore."Job 28:1,2Lincoln, Miller, Victor & ISV BibleDanny
Reply:Originally Posted by tanglediverI took them off by gas torch, I just washed off the heads, then blew the shanks out from the centers outward. The holes were fairly clean, they could be drilled out and bolted if need be. It was short work that way.
Reply:It was the only pic I could find on short notice Attached Images"Any day above ground is a good day"http://www.farmersamm.com/
Reply:plasma baby!!  blasted off the rivet heads with the gouging tip. Piece of cake. I should be set for another 15 years....thanks for the tips.  Attached ImagesMiller 211Hypertherm PM 451961 Lincoln Idealarc 250HTP 221  True Wisdom only comes from Pain.
Reply:I'm honestly surprised seeing how rusty the spring and shackel mount is, that you managed to get the bolt out of the rear spring bushing and it wasn't frozen solid to the steel sleeve. That's usually my biggest problem with things like that. The rubber bushings don't take well to heat to free the bolt, and pure brute force usually seperates the sleeve from the rubber bushing.Oh please tell me you used decent bolts to mount that. I don't see any hash marks on the one on the lower right to denote grade 5 or grade 8, but it just might be the picts..Last edited by DSW; 03-16-2010 at 06:31 PM..No government ever voluntarily reduces itself in size. Government programs, once launched, never disappear. Actually, a government bureau is the nearest thing to eternal life we'll ever see on this earth! Ronald Reagan
Reply:Gotta love the northeast.Damnit.
Reply:Originally Posted by DSWOh please tell me you used decent bolts to mount that. I don't see any hash marks on the one on the lower right to denote grade 5 or grade 8, but it just might be the picts..
Reply:Not sure what the bolts are, they came with the hangers. I do know they were Metric. The hangers/shackles are a DORMAN product. I'll keep an eye on them.  If they come loose, I'll booger weld em on.. the shackles did come with new spring bushings,  but the old ones looked good still. and I didn't feel like spending half the day getting the old ones out for nothing. the truck is in good shape, but those rear spring shackles get all the salt/mud/rain right off the back tires.    front shackles look great...Miller 211Hypertherm PM 451961 Lincoln Idealarc 250HTP 221  True Wisdom only comes from Pain.
Reply:Just a  comment about rivets ,,,,   many times hot rivets are put in, the holes don't quite line up.   Once they are in, and tightened, they fit the holes perfectly, but slightly offset from one piece of metal to the other, whether spring hanger, crossmember, or just a bracket.   If this is the case, you can pound all you want, not gonna get anywhere, unless you pierce the rivet first.
Reply:Originally Posted by duaneb55  Looks like they came as part of the 'kit' even though they are different than those in the OP photo.  ??:
Reply:Ok that makes sense. We usually just get the hangers and have to supply our own bolts. The spring shop usually gives you most of the stuff in standard, unless it has to be metric for some reason. I think they told me at least one of the front bolts for my truck needed to be metric unless I swaped that hanger also. Thats a project for later this year. F'g metric cr@p... Usually with us, it's the springs that are shot, so new spring bushings are usually not a problem. We find the bad hangers when we go to get ready to pull the springs..No government ever voluntarily reduces itself in size. Government programs, once launched, never disappear. Actually, a government bureau is the nearest thing to eternal life we'll ever see on this earth! Ronald Reagan
Reply:I have done enough of those to use a box of 50 bolts and nuts.  7/16" grade 8 fine thread.  They are hot rivets, so cutting the heads sometimes doesn't do enough to get them out and they have to be pierced or drilled.I did the truck in the picture last year along with both front and rear $prings.  I had them put 1.5" extra arch in both front and rear.  I have a fischer plow.  It rides like crap, but does not bottom out.Nice job.David Last edited by David R; 03-16-2010 at 10:07 PM.Real world weldin.  When I grow up I want to be a tig weldor.