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Started taking rear fenders and running boards off a 29 express truck and realized the passengers side rear spring mounting shaft is bent up. Has anyone had any luck heating and bending it back into position?

DO NOT HEAT IT. Bend it cold.

my two cents: Cut the old one out and make a new shaft to weld in. If it is 'bent up', that sounds like a major bend / issue. I'd rebuild it straight.

This all assuming you have access to machine shop.

Took it apart and found the bracket broken. I am thinking of bending it down and seeing if the break goes back into place to allow me to weld it. If needed I will remove on from trucks in junkyard. Don't look forward to riveting the large rivets. Anyone installed the big frame rivets? Any suggestions (other than forget it)?

if not for show, use grade 6 bolts.

i scared up some grade 8's and nylock nuts at tractor supply - had to search 2 of them because they had a shoulder that was a hair longer and perfect length for where it needed to be. I ended up finding good ford ones so these are just hangin around. ive got plenty of bent or worn out ones if someone wants to weld one up and lathe it smooth.

First off, you will find that the rivets and rivet holes in the frame are not standard bolt hole sizes. The holes are larger that when the hot rivets are installed and squashed in place they conform to the hole size. If your going to use bolts you should ream the holes out to the next larger size so you get a good tight fit. It is possible that maybe you could find a good grade metric bolt would fit tighter in the frame rail hole if you don't want to oversize the frame holes. If your going to drill them out use a good reamer and not a regular drill bit to keep the hole centered where it is.

When I rivet I stand the frame on it's side. I made a stand with a rod that I drilled out to fit the size rivet head I'm working with to use as my bucking bar. I temporally bolt the bracket that I want to install to the frame. Put the rivet up through the bracket and frame and hold it in place with a vise grips. I lower the frame down on the stand until the rivet head sits on my bucking bar. I then heat the rivet and use my air chisel with a special riveting punch to form the rivet head on the inside of the frame rail.

If your center spring pivot is bent I would find another one. If it is worn, it could be welded up and machined back down to size. Remember that pivot, along with the torque tube, is what your rear is pushing against to move your truck down the road.

Keith

Ok - sounds like I will need to make a strong device to hold rivet in while I heat and then air hammer the other end.

Can bracket be welded? Is it cast or forged

I was able to get the spring mount back into the original spot by applying some heat and a 6 foot pipe. I will weld bracket tomorrow. I need to replace bushings on spring that goes on the mount. Do the bushings need to be reamed after installing?

Only if they don't fit on the mounting spindle. Remember to get the grease hole lined up.

Got it welded and cleaned up - it came out good


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Heating it annealed the metal.