I installed the "Wet Bolt Kit" over the weekend. It really was not that difficult but it did take me about 4 hours total. I ordered my kit from Tweetys. It was directly shipped from Trail-Air in Indiana. All I got was a box of 14 bolts, 14 nuts, and 8 brass bushings. No "instructions" or other paperwork. That was OK because it is not really that complicated but I had no info on the torque specs. I called Trail-Air and the person on the phone said they had nothing specific about the torque for the wet bolts but the "dry" bolts are torqued to 50lbs and they could not see any reason the wet bolts would be any different. Hereis what I learned about doing this install...
1) Don't try to do this "one tire at a time". I did the first side this way and it took me twice as long as the second side. Just jack up the frame and remove both tires. This takes all the tension off the suspension and allows you to line things up freely. I worry about things falling on my while I am working under them and I was worried about supporting the camper properly but if you use strong jacks and additional jack stands for safetythey will do that just fine.
2) I used 6 inch longblocks of 4X4 between the top of my jacks and the frame to spread the weight a little and allow for good contact between the frame and the jack. I placed the jacks just outside the spring hangars (I think that is what they are called). I had to be careful on thecurb side because the gas line ran right along the frame so I had to move my jack placementslightly. Make sure your jacks have enough lifting height toreach the frame.One of mine was too short so I borrowed a tallerjack. I used 4 jacks and 2 stands total.2 large jacks for the frame and 2 smaller jacks to support the axles once the tires where off (as well as lift them enough to get the tires off and back on).
3) Make sure the grease holes in the bolts are placed into the frame at 3 or 9 o'clock so they can easily take grease once installed. Also, check them before you install to make certain they will take grease and are not blocked.
4) The3 bolts that go into the spring hangars and the4 that go into the shackles must be "pressed" in. I was able to hammer the ones into the shackles on a vise using a deep well socket. This was easier than using my "C" press. The bolts that go into the spring hangars on the frame must be pressed using a "C" type press. I bought one at Harbor Freight for $49.99 (there was a coupon in this months Readers Digest for 20% off any item so that saved me some money.) This tool is priceless for this install. Iprobably could have beaten the old bolts out but there is no way I could have beaten the new ones in. I don't mean to insult anyones intelligence but the reason these bolts have to be forced in is that they are "grooved" near the bolt head. This keeps them in place once installed.
5) I put the bolts in with the grease fittings on the "inside". This is the way the original bolts where installed and it will make it easier to grease them later because I won't have to work around the tires to get to the fittings. (easier once I crawl under the camper
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6) The 4 new bushings go into the 2 holes in each spring. The holes in the Equa-Flex itself already have metal bushings in them. I used a smalldeep well socket to beat the old nylon bushings out. I only had 2 that were at all difficult to remove. They actually came outOK it just took a few more "whacks" to get them out.The new bushings just slid right in without any trouble.
That is about it. I did hook up and move the camper forward and backward a few times to allow the suspension to release any torquingor twisting that may have occured while I was doing the install. I am a little sore and my knees hurt from crawling on the concrete but I am hopeful it will pay off down the road (no pun intended
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Lonnie