AL401 Studs Were Sheared Off

[Unselor]

Guys, please forgive my ignorance but I don't know the technical terms for some of these components. Anyway, here goes:

I have an '07 CHN 613 with the AL401 rear suspension with S40 axles. During a recent inspection it was discovered that the studs holding what I would call a "dog bone" to the rear axle had sheared off on the right side rear axle. This component obviously holds the axle in line with the chassis and is not adjustable. The same item but on the left side is adjustable. The front of this thing is attached to the frame with bolts (to the bracket that the "S" shaped spring thing rides in). The rear of it attaches to the knot that sits under the U-bolts and is where these studs were broken off.

It appears these studs were M16-2.0 metric threads. We couldn't find anything to match so in order to get the unit back on the road until I could do further research, we drilled out the stud remnants, bored the holes larger, installed 5/8-18 helicoil thread inserts and bolted it back with two 5/8 x 2" long grade 8 bolts (fine thread). Again, this was in the knot that sits under the U-bolts.

Have you guys seen this happen before? It looks like I'll need to replace the knot thing and new studs with new nuts. Would you think we'd need to replace the U-bolts. It was mentioned somewhere that anytime you take U-bolts loose, it's best to go ahead and replace them. Also, feel free to help me with the proper terminology for these parts.

Thanks.

[felicello122]

Your fix will be fine,that dog bone is called a torque arm.the other side is adjustable so you can align the axles,same set up used on most spring trailer suspensions. You should never reuse the u bolts, torch them and get newones. They aren t that much money.