homemade shackles

[buyinatoy]

I want to lift the rear of my toy up a bit (the springs have de-arched and are a little saggy)
I was thinking about 2" or so. What length of shackles am I gonna need to make? the truck is stock except the 31's.

Also Am I gonna have to replace the bushings or do I just pull the bolts out and bolt up the new shackles?

Thanx

Dave

[toy4x4]

to get 2" of lift from shackles, the shackles are going to have to be 4" longer than stock. thats a long shackle but it will work. it will also rotate your pinion up in the back and down in the front. you don't have to replace bushings but if they are really worn out, then you should. give all pro or marlin a call. they should be able to help you out. by the way, a longer shackle will give you a bigger shackle angle (more perpendicular with the frame).

[buyinatoy]

is the change in pinion angle gonna affect my driveline enuf to be concerned?

[toy4x4]

i'm not sure.. im guessing that it wouldn't. my shackles are 1.5" longer than stock and it didn't affect anything. the front has a cv so it's not a huge concern. try it out and see.. if it starts vibrating, eithor shorten the shackles or put a cv in the shaft. good luck

[bbagwell]

I personally wouldn't use shackles any longer than 4" over stock.

[TrucksChixnbeer]

Hell i seen guys with shackles that are 8-12" over stock... some one them are on this board :beer:

[bbagwell]

Seems like it would really mess up your pinion angle. Unless of course you rotated your axle to compensate. Also it would be a good idea to put a cross brace in there to keep the side to side flex down.

[KToy]

i run 10 inch shackles and have no problems with mine and mine is a trail rig only.


so if u want 2 inches lift out of a shackles make them 6-8 inches eye to eye and ull be fine

i have NO issues what so ever with my long shackles

do not use blocks they suck

if u want lift out of the rear and do want to change anything as far as springs go get a coil support in the middle of ur axle

zup put up the link below and he is the one that gave me the idea to tell u about it

[slodrivr]

Is that supposed to read

use longer shackles or a coil in the middle

or

do not use blocks or a coil in the middle

?

[Oatmeal]

http://zuk.tripod.com/scottcoil.htm ......Hans

[buyinatoy]

I dunno about that....

it just doesnt seem right.

what if you hit a bump and it fully unloads the rear suspension?
There is a good chance that coil would come out.

That setup would require limiting straps, or at least have the shocks topped out and then compress the coil a good 3 inches before installation.


He stated that they gained 3.5" of added lift from the center coil. That is taking alot of weight off the leaf packs on either side. The result is that the truck is in a way 'balancing' on the center spring. This would, in effect, cause the truck to have more than normal bodyroll and be a little tipsy.

Think what would happen if you ONLY had the center spring and removed your rear leaf packs. When you went to turn, the rear of the truck would tip to the outside and cause the truck to roll. This is what I am talking about, just as an exagerated example. When you take the weight off the rear springs, you lose the stability.

Now, I might be new to the 4x4 scene, but I do have a fair bit of expirence in suspension properties and fabrication.

Even on the newer ford truck commercials (I hate ford but they have a point) when they are bragging about how they mount their shocks outboard of the spring packs (closer to the wheels)to improve stability and effectiveness.

sorry if I offended anyone on this topic!:D

[bbagwell]

I think the leaf springs may actually kind of act as sway bars, the weight wouldn't totatly be off of them. It does seem to me though that the down travel would be limited. If the rear springs were already arched that much?

[gnarly89runner]

i put some 8 in shackles on my 89 runner and didnt have a problem until i rolled it they flexed and i need to put a crossmember in them i would sugggest you try and do this before there on your truck

it can never hurt to be "too strong"

[cjnielsen]

i think they only make 1 1/2 for the front, non greasable run abut 40$ at 4 wheel parts, if you want to ad 2 inchs to yours, just measure your shackles hole to hole, and add 2 inchs. go get some 3/8 flat stock, drill holes, duplicate what you have but 2 inches more.

[azbearfan]

Originally posted by cjnielsen
i think they only make 1 1/2 for the front, non greasable run abut 40$ at 4 wheel parts, if you want to ad 2 inchs to yours, just measure your shackles hole to hole, and add 2 inchs. go get some 3/8 flat stock, drill holes, duplicate what you have but 2 inches more.

if you only go 2" longer it would give you 1" of lift.