I assume this is pretty straight forward, but wanted to ask anyway. All i need to do to put in new shackles is lift the rear of the X up, unbolt the springs in the rear of the vehicle, remove the stock shackle, install new shackle, rebolt springs and im on my way?

Correct? Or you are an idiot?

Yes that is correct!!!! Have a friend with you too though. One person will muscle the leafs down and another will slide the bolts through the new shacks. Might want to consider new shocks too.

when i had to swap out my shackles i did it myself.... i raised the X to where the tires were off the ground, put jackstands down, then i took the jack and raised the axle then pulled put the bolts and swaped..... took about 10min to do everything..... also make sure you chock the front wheels......

So, I need to have the springs compressed when I do it? Also, after I do the torsion bars i have to get an alignment. Would you recommend any alignment shop to do this? Or should I go to a 4X4 shop? I can just see them torquing them back down to align it.

no not compressed, you just want to keep the axle from dropping down to the point that you have to pick it up to put in the bolts......

you can go to any shop, with just a poor man's lift it can still be aligned to factory spec,
just make sure you tell them not to touch your torsion bars

ok, thanks guys. I really appreciate it. Besides I can't get it to tall or it won't fit in my garage. Riceman, what brand of tires are you running?

for street i have goodyear wrangler silent armor, and i love them
for play in the mud i run super swamper TSL LTBs, and i love those too

im going to pick up a set of the ss tsl's also...... just dont know what im going to put them on yet..... lol

ok, I am trying to get these old shackles off. I have the outer piece off, what is the easiest way to get the bolts through the leafs? I have been hammering and prying my a*s off. Is their another way or something I am missing? Or, do I just need to stop being a pu*sy? I have jack under the rear diff to support it and relieve tension.

Anyone? Anyone?

if its not coming out then there is still tension on the springs, its hard to get it just right, its either too high or too low, once you get it just right it'll be cake to get it off

X2 what Ricer said... If the bolts aren't budging then your leaf springs are still under load either by the weight of the axle or the jack pressing upwards. Just play with the jack a bit, raising it up and down a touch until you are able to get the bolts to start working. It will probably be best to only lift one side of your axle instead of putting the jack on the pumpkin.

nay sir, lift from the pumpkin, if you lift from one side f the axle it puts a twisting force on the spring which in turn puts that pressure ont he shackle, you want to lift the axle as a whole so everything remains as straight as possible
keep tha jack under the pumpkin:)

Very true... good call Ricer. I'm thinking about the whole balance issue with that crappy scissor jack. But you're right. Ignore me... I've had 2 hours sleep and just finished a job interview. Not enough "ines" in my system yet... caffeine and nicotine that is. lol

lol at "ines"

i dont use the scissor jack, i use a 4 ton floor jack, lol
scissor jack will be fine if he has the front wheels chocked good
and as long as he takes his time raising and lowering it, shouldnt be an issue

but i understand you concern about balance/scissor jacks, they dont call them widowmaker jacks fo rnothing!

Very true... That's a nice perk of having a lifted X. I don't have to jack it up to do a lot of work underneath. Plenty of room under it now! lol

Have you made any progress?

right rear shackle is off, I have the top of the new shackle on, and the spring is down to put the lower bold on. However, the bolt provided with the shackle is too big to go throw the spring bushing.

i had that prob with one of the 3 sets of shackles ive had, i just ran to home depot and bought one that would fit

ok, why can't I see my reply?

well sh*t I don't have a way to get there! hahhaha

damn, no one to call for a ride?
last resort could be a taxi if you dont wanna put it back together

ok, I got a hold of my brother-in-law thankfully. Does anyone know the correct size? If not, I will just try and get one a little thinner than the one provided.

And, thanks everyone for your help so far.

I Think i did exactly what you are gonna do, bring the bolts and guess
i got it right on the first try, but i had another vehicle at my disposal, you may want to buy more than one size, that way theres less of a chance of you needing a 2nd ride to the hardware store, good luck!!

PML from hell

:boese-big:

Are you sure you're not just drunk?


j/k unless you are:)

Ok, I got the back done. I had to make several stops due to many issues mostly unrelated to the actual lift. I did get new bolts for the bottom of the shackle. I needed 4 1/2 in at least wanted 5 inch. I went to three stores and nobody had anything longer than 4. So, the bolt doesn't even go through the nut completely. It makes me a bit nervous.

Now, I started the front which i thought would be a piece of cake since I have actually adjusted torsion bars. But, something doesn't seem right. I loosed the top nut on the torsion bar, and I have tried to crank the bottom bolt below the brace to raise the X. However, its not budging. I don't have a breaker bar I didn't think I would need one. Do, I need to loosen both nuts on top? Or just the upper most one? ANd, do I need to have the front end jacked up at all?

Sorry, I must be an idiot....or a little buzzed!

yes the front has to be off the ground, and the way i usually crank them
is to put a long wrench and just let the thing spin until it hits frame, that way the frame holds the wrench for you while you crank the bolt
however you decide to do it get those front tires off the ground or you are likely to damage something on the truck or even yourself

Ok, so the top bolt has to be held while you crank up the torsion bar?

the bottom bolt must be held(ie. the one closest to the ground)

right rear shackle is off, I have the top of the new shackle on, and the spring is down to put the lower bold on. However, the bolt provided with the shackle is too big to go throw the spring bushing.
If the bolt provided fit the shackle properly, but was too big for the bushing, you can't just get a smaller bolt. The bolt may fit the bushing now, but there's play between it and the shackle. This play shouldn't be there, and can lead to a minor about of instability, "rear steer" over bumps, sway at high speeds, wallowing out of the holes and premature wear of the shackle and/or bolts. You need to make the hole in the bushing match the holes in the shackle. So you either have to make the hole in the shackle smaller, or the hole in the bushing bigger, but they need to be the same. You might have to order different bushings or something, but I'd be calling up your source for the shackle and asking them WTH is going on. You shouldn't be having this issue to begin with.

on mine it was only a hair of a difference, didnt even notice until the bolt wouldnt go thru
if its a big diff then ^^^ is right and its a bad idea
on mine it was not even visible until you got your face within inches of it

Yeah, without knowing the exact differences and having him mic it out, it's hard to say. I like knowing everything on my trucks have the proper fit though. With tied shackles it's not as big of a deal, but with side shackles any amount of play will toast your bushings/shackles/bolts if you go offroad.

Yes, it was very small, it barely wouldn't fit. Even the smaller bolts I had a hard time getting in. My concern was the length of the bolt. i am still going to call AC and ask why my bolts didn't work.

Ok, so you loosen the top bolt, hold the bottom bolt, and turn the very bottom bolt below the brace?

yes thats how ya do it


my bottom shackle bolt didnt pass all the way thru the nut either, thread lock is your friend

So how did it go OU? Get it finished?

Yep! I got it finished. I will post some pics tomorrow. I "worked" on it all damn day, but it technically only took me about 3 hours or so. My right side before I started was an inch higher than my left.

Thanks for all your help guys.

I did not have the money for some shackles and I know how to weld and fabricate metal.. So I fabricated my own shackle lift. Don't worry I know that there may be some problems but it works fine offroad and I have had no problems at all. But this is just the very un necassary difficult way of doing it haha.

http://pic90.picturetrail.com/VOL2354/10135684/18232830/287339169.jpg

http://pic90.picturetrail.com/VOL2354/10135684/18232830/287339157.jpg

http://pic90.picturetrail.com/VOL2354/10135684/18232830/287339173.jpg

Well here's what you'd want to avoid....
http://krazyk5.com/albums/mem06naches/Picture_022.sized.jpg

so what size bolts should I use 1/2x5 ??? or what

haha, jeff, i hadnt seen this thread before. that is hilarious! way to go!

wow nice write up guys, should put this in the DIY thread.