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i just put some Chevy shackles on my XJ tonight. what i want to know is, are the shckles supposed to move at all after they are installed? i didn't think they should, but after i tightened them good and let it off the jack stands, they moved back a little. is that normal or what? i know i tightened them a lot, but they still moved a little.
i just put some Chevy shackles on my XJ tonight. what i want to know is, are the shckles supposed to move at all after they are installed? i didn't think they should, but after i tightened them good and let it off the jack stands, they moved back a little. is that normal or what? i know i tightened them a lot, but they still moved a little.
Yeah, shackles are meant to swivel forward and backwards with the change of arc of the leaf spring. When you put the weight of the vehicle on the rear suspension the leafs flattened a bit and the shackle swiveled back to accomodate a flatter leaf. When you the weight transfers to the opposite (or something else happens that causes the leaf to become more arced) the shackle will swivel forward as it's getting pulled by the leaf spring.
Yes, they are supposed to move, have you ever seen Revolver shackles? They are an extream example of shackle movement.
You also SHOULD NOT tighten them up with the tires off the ground. At least not the shackle end. Doing so can tear the bushing in the spring. Let the vehicle down off the jacks/stands. Then tighten/torque bolts in shackles to spec.
Anyone know the torque spec for both the shackle bolts? Couldnt find it in the crappy haynes manual. I went about 40 ftlbs and kept an eye on em but itd be nice to know fo sho
My haynes manual says leaf spring front and rear mounting bolts are torqued to 109 ft. lbs. I would assume that means the spring to shackle bolt at 109, but I don't know if the shackle to frame bolt would be the same.
well here's a pic of 'em. i don't think i reallygot any lift, oncei got the stock ones off and had the two side by side, the chevy ones aren't that much longer. the reason i put up the pic is because it seems like the shackle is hitting on the back against the frame/body or whatever. can anyone look at the pic and tell if it looks like its angled too far back? sorry for the bad quality pic, my digicam isn't working so i had to use my phone.
BTW, the wires there are just the ones that go to my hitch, its not pinching them.
well they looked longer, so me and a friend started taking 'em off. then when we had em off i compared 'em and they weren't that much longer. i was like screw it, just put the chevy ones on. i was using his garage and impact wrench and stuff, so i figured he might get a little frustrated if we ended up just putting the stock ones back on.
As I recall, the lift you'll get from a shackle is HALF of the difference in length, bolt centre to bolt centre (someone correct me if I'm wrong.) So, if there's no significant difference in shackle length, you won't see it when it's all done.
As mentioned, anytime you service a suspension part that has a bushing (this includes control arm bushings and what-have-you,) you'll want to have the vehicle sitting FULL WEIGHT on all four tyres before you torque the bolts. If you carry kit all the time, but pulled it out to jack the thing up, put it down and PUT IT BACK before you torque things for the last time. It matters - and it will quite probably save you from doing the job again due to premature bushing failure.
yea it was wider than the XJ one, but it doesn't pull the spring to the side or anything. i think i'm gonna order some new shackles this week though, because of the squeaking these make.
yea it was wider than the XJ one, but it doesn't pull the spring to the side or anything. i think i'm gonna order some new shackles this week though, because of the squeaking these make.
Don't over tighten bolts on leaf bushings or the top of the shackle bushing. Use plenty of grease on the bushing inside the bolt sleeve and all over anything else touching. these two things will get rid of most all rear sqeaks and groans. If you over tighten you may hear a pop from the bushings when flexing.
