teraflex revolver shackles on a xj

[Lodi Jim]

Ran them when they first came out. They unloaded and rolled the rig. Sold them 5-6 years ago. Am running 'boomerang' shackles now. Short arms, drop brackets, and boomerang shackles are quite stable and balanced for the rocks.

 

[ktm racer 419]

I have to agree with Jeepster 259, 100%. I have owned a set for about 3 or 4 years now. I have been to Moab twice and the divide ride and other places with them and they work great. The idea of problems with waterfall drops etc doesn,t hold water. If you get a set you won't regret it. More flex = wheels on the ground, period. Maybe the question should have specified only people with first hand experience and a clue reply.

watching them suck on other peoples rigs is enough for me not to run them

maximum flex isnt everything

and i get more than enough out of my standard re leafs and extended shackle, and linked suspension up front.

lifting tires doesn't kill babies or anything

 

[deejay]

well i dont do any long distance traveling in it at all i live in utah theres rock crawling in any direction you go from my house im running 33X13.50R15 super swampers bias ply tires so i dont care if its a rough ride i was just curiouse of how they do flexing and such on the rocks cuz right now my whole front end has the super flex joints on the ends so i want whatever is gonna be the best for the rear end to flex all the professional rock crawlers say that travel is better then lift so i fiqured this would help out on keeping the tires on the ground

 

[ktm racer 419]

well i dont do any long distance traveling in it at all i live in utah theres rock crawling in any direction you go from my house im running 33X13.50R15 super swampers bias ply tires so i dont care if its a rough ride i was just curiouse of how they do flexing and such on the rocks cuz right now my whole front end has the super flex joints on the ends so i want whatever is gonna be the best for the rear end to flex all the professional rock crawlers say that travel is better then lift so i fiqured this would help out on keeping the tires on the ground

controlled travel is what you want, not random unloading whacky shackles

 

[Goatman]

.........i was just curiouse of how they do flexing and such on the rocks cuz right now my whole front end has the super flex joints on the ends so i want whatever is gonna be the best for the rear end to flex all the professional rock crawlers say that travel is better then lift so i fiqured this would help out on keeping the tires on the ground

Don't know where you got that. I know and wheel with a bunch of guys who compete and I've never heard them say that. What we talk about most is stability and the rear hooking up on climbs. Comp guys are all about a stable rig that can handle steep ups, downs, and sidehills........exactly what revolver shackles don't do best. If all you want to do is flex through ruts and boulder fields, go for them.......but you won't work any better than anybody else out there with two lockers.

Ever see someone not make an obstacle because they lifted a tire? It doesn't matter as long as other tires are making contact and pulling.

Ever see someone back off an obstacle because they are floppy and might roll?

Ever see someone back off a waterall climb because the rear end sucks under and won't hook up? Or bounces bad enough that they need to back off?

 

[FloydXJ]

From this and several other forums, I think it is safe to say this: of the people that post up on these sites, there are a lot more negative experiences than positive. Unfortunately, I can only provide a "my friend was running them" story, but I do not think those accounts should be dismissed as hearsay. My friend had them on an XJ with 8" of lift and 35s, and they behaved badly on steep uphills - something we do a lot of. So of the minority of people that have had a good experience with them, I would say you lucked out, or don't do the kind of wheeling that emphasizes their short comings. BUT, you can't be like whats-his-name up there and just assume everyone with a negative review is just slingin' dung.

 

[4.3LXJ]

The bad thing about revolver shackles is that if the rig starts to lean for any reason, it no longer has the weight of the axle to hold it down. It just has its center of gravity raised as it starts to lean. If there is any doubt about rolling over, that settles it. It happens. And it is not just off road. You can roll it on asphalt easily too.

 

[kastein]

I'll trust Goatman, Rob, and Sam's second-hand experience/observations over mr "hey unless you have wasted money on them and taken them back off stop ripping on them"'s views any day. Sorry.

deejay - ps, I'd be a lot more inclined to read and answer your threads if you used punctuation, capitalization, and some semblance of sentence structure. Reading a giant misshapen lump of letters and words five times to figure out what the hell you're trying to say makes my head hurt.

 

[cal]

Generally speaking, there is a reason that you see a product like ACOS or an SYE on so many rigs .. its a solid concept that works. People don't shy away from the $300 price tag.


On that same note, there is a reason that you see so few rigs with revolver shackles.. and it isn't the price.

If you or anyone else feels revolvers are the correct path, go ahead and try them.. but several people in this thread who have forgotten more about modifying a cherokee than you or I will ever know, and they have nothing but negative things to say.

Keep that in mind.

 

[proracedriver616]

I ran them for almost a year with a 4.5" lift and didnt think they were horrible but I also didnt like them enough to keep them when i went bigger. As someone said earlier in this thread, you would be better off going with a shackle relocation kit from hd, in my opinion. The revolver shacklet will give you about an inch of lift just bolting them on, they will let your rear end droop a lot further down, and i thought they drove fine on the street. If i took a corner really fast the body would start to lean and the shackle would start to open up a little but it wasnt scary and they didnt ever just snap open or anything like that. There were some things i didnt like though....because of the way xj's shackles bolt into the stupid box thing in the back the revolver shackles sit against the front of the shackle box at ride height and when you are driving and hit bumps or take corners the revolvers will open slightly then go back up against the shackle mount. So they are kind of noisy first of all, secondly i could never get mine to fully open. I would get one part to unfold but both parts would never open straight out and allow full droop...i dont know why, they were greased well and worked fine, i even disconnected my shocks and tried an rti ramp and would eventually lift a tire and have to push down on the rear tire to get the shackles to open more. And when climbing up a big ledge or rock the rear end wanted to lift way up in the air and the axle sort of climbed under the jeep before my jeep would start climbing the rock or whatever. I could stand on the brakes and give it gas at a stoplight and get the back of my jeep to lift up probably 5 or 6 inches. In the end I was much happier with longer shackles and the shackle relocation kit. If you find a used set for $50 or $100 then give em a try if you want, but i wouldnt buy new ones. Hope this helps more than "they suck dont buy them".

seth

 

[256offroad]

ha, I laugh at all the bad posts about the Revolver Shackles, especially since 99% of the people who post that have never run them.

I bought a used set f these about 9 months ago and love them! I was a little worried before I got them because of all those negative posts, but it was a great deal I couldn't pass up so I bought them. No regrets at all. They have increased the flex in the rear tremedously! I run a 3-link long arm setup in front limited so that the coils come about 2" unseated (6" lift) and the rear flex almost matches that of the front.

I have only good things to say about them and have not experience any of the negative effects other people claim. Would I spend the $275 for them new...prob. not. If you can find a used set for a decent price, absolutely buy them. After running these, I don't think I could go back to regular shackles.

I'm sure some people have reason to not like them, but I have plenty of reason to really like them. So, that's my .02.

HA i laugh cause i JUST realized why you would say that the shackles DID work awesome on your rig.

this IS your florida mud whompin, swamp truggin, puddle jumper xj isnt it?

i see now why you would think they would work.



go climb a real hill and post back.

 

[JRW7072009]

HA i laugh cause i JUST realized why you would say that the shackles DID work awesome on your rig.

this IS your florida mud whompin, swamp truggin, puddle jumper xj isnt it?

i see now why you would think they would work.



go climb a real hill and post back.

Thats awesome, I am building mine just like it with the low COG and all!