Front Shackle Hitting Frame. (Problem Fixed)

[1-ton]

Way back when I bought my truck (1991 Chevy V3500) the right side spring shackle was leaned back so far that the leaf spring eye was smacking the frame. I have replaced all that stuff some years ago. I have somewhat new (about 50,000 miles) 8" lift Tuff Country front leaf springs with all new bushings. After that the springs where still hitting the frame sometimes. I also installed, several months ago, a set of ORD heavy duty shackles and bushings. The right side spring is still too close the frame after that.

I have inspected everything I can think of. The bushings are all good, and all the spring hangers do not seem to be bent or out of proper position. The only thing I can think of is the front upper shackle hanger is galled really bad or the rivets for it are loose. When I replaced the upper shackle frame bushings with the ORD kit I inspected the shackle bore for galling and loose rivets. There was a small amount of galling, but not so much that it could cause a major problem, and the rivets where tight enough that I could not move them by hand. I was thinking of maybe getting that ORD upper shackle hanger kit to see if that fixes the problem...any suggestions?

 

[86454K30]

Is there a chance it had some right front damage and it tweaked the front spring hangar, thus pushing the spring backward?

 

[1-ton]

Is there a chance it had some right front damage and it tweaked the front spring hangar, thus pushing the spring backward?

I was thinking the same thing could be a possibility, which is why I was thinking the ORD upper shackle frame spring hanger kit might fix the problem.

 

[Justin V]

I have that kit in my possession. It isn't installed yet but they look fantastic.

But I think @86454K30 is talking about the front spring hanger near the core support...

 

[1-ton]

I have that kit in my possession. It isn't installed yet but they look fantastic.

But I think @86454K30 is talking about the front spring hanger near the core support...

Oops! I misread the post. looked at the front spring hangers, and they both seem to be inline with each other. I will have to take some closer measurements to make sure.

 

[diesel4me]

Is there a chance it had some right front damage and it tweaked the front spring hangar, thus pushing the spring backward?

I'd suspect that too,maybe the frame was pushed upward in the center "arch" of the wheel well area,and now the front hanger is pushed back a bit or angled,so the shackle has to move back to compensate..

 

[1-ton]

I'd suspect that too,maybe the frame was pushed upward in the center "arch" of the wheel well area,and now the front hanger is pushed back a bit or angled,so the shackle has to move back to compensate..

Frame damage would suck, but I see no obvious sign of that. Front tire wear has been normal for years.

 

[Justin V]

All of the bushings good?

 

[diesel4me]

Are you sure the center bolt in the spring hasn't sheared ,or the u-bolts shifted back some due to not being torqued good ?..bent axle tube maybe ?...things can be misaligned and the tires may still not grind down too rapidly..

I had a '77 GMC K2500 that had some kind of aftermarket springs someone stuffed under it up front--they rubbed on the frame at the rear shackle area,and I suspected they were probably out of some other type of truck,(Dodge,Ford.??) ..maybe one of yours is simply longer than the other due to a manufacturing defect or "boxed wrong"?..

I wanted the '77 GMC to be all "stock"height to plow with ,so I bought a pair of 3 leaf OEM springs off a Suburban,and took off the rear lift blocks,and sold the 36" Dick Cepecks on it--truck was like riding in a new one in comparison to how it drove and sounded lifted up with big tires..the area where those lift kit springs had rubbed took away quite a bit of meat off the lower frame rail,I always had fears it would buckle there,but it never did..

 

[1-ton]

Are you sure the center bolt in the spring hasn't sheared ,or the u-bolts shifted back some due to not being torqued good ?..bent axle tube maybe ?...things can be misaligned and the tires may still not grind down too rapidly..

I had a '77 GMC K2500 that had some kind of aftermarket springs someone stuffed under it up front--they rubbed on the frame at the rear shackle area,and I suspected they were probably out of some other type of truck,(Dodge,Ford.??) ..maybe one of yours is simply longer than the other due to a manufacturing defect or "boxed wrong"?..

I wanted the '77 GMC to be all "stock"height to plow with ,so I bought a pair of 3 leaf OEM springs off a Suburban,and took off the rear lift blocks,and sold the 36" Dick Cepecks on it--truck was like riding in a new one in comparison to how it drove and sounded lifted up with big tires..the area where those lift kit springs had rubbed took away quite a bit of meat off the lower frame rail,I always had fears it would buckle there,but it never did..

When I first bought the truck it had a set of Rancho 2-1/2" lift front springs that were still to close to the frame. Since it has had two sets of springs with the same problem, I figure the problem is not the leaf springs. I also replaced the leaf spring centering pins when I replaced the front springs. I could take a look at the centering pin again to see if it broke somehow.

 

[diesel4me]

Maybe the center bolt hole is offset,only by a small amount...measure both springs from center bolt to eye,maybe its possible one spring is "reversed"..(wrong end facing rearward )..

 

[campfire]

I know it doesn't solve the original problem, but have you thought about switching to longer shackles to give yourself some more safety margin?

 

[1-ton]

Maybe the center bolt hole is offset,only by a small amount...measure both springs from center bolt to eye,maybe its possible one spring is "reversed"..(wrong end facing rearward )..

I will try measuring the distance. When I installed these springs, I made sure I installed the both the same way. Since this truck has had this problem from day one I owned it, and it has had many different parts replaced on it, it is going to be a difficult problem to figure out.

 

[ChrisPerry]

How long are the shackles? GM started putting longer shackles on later year trucks due to springs rubbing on frame. You might have the earlier shackles.

 

[6872xtc]

The ORD shackles are longer, which is the same length as the later trucks. I read this on their website.
With the problem being only on the right side, I believe that it would point towards the front hanger being moved backward, or the shackle mount installed too far forward. I would think that there would be other signs , if the frame was bent on the right side, but I don't know for sure.
But I don't think that the upper shackle kit will fix it.

Is it a factory goof up in the frame?
Is it a factory 4x4 frame? Does the VIN match?
Just tossing some ideas out there....

 

[1-ton]

I will look into the shackles length deal. ORD has stock length shackles and 1/2" longer shackles. I cannot remember which ones I bought. I will dig out my invoice from ORD (and a tape measure) to see which ones I got. A factory defect is something that crossed my mind.

 

[Hogback Fabrication]

Our standard HD shackle kit has 4-1/2" plates in it, as mentioned most of the square bodies got 4" shackles (88-91 had 4-1/2" stock). We do also carry 5" shackle plates if that's helpful.

As for one side being different, it has to be a difference in spring length or arch or a difference in the frame or bracket at the front of the spring.

 

[1-ton]

Our standard HD shackle kit has 4-1/2" plates in it, as mentioned most of the square bodies got 4" shackles (88-91 had 4-1/2" stock). We do also carry 5" shackle plates if that's helpful.

As for one side being different, it has to be a difference in spring length or arch or a difference in the frame or bracket at the front of the spring.

I might need to go to those 5" shackles, if The ones I bought from you guys are not already the 5-inchers (I need to measure to verify). The front spring hangers appear to be OK at just a visual glance, but I need to get in there with a tape measure and take more thorough measurements. I will also measure both spring lengths to see if they match-up. My truck does sit level though.

 

[Stephen]

Measure from the main eye bolt to the upper shackle bolt on each side. And Tuff Country doesn't make an 8" front spring so it's either a 6" or from somewhere else. Not that it matters to the problem but it may be good to know.

 

[1-ton]

Measure from the main eye bolt to the upper shackle bolt on each side. And Tuff Country doesn't make an 8" front spring so it's either a 6" or from somewhere else. Not that it matters to the problem but it may be good to know.

I did not pay attention to my post. I had 8" Skyjackers that I replaced with Tuff Country's with about a year ago. With the holiday family stuff and visits from out of town, it will not be till after new years before I can crawl under my truck to figure this out. I hope it is something as simple as another pair of longer shackles.