Shackle Angle

[audioslave1123]

My driver and passenger side shackles are at different angles even when I am on level ground, not sure if this is normal or how to fix it if something is wrong, also my angle is not very ideal from what I have been reading, what are some suggestions on how to fix this.

Stock length 4" lift springs from Tuff Country with 4.5" heavy duty shackles from DIY4X

 

[cybrfire]

Tell us about your springs. Are the new?

How about the poly bushings?

 

[audioslave1123]

Springs are not new, I have had them for a while but not many miles on them at all, less than 500 for sure because the truck has not been driven much. the new bushings I put in were the ones in the frame, came from Energy Suspension, this problem was happening before I replaced the shackles and bushings

 

[audioslave1123]

Any ideas? I have a sway bar dissconect from ORD and the passenger side mount off the spring plate for that is angled forward while the drivers side is straight up and down

Seems like something is cocked but I don't know what or what to check even

 

[cybrfire]

I'd just start doing some comparison measuring from one side to the other.

Ever had an accident with that frame? Front spring hangers look OK? Front hangers still attached via the factory rivets?

I'd measure the following on both sides,

Spring eye to eye
Front eye to center pin
Rear eye to center pin
spring hanger in the front to a fixed point on the frame that exists on both sides, Just keep trying to eliminate things as you go.

 

[audioslave1123]

I was never in an accident with it, front spring hangers are still attached by the factory rivets, and thanks for the help I'll make sure to check that out next time I get a chance to do some more work on the truck

 

[audioslave1123]

was finally able to take some measurements, the one that was out of whach was the front spring hanger to frame shackle bolt, i went from the front of the bolt head to center of bolt head, the driver and passenger side were off by 1/2", 47" driver side and 47 1/2" for the passenger side....Now how should I go about fixing this? Anyone have any advice or had to do this before?

thanks

 

[audioslave1123]

One I idea I had was to order the B-52 front spring hangers from diy4x, but use my tuff country springs I have for now till I get a set of 52's, but can these be run without the the 52" springs? The other idea I had was to get a set of the weld on spring hangers from diy4x and just have them welded in the proper location so they will be equal, just let me know what you guys think or what advice anyone has

 

[cybrfire]

So is the shackle hanger at the rear of the spring off or the piece at the front of the spring?

Couple different ways to fix it, all depends on what you want to spend on it or how much work you want to do. You can fix it with the parts you have right there without spending much at all.

 

[audioslave1123]

the piece at the front of the spring, under the radiator support, I took some more measurements from there to different holes on the frame and they were not equal from driver to passenger side...I thought about just knocking out the rivets that hold it on and reataching it but since I have such a small amount of adjustment to make is there going to be enough material around when I redrill the wholes? Or how else would I go about this?

 

[thebird00]

I know you have found that your measurements are off, but also check that your shackle bolts aren't over tightened.

 

[audioslave1123]

OK will do, I just replaced the bushings and shackles and I thought I made sure they werent too tight when I reinstalled them but I will check again, should be able to do it tonight because I will also be putting my fuel cell in finally, no more 3 gallon jug in the bed so I can move it around

 

[Blue85]

What about welding the shackle bolt hole shut on one side and redrill it in a slightly different position to match the other side?

I know that it's common for these trucks to sit a little crooked. I have always attributed it to the springs, but maybe build tolerance issues like this are to blame. Does the truck sit level? Maybe you can live with it.

 

[audioslave1123]

the truck sits level, its the wheel base that is off, driver and passenger front sping mount to frame shackel mount are the measurements that are off