Shackle bolt hits frame?

[Mastiff]

I mentioned this on my other thread but I wanted to get new people to look... I noticed that as the shackle on my rear springs droops forward, the bolt the attaches the spring hits the frame (shackle holder) before the shackle goes down as far as it could. Is that normal or do I have a problem? I have the ORD greasable bolts/bushings in there, so all I could think to do is put a bunch of washers on the outside to keep it from going through as far. Thing is, I think just the nut itself might hit. Any thoughts?

 

[4X4HIGH]

Take pics and post them here for us to see.

 

[cybrfire]

If I'm pickin' up what you're puttin' down,

You have a factory type shackle hanger. Tension style. When you extend the suspension to full droop the nut on the inside of the shackle hits the formed steel hanger. Sound right?

If so, and its the nut hitting, you can either clearance the hanger and reinforce if necessary or add bump stops. Not much you can do to make the nut smaller.

Outside of that turn the bolt around. You'd probably have to do some disassembly to get it to a point where you could reinstall it facing the other way. Also gona be harder to grease.

 

[Mastiff]

You described it right. Yes, it would be nearly impossible to install the other way since the bolt couldn't be installed. The zerk might hit too. I don't know whether this situation can happen just from the weight of the axles or not. I noticed because I disconnected the spring at the front and couldn't get it back together because the shackle wouldn't move enough for the eye to line up. How would a bumpstop help if it's a droop problem?

 

[ryoken]

if it's just the nut-side, they do make "thin" nuts.... McMaster carries em...

 

[CrewCab59]

it would be nearly impossible to install the other way since the bolt couldn't be installed



You would have the remove the shackel and flip the bolt around ! Or trim the hanger like said above.

 

[cybrfire]

You described it right. Yes, it would be nearly impossible to install the other way since the bolt couldn't be installed. The zerk might hit too. I don't know whether this situation can happen just from the weight of the axles or not. I noticed because I disconnected the spring at the front and couldn't get it back together because the shackle wouldn't move enough for the eye to line up. How would a bumpstop help if it's a droop problem?

Sorry, meant limit strap.

 

[Mastiff]

Well, since my shackles and hangars are stock, my real question is whether this is normal or whether I should worry about it. If it's not normal, how does it not interfere in stock form? The only way I could think of is with a skinny nut and a bolt that is exactly the right length. I know other guys are running the ORD shackle bolts though...

I'm adding some pics of the spring connected with no load on it. The distance from eye to eye with the spring relaxed is just a hair over 48".

 

[Adventurous 4x4]

It is normal. I clearanced mine when I ran the stock set up and it didn't help flex much so it really does'nt affect it much.

 

[YZEATER]

just clearance it, or do a shackle flip.

 

[Mastiff]

It is normal. I clearanced mine when I ran the stock set up and it didn't help flex much so it really does'nt affect it much.

By clearance, you mean to grind away some of the shackle hangar, right?

When you say it didn't help much, it sounds like you are saying that it was hitting under flexy conditions, but it didn't droop much further from not hitting. Is that right? Having it hit at all seems bad to me. Do you really want the weight of the axle resting on the tip of a shackle bolt?

 

[andyblack]

I don't think the weight of the axle will rest on that one bolt unless the suspension is drooped out, like when the truck is on a lift or something. I guess you could get a slightly longer shackle that would clear the bracket, but it would make the truck sit lower. From your picture, it doesn't look like the shackle is bent or anything. Are the bushings toast or did you replace them when you went to the greasable bolts? Do you have the same problem on the other side? I would just do the shackle flip. Why not spend a couple hundred dollars and a day of hard work to fix something you could spend 15 minutes on with a grinder and fix for free?