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shackle flip

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GM4wheeling

1/2 ton status
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So i was reading on ORD about their shackle flip kits. It says that if you were to get bigger springs someday that you can install the brackets that come with there kits "backwards" on the "wrong" side and they will act like the stock shackle brackets.. Now heres my question.. if those brackets can be flipflopped... can you flipflop your stock brackets to act as a shackle lift? :screwy: I just want to minimize the hight of my rear blocks to minimize all the negative effects of the block itself. And this seems like a quick way to get 4" so i'd only need a 2" block... you follow? Or... anyone know what a set of 6" lift rear springs run?

yeah yeah yeah... noobe question i bet....:o
 
If you took your stock rear spring rear mounts off and mounted them on the other side of the vehicle it would do nothing actually. Would just be like replacing the stock ones. Your shackle would still be above the hanger and not below it like a shackle flip kit. What ORD is saying is that if you reverse side the brackets, you can go from 52" springs to 56" springs with ease.
 
Most 1/2 ton trucks had 52" long springs in the rear, most 3/4 and 1 ton trucks had 56" long springs in the rear.

The shackle flip is slightly offset to one side to accommodate the 52" springs. If you are using 56" long springs, you can switch the sides that the shackle flip brackets are on so that the offset is on the other side, thereby accommodating the longer springs.

You can't just flip the stock bracket. There are people that have made their own shackle flip brackets by cutting up and reinforcing the stock bracket.
 
what i meant was if you switched sides, and mounted upside down... the whole point of the shackle lift kit is to have your shackles pointed or hanging downward, instead of upward... right??
 
ok... I now understand what they ment with the spring length....

so you can't just flip them and turn them over unless you want to do some cutting and fabricating..... ?
 
I suppose turning a stock shackle upside would work with some reinforcements cause they are designed in a way for downward force. But that wouldn't give you any lift. The shackle would be in approximately the same location(maybe even a bit higher resulting in saggy butt).
 
GM4wheeling said:
ok... I now understand what they ment with the spring length....

so you can't just flip them and turn them over unless you want to do some cutting and fabricating..... ?
Click to expand...

What people have done is cut a hole in the bottom of the hanger to suspend the shackle thru. The fab up some reinforcement for the hanger.
 
Here is a pic of a homeade shackle flip

1134493-TP2.jpg
 
well i guess it's just worth the 180 bucks or whatever it is to do it right. Their flip gives you 4" right? and it'd be done the right way so i don't have to worry about nothin.

Sorry... my next question:thinking: Is it worth the money to get the kit... just so that i can downsize my blocks? How bad is it really to run 6" blocks back there? And then... again, are there 6" lift rear springs sold anywhere?
 
That is not my pic, I found that pic in a search here on ck5. I think its just the angle of the camera shot that makes it look like it doesn't have hardly any room to move.

But yeah, IMO, do it right the first time and get a flip kit. Personally I prefer DIY4x over ORDs.
 
Sorry for all the questions, but yall are just so dang helpful!

Which way is better all around as far as ride quality and pinion angles and flex are concerned... a shackle lift or a new set of 6" springs?
 
the 1st step in every rig I have built was ordering up a shackle flip. it's just better to use a shorter lift spring to keep a soft ride. a set of 6" rear springs will be stiff as hell and will also be 7" or taller to start with till they are worn in.
 
should i look around for a 6" shackle kit, or do the standard 4" that i seem to see everywhere and use a 2" block?

and what all am i hurting keeping a 6" block back there as it is
 
Blocks in general create axle-wrap. As far as height, its going to be a personal preferrence. I've got 6" front springs and a 6" rear DIY4x shackle flip kit
 
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