How to: Warrior Shackle Installation (pics)

Hey guys.. after a few of you emailed me asking how i did it and how hard it was i figured rather then sending out 20 emails i would just do a post on how to install the Shackles... i got mine from Desert Rat they were $49.99 + shipping.. there shipping was fast.. anyway lets get to the install...

Fist thing.. is what u need...


A floor Jack - that can jack up 20" + after your shackles are on you need the extra hight..
Jack Stands agin that can go 18"+ ho hold the truck while its up.. you will need the floor jack to move the axle..
u also need some tools... im shure u all have that part covered so i wont list that..

now.. u need to jack one side of the truck up... i will post a pic of the jack point.. just for a little FYI you will jack where the leaf springs mount in the front...

Next u will need to put the jack Stand there so you can take the floor jack down.. after that is done.. you can goto the next step..




you will need to then unbolt the shackle... the bolt should slide right out.. if not jack the axle up a little untill the bolt can be taken out..

please note in this pic... this is my truck with the new shackles allready on.. yours are smaller and are black..

PLease also note u will need to unbold BOTH bolts.. in that pic... the one on top and the bottom.. please also note.. that the leaf will snap up a little.. no its not a lot and no you wont get hurt.. it goes up maybe 1" if that.. nothing major..




Now after you have the shackle on just bolt on the new one.. it is a little easyier if you bolt the bottom one on first... it also makes life a little more easy if you have somone to help you.. you will have to pull the leaf down to slip the bolt in.. and unless you have 4 hands... you cant do all that alone =P


now after its back on... jack the truck back up... remove the jack stand... and do the other side.... thats it!! and your done.. now it took me about an hour and a half... and i would say most of that was on the first side... once you get one done... the second should take you about 10 min... 15 tops... now im not a car guy... i have never done anything like this before... but it was easy... i would not tell you it was if it was hard... I and everyone else on this board are here for ya... so if you need any help.. just ask =) also a great thing was the chat room rick has setup... it was like live tech help =P


any questions? let me know



Mike

here are some pics witht he shackles on..

i dont see any pics on that last post

WOW!!! thanks alot for that info. now i know exactually what to do and how to do it. I can't wate till this summer till i put them on!

Here is a small piece of advice!

Your Stock shackles have the bolts with the heads toward the center of the vehicle, this is ok unless you have the Newer style of the Hidden Hitch Reciever Trailer Hitch. Then your bolts will hit the hitch before they can be removed from the Shackles. I had to remove my Hitch just to take the bolts out.

So here is my advice, when you put the bolts back in, make it so the heads are toward the outside of the vehicle, and the nuts are toward the center..... It will make Life much Easier if you have a hitch and need to remove the springs or shackles at a later date....

What do shackles do and can I put them on my x?

Shackles will lift the Rear of your Explorer up a few inches. You can install shackles on ANY year Explorer except the 2002 4-door Models....

Another tid bit... If you don't have 4 friend's to help pull the spring down, you can use a small bottle jack inbetween the spring and the frame..

and don't forget...

sqeek, sqeek, sqeeeeeeek, squeek, sqeeeeek....

great pics...i need that!! now what can i do to the front to make it lift a little bit...i'd rather not have to change wheels etc...but i also don't want the truck tooo high that it looks ridiculous with stock rims and a lift

have to ask

What type of shackles are you using? And how long are they.
I ordered trhe heavy duty front springs from explorer express, i think there 1.5 inches bigger.

the above shackles in the pictures are warrior products WAR-153 They are powdercoated in hammertone color and available cheap at www.desertrat.com but youll have to call their number as the part isnt listed on their site

Shackle type...

We (late model ex's) are mainly using WAR-153's. They are made by Warrior Products and are heavy duty shackles. They are 50 times better than stock. I ordered mine from Quadratec but you can also get them at Desert Rat.

Quadratec WAR-153 Shackles

another note: everyone that sells them and the sticker when they arrive say that they are for 96-00 ford explorers.... they will fit all model explorers except for the 2002 4 doors.......

Can I do this with only a thirteen inch floor jack, 16 inch jack stands, and a high lift jack. I am going to do it tomorrow so hurry.

sure!

You could probably do it with some rope and big tree if you wanted. It shouldn't be too tough. I would not use the hi-lift though... that sounds scary. As long as you can get the tires off the ground, you shouldn't have a problem. If worst comes to worse, you can use the factory jack, but you shouldn't have any problems. Hope that helps... we'll be here if ya need us!

Another thing that should be mentioned, Campo brought it to my attention. There is an up side and a down side to the shackle. The instructions show that the brace is in the middle, but in fact it is off set. The longer end of the shackle bolts to the frame and the shorter side to the spring. That is to allow a full range of motion, otherwise the brace of the shackle will hit the frame under full compression.

with no sway bars i jack up my hydro. jack at full and my tire only gets about 1 inch off the ground...i tried installing today and it was impossible for my to get off the bolts...im gonna do it in shop and use air tools that should do the trick