Homemade shackles

[Minivek]

Here are my homemade shackles, I used 2-1/2" x 1/2" HSS flatbar stock, the bars are 10" long, the holes are 9/16" diameter, spaced 8-1/2" apart, about 3/4" from each end and dead center at 1-1/4" from the sides.

 

[Minivek]

Just put them on without very few hassle. That completes my 4 inch lift, Thanks a lot guys for all the help, god knows I've been asking around for information jejeje, I'll post pics as soon as I can, and will also try to do a writeup for everything I had to fight with.

However, anyone with a 1st explorer and older 2nd gens, should REALLY check their shackles out for rust. My old ones were basically bent in half when I took them off, half the orginal thickness had turned to rust and the bolts were really eatin up by rust and bent. Not something you'd want on your truck when you hit that pothole at 60 miles an hour! They looked like they were made of sheetmetal cuz of all the rot they had on them!!!

 

[JIGAWHAAT]

Just put them on without very few hassle. That completes my 4 inch lift, Thanks a lot guys for all the help, god knows I've been asking around for information jejeje, I'll post pics as soon as I can, and will also try to do a writeup for everything I had to fight with.

However, anyone with a 1st explorer and older 2nd gens, should REALLY check their shackles out for rust. My old ones were basically bent in half when I took them off, half the orginal thickness had turned to rust and the bolts were really eatin up by rust and bent. Not something you'd want on your truck when you hit that pothole at 60 miles an hour! They looked like they were made of sheetmetal cuz of all the rot they had on them!!!

I second that. I could'nt believe the condition of my stock (second gen.) shackles when I pulled them off. I could literally bend them in half in my hands.

 

[Lost216]

would you be interested in making a set for me? and what else did you do for the 4 in. of lift?

thx in advance

 

[Savage Wolf]

would you be interested in making a set for me? and what else did you do for the 4 in. of lift?

thx in advance

those are cake to make yourself, at worst if you have no way to cut the metal you could use a place like metalexpress(.net) and get the steel precut just add holes, paint and bolts

 

[old mechanic]

My son was going to make them but I told him to just go to the metal fabricating shop and have them make it. They cut and pressed the holes in them in about 10 minutes. Best of all it was no-charge because they make all my steel beams up for my jobs. They even gave him the grade 8? bolts with a sleeve on them.
BTW: Nice clean job.

 

[Lost216]

those are cake to make yourself, at worst if you have no way to cut the metal you could use a place like metalexpress(.net) and get the steel precut just add holes, paint and bolts

thx, that sounds good

 

[toypaseo]

Should there be some sort of bracing in the midsection between the bolt somewhere? Like these..?

 

[Lost216]

it's a good idea, but it's not neccesary(sp?)

 

[Savage Wolf]

Should there be some sort of bracing in the midsection between the bolt somewhere? Like these..?

usually, yes I would say that the bracing would be needed, but most of the after market shackles are 1/4-3/8 inch thick, he made his out of 1/2 inch, if your flexing the truck out alot on the trail, I would highly recommend the center brace tho

 

[Minivek]

sorry for not being here in a while, but yeah basically I found out shackles are real easy to fabricate. And unless you get them from a store, shipping would be horrendous for these shackles as they weigh quite a bit. I built mine in the basemente with a homemade jig for my drill and that was it, start with a small drill bit and go up to 9/16" in 2 or 3 steps, makes it a lot easier, don't forget to squirt some lubricant on there or else the bits will go dull in no time.

As for the bracing, I thought of it for a while, but that's when I decided to go with the 1/2 flat bar, its a lot thicker than one is used to seeing. From other applications i'Ve seen 1/2" flatbar being used (heavy machinery, forestry equipment and stuff) they will not bend, plus they offer nice flex. Also another way to see it is;

Note: and only for 1/2" or thicker flat bar, is that if the strain put on the shackle (from off roading) is strong enough to bend it because it doesn't have cross bracing in the center, thank your lucky stars you didn't have bracing in there, cuz if that shackle doesn't give a little, its going to be your frame that'll twist into a pretzle : but other than that, these will never bend, and when they do, such as when rear ended or something, my frame will stay nice and straight... I'm open to opinions...

Have a nice day, and by the way they really add a beefy look to the rear end

 

[eddiebexplorer]

does anyone know the measurements for 2" lift shackles so i can make my own
thanks

 

[Minivek]

stock length varies according to truck year, model etc. but look at the first post that's pretty much it. Any longer than than that and you might be asking for problems.

 

[eddiebexplorer]

so the first post on this thread is for a 2" lift shackle or is that a beefier copy of the warrior 1.5"

 

[95exploderboy]

Its pretty much a rule of thumb that for every inch you extend the shackle, you will get a half inch of lift. Use that rule to see how much longer you will need to make it to get 2 inches of lift.

 

[96FordExploder]

I bought a shackle kit from Autozone for $14 and it works great. I clear my 30" tires by 6.5 inches at all four corners. I don't offroad enough to need the Warriors. Just the occasional Sand/Hill riding and some mud. For $14 though I couldn't resist. Put a couple coats of semi-gloss Rustoleum on'em and they were good to go.

 

[Mud Bug 94]

most stock shackles are 6 inch bolt to bolt...i made mine 11.25 bolt to bolt:

 

[Big Red]

Minivek, I just made a new post on wanting to get 4" of lift. However I would like to do it as cheap as possible and if that means doing some custom jobs then so be it. I was hoping you could tell me how you got the 4" all around and tell me what bolts you used for the shackles. Thanks, Big Red

 

[pope_face]

Awesome... this is exactly what I'm looking for... I wanted to get the Warriors, but I was quoted over $120 w/o taxes for a set from the shop... I could get these made up for extremely cheap... I'll look into getting them done today. ^_^

 

[glfredrick]

Don't sweat the center brace. It isn't needed if the shackle material is stout enough, and it will actually flex better...

Here's mine...