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Homemade shackles

also, im not capable of doing an sas at this point, anything else i can do to get the fron up, obviously the torsion bars have been cranked.
 



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Nice lookin shackles guys, I never thought this thread would become a shackle gallery :thumbsup: :D
 






heres mine
 

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heres mine



The back looks a lot like mine, except I painted the green parts CAT yellow. BTW, did you have to lengthen the rear sway bar links after the lift??
 






The back looks a lot like mine, except I painted the green parts CAT yellow. BTW, did you have to lengthen the rear sway bar links after the lift??[/QU
No I didnt but i probably should theyre pretty tight, also i wrecked my front fenders at a mud bog so thats at the top of my list.
 






I got some Auto Zone shackles and drilled them out large enough to fit the factory bolts. Then took the smaller bolt that came with the kit and used them as a center brace.

I did the same thing, and painted them black, so they didn't stick out as much
 






I made these same shackles a while back. They are great and very strong, even without the center support. I did notice at the rubicon last week that they drag over every steep drop I drop off of. I never even hit my bumper because they hang down so low.
 






mine too,but i constantly worry about backin into something and bending a leaf....
 






Hey shackle builder guys! go to the deaver spring website, and look at the baja bushings. make ford leafs act like deavers! or, not have too.....
 






Time for shackles?

New here, but figured I would toss this up out of hilarity. The rest of the truck is in great shape though rust wise. So what do you suggest lengthwise for a non lifted front end, not for looks, but for strictly offroading. I dont want too much slant nose up front. :) Also how long are the 9/16" bolts?



Thanks guys!
 






you could take the picture, but you couldnt measure the shackle or bolts to find out what length you need???
 






you could take the picture, but you couldnt measure the shackle or bolts to find out what length you need???

It does seem silly, but I wanted to know if going with 10, 11, 12" long shackle would be recommended with a stock setup.

It seems easier for someone to say, "I used 2.5" bolts with my 3/8" wide plates but it did not catch the nylon completely so I recommend 3"..."
 






the springs are 2.5 wide...figure an extra 1/4 inch for bushings on eash side...(3 inch)and figure on 3/8 plate times two....3/4 so a 4 or a 4and 1/4 bolt with like 1 inch of thread should be good....the stock shackles are 6 inches bolt to bolt....if you want 2 inches of lift out of them they need to be 10 inches...with shackles your actual ride height is 50%of the differnce from stock that you choose...
 






I made mine out of 1/2" flatbar, the holes are 9/16" and the bolts I used are 9/16" as well, this is the largest bolts you can use (any bigger wouldn't fit in the spring eye bushing sleeves) and they fit the spring eyes perfectly, without any binding whatsoever. Plus 9/16 grade 8 nuts and bolts are readily available and cheap, I got everything for 10$, get 5" long bolts, because the new shackles thicker.

As for tightening, I saw somewhere the torque is supposed to be somewhere around 48-50 ft-lbs, but since I used stover nuts (all metal locknuts). and tightened the bolts until the rubber bushing started squishing, don't overtorque, or else your shackles won't operate properly, they restrict normal movement rates.

Big Red: For the rear I had a special 2" lift leaf pack made for me, it was cheap here but I don't know how expensive it might be where you are. It's a bit more expensive than an add a leaf, but I have the exact same ride I wanted, it ride a brand new superduty, no lean, nice flex, no shaking, the ride is kinda stiff, but that's how I want it. Then I made my shackle so I'd get another 2" of lift. For the front I got a set of drop brackets, and dropped pitman arm.



5" long bolts :D
 






the springs are 2.5 wide...figure an extra 1/4 inch for bushings on eash side...(3 inch)and figure on 3/8 plate times two....3/4 so a 4 or a 4and 1/4 bolt with like 1 inch of thread should be good....the stock shackles are 6 inches bolt to bolt....if you want 2 inches of lift out of them they need to be 10 inches...with shackles your actual ride height is 50%of the differnce from stock that you choose...

Great, this is just the info I've been looking for, thanks heaps. Oh & I take it thats 10" bolt to bolt (just clarifying) :thumbsup: :D
& yes I know its an old thread ok LOL
11_extendedshackle_dims_01a.jpg

so these ones wouldn't be a 2' lift?
 






Well I got bored today and fabbed up a pair of shackles. I decided 3/8" was plenty thick and I used 2" wide stock. Paid $10 for a 4' length and chopped it into 12" pieces. Going by the 1" of shackle equals 1/2" of lift, I made my holes 9.5" center to center. The originals are 5.5" center to center so theoretically, these will give an honest 2" of lift. They are longer than the warriors but I figure I can always drill holes closer together if need be but I cant lengthen them if they are too short. There seems to be different opinions on bolt size so I only drilled my holes up to 1/2" until I get to install them. The original metric bolts seem to be closer to 1/2" than to 9/16 so when I get them out, I will fit them to the original bolts and source longer ones of he same diameter. If I can get a 9/16" bolt to go through the spring and frame, I will go with that size since I already have the appropriate grade 8 bolts. I originally planned to just do the flat bars without the center brace but decided that it might help to reduce side to side deflection around turns on the street. I used a pieces of 1.5" x 1" rectangle tubing I had left over from the in bed bike rack I also built this evening. I was a busy guy tonight.

Well here they are. Hopefully I will find time to get them installed this weekend. And no comments on my mediocre welding:D

shackles1rp4.jpg

Where did you get your materials?
 






Thanks for the info, looky what i made:D
 

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I used this thread to make my own shackles :). Like the OP I used 2 1/2" x 1/2" flat bar that I had cut into 10" lengths, drilled 9/16" holes 8 1/2" apart and used 5" long 9/16" grade 8 bolts. Total cost in CDN $35.00.

I just did the install in my driveway with basic hand tools in 1.5 hours. The most invaluable tool I can recommend if you are going to do this is a bottle jack to place between the top of the leafs and the frame to push the leafs into position on the longer shackles.

I will post pictures later today.
 






I quickly made an ms paint idea for a set of shackles I'd like to build for my sport. I'm making them stock length, I can't run extended shackles cause they'll hit my tow hitch I have on the rig. I'm mostly wanting to make these cause I have the material, I need something to do and I want some stronger shackles than the factory stamped ones. I was wondering if .25" is a good enough material thickness to use for a set of shackles? I will be running a center support and If I still have the sheet may cut some .125" plate to weld around the area where the bolt goes. the sketch might cut out any confusion as to what I have in my head:
shackleideaforsport.jpg


I think they will be plenty strong cause they will already be thicker than the factory ones. whats everyone else think?
 



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If you use a center support, a pipe over the bolt would be a good idea to prevent distortion in the shackle. Will do this if I extend my shackles. Not lookoing for huge lift or articulation. Maybe an inch to give some rake to the truck. Already got f150 springs in the rear. Instead of extra plate, put tube lengthwise on the shackle for rigidity.
 






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