Rear shackles now fitted !

[wrightyonline]

Hiya all, just thought I would show some pics of my home made rear shackles, had the dimensions from the threads on this site (really usefull) then got the plates laser cut, welded them up myself then took them for electroplating, fitted today ( again following instruction from this site) and with a little effort I think the result is more than satisfactory and I think the finish makes them luck a little less ugly than some I've seen, jim

 

[jprentice94]

Those look good you should do a write up for other people what metal thickness i used half inch on mine

 

[wrightyonline]

Loads of write ups on here already and full of really usefull info and pics otherwise I would of , a quick search of rear shackles brings up all info needed and the post with a drawing showing all necessary measurements to make these shackles, jim

 

[tenny]

what did the whole thing cost you...??? money and time wise...???

wondering if its even WORTH THE "EFFORT".

I actually have the warriors, and plan to cut them down almost 3in.
when I do my SOA, so I will have some beefy looking (stock height)
shackles on mine haha

they look good though, what did you do with the front...???

 

[wrightyonline]

Hiya, these bad boys cost £40 gbp for laser cut steel and £10 gbp for electroplating, welding was just my time, from point of ordering steel to fitting on the truck, roughly 4 days in total ( with work commitments actually about a week in real time). The front has TT with just shy of 2" of lift , haven't measured difference on the rear yet though, but she's sitting nice and level now, jim

 

[Maniak]

what did the whole thing cost you...??? money and time wise...???

wondering if its even WORTH THE "EFFORT".

I actually have the warriors, and plan to cut them down almost 3in.
when I do my SOA, so I will have some beefy looking (stock height)
shackles on mine haha

they look good though, what did you do with the front...???

I contacted Warrior products a couple months ago when I was about to do my SOA. I asked them for a 5.5" eye to eye version of the Warrior 153 shackles..

Once they understood what I was looking for they sent back..

The part number is #115 and it measures 5 3/4" eye to eye and it has 1/2" holes that you can drill out.

Soo.. If you get the 115's and drill the holes up to 14mm (that is the correct size for the explorer.. Only the very very early 153's came with 13mm holes that had to be drilled out) you can have some nice beefy shackles.

~Mark

 

[tenny]

yea mark, I read your thread thoughly, as I too DO NOT WANT
to end up TOO high in the rear.

so as a precaution, (just in case I need to) I will shorten the shackles.
I already got some perches for a 3in tube and ground down, almost
flush, as to lessen the high given there.

as of right now, I am perfectly level (the way I want)about 1.25in higher
in the back, and my soa measurements are 4.75in of thickness (axle tube,
leaf pack, maybe 1/4in from the perch......which is why taking 3in off
the shackles will put me right where I want to be, haha if my math is right.

because I can only expect 4 from the front.

if all else fails, I can always pull out an add a leaf and go back to stock shacks.

 

[Maniak]

yea mark, I read your thread thoughly, as I too DO NOT WANT
to end up TOO high in the rear.

so as a precaution, (just in case I need to) I will shorten the shackles.
I already got some perches for a 3in tube and ground down, almost
flush, as to lessen the high given there.

as of right now, I am perfectly level (the way I want)about 1.25in higher
in the back, and my soa measurements are 4.75in of thickness (axle tube,
leaf pack, maybe 1/4in from the perch......which is why taking 3in off
the shackles will put me right where I want to be, haha if my math is right.

because I can only expect 4 from the front.

if all else fails, I can always pull out an add a leaf and go back to stock shacks.

I get what your trying to do.. What I don't get though is why cut the War-153 shackles? Your going to have to cut it from both ends (more cuts, more drilling, more time) to keep the cross bar in the center, otherwise it will be too close to the end and hit the frame or spring.

If you're thinking of cutting a little off at a time to get the height you want, buy a set of cheap shackles from Autozone (a local auto parts store). I wouldn't use them as the final shackles but they have lots of holes in them so you can just move the spring up/down in the bolt holes to figure out what length you want and buy or make the right length shackle.

That way, if you ever need to, you can re-use your war-153 shackles, or sell them to help offset the cost of the new shackle.

~Mark

 

[tenny]

I get what your trying to do.. What I don't get though is why cut the War-153 shackles? Your going to have to cut it from both ends (more cuts, more drilling, more time) to keep the cross bar in the center, otherwise it will be too close to the end and hit the frame or spring.

If you're thinking of cutting a little off at a time to get the height you want, buy a set of cheap shackles from Autozone (a local auto parts store). I wouldn't use them as the final shackles but they have lots of holes in them so you can just move the spring up/down in the bolt holes to figure out what length you want and buy or make the right length shackle.

That way, if you ever need to, you can re-use your war-153 shackles, or sell them to help offset the cost of the new shackle.

~Mark

I have access to a machine shop....and machine shop tools....ive already gave
warrior my moneys...and they have a great product, but I cant see buying
new shorter ones, when I can just as easily chop and drill these beautys to
make what I need......ya know...??

 

[jprentice94]

save the warriors or sell them make a little money and make New ones with a shorter middle so you have no clearance issues

 

[Torqueranger]

Did you use 1/4 or 3/8 for the side of the shackles ???

 

[jprentice94]

On mine i used half inch metal with no middle section tho havnt got to test them yet

 

[Campoli]

They look good I'm just not a fan of the electroplating