Shackles dont work!!

[Defcon x Zero]

doneeeee.
side before & after:

front before &after:

angle before & after

sorry for the bad quality, they were from my camera phone...

coil seats worked better then i thought, and the shackles didnt live up to expectation. but overall. i guess its ok. next up is 30x9.5's or hopefully even 31x10.5's

 

[schmidlkofer]

cant knock em till you try em
new rear springs or add a leaf would help. just not much flex...oh and take off the swaybar...

 

[Lost216]

you do know you cna fit 31's without any lift, right?

 

[FROADER]

You're right, the shackles definitely lowered it.

 

[Tbars4]

it looks like you got a good 1 1/2" of lift...

 

[drx]

No offense, but dont be giving out that advice to often. Seems like you need to read a little more before you offer help to others. Alot of that doesn't have anything to do with explorers, or with what his question was.

As the others said, put both on and then see what happens.

Hi, You're right I should have read it a little bit more carefully of what he was asking, that is my bad and i do apologize for that. seems that i need to study the explorers much more thorough than i had done. I've seen people and a couple of my friends who had put airbags on them to lift them, but from an engineering background wouldn't shackles give you a stiffer ride?

again apologies and I will read the questions fully before posting in the future

 

[sn0border88]

In my opinion worrying about a stiffer ride on a 16-13 yr old truck that your lifting is one of the most pointless things to worry about.

 

[aeaglenfitch]

You're right, the shackles definitely lowered it.

hahahahahaha

 

[4x4junkie]

Hi, You're right I should have read it a little bit more carefully of what he was asking, that is my bad and i do apologize for that. seems that i need to study the explorers much more thorough than i had done. I've seen people and a couple of my friends who had put airbags on them to lift them, but from an engineering background wouldn't shackles give you a stiffer ride?

again apologies and I will read the questions fully before posting in the future

No, shackles won't stiffen the ride. Thats mostly a function of the spring itself (such as when you put in an add-a-leaf, it'll make the spring stiffer).

 

[Defcon x Zero]

haha arightt i admitt i should have finished before i complained but seriously, someone said 31s would fit without lift. now that i have about 1 1/5" of lift 31's should deffinatly fitt right? and another quesiton. the spare tire that comes with the explorer, can that be driven on like a real tire? or is it cruddy and short lived like a donut?

 

[95exploderboy]

haha arightt i admitt i should have finished before i complained but seriously, someone said 31s would fit without lift. now that i have about 1 1/5" of lift 31's should deffinatly fitt right? and another quesiton. the spare tire that comes with the explorer, can that be driven on like a real tire? or is it cruddy and short lived like a donut?

Its likely that its not even the original spare, but If I were you I would stick my head under my truck and look to make sure. I really can't see whats under yours from here.

 

[drx]

No, shackles won't stiffen the ride. Thats mostly a function of the spring itself (such as when you put in an add-a-leaf, it'll make the spring stiffer).

oh ok, that's good to know, thanx

 

[Anime]

31's fit some first gens without any lift at all, so with 1.5 inches of lift, 31's definitely fit. Hopefully your ride has the 3.73 gears though, 31's and 3.27's makes for slow going.

The stock spare is a full size, which is the same as a regular tire, just on a steel wheel instead of a matching alloy. If it wasn't changed out to a Michelin LTX A/T like the other 4, it's probably some other 235/75R15 (or 225/75R15 if that's what the truck came with). You can barely cram a 31" in there if you want to get a matching spare with the new tires, or just leave the one that's on there if it's in good shape.

 

[91explo]

hmm i'm going to try this....my 91 suspension is tired! Im going to go with the shackles and the f-150 coil seats in the front

 

[rickcdewitt]

?

ok so i bought these new shackles to put on to get "two inches of lift". i put one on, and that side actually became lower. once i looked at it i realized thats what should have happened. i dont see how bigger shackles can lift the truck, when it just gives more room for the leaf springs to stretch out flat, which is exacltly what happened.

i kind of think its because the springs are two weak, and i need new springs.. maybe longer springs? with more bow? i have no idea i am stumped i really thought shackles would lift the truck, not lower it.

so you only put one on and then set it down to try and get a preview?if so that would do wierd leveraging to the suspension with the other three corners of the truck putting undue weight and strain on that corner.if you put both on i'm sure it will turn out ok.also if the shackles arent at least 2" longer than the old ones you wont get the 2" lift you want.

 

[Lost216]

I have 31.5 inch tires and they only rub a little on the radius arms, so 31's will definalty fit yours now.