Shackles or Add-a-leafs

[yosh18981898]

Hey everyone with a two inch lift. Did you use add-a-leafs or shackles to lift the rear end of your X?

 

[yosh18981898]

come on guys, somebody vote!

 

[boominXplorer]

 

[swak6287]

are u lifting for height or saggy butt?
height, go with shackles
saggy butt, go with add a leaf cause shackle will make the saggy leafs arch.

 

[Joey P]

You mentioned in another thread that you were going to go with spacers up front. Depending on if you go with the F150 type or the ebay type poly spacers will depend on what you do in the back. The F150 type will get about 1.5 inches. In the back then you could do either aal or shackles depending on how much sag you have in the rear. If you go with the ebay type poly spacers then you'll get a true 2" in the front and you will more than likely have to do aal and shackles in the rear.

 

[yosh18981898]

I'm doing f-150 spacers and add-a-leafs.

I chose f-150 spacers because they were the first good deal I got my hands on.

I chose add-a-leafs because I wanted to be able to tow trailers with big tongue wheight without major sag, and because the rear end on the drivers side sits about 5/8 inch lower than the passenger side. That and add-a-leafs were cheaper than shackles.

I figure when I put the aals in I'll leave the main leaves where they are, put one aal on each side, and then put the secondary leaves from the left side on the right side, and vice versa. After I get done, I'm hoping to have a rear end that sits level and matches the lift provided by the f-150 spacers out front.

Still looking for more votes/opinions

 

[rikguy]

so ... If I want to cure my sag and get some lift for 31 tires, I should add both shackles and AAL ?

 

[taknitezX2]

i did both. my 31s fit with pppppllllllleeeeeeennnnnnnnttttttttyyyyyyy of room. when they go bald, i get bigger.

 

[rikguy]

so how stiff is the ride will both of them on ?

 

[taknitezX2]

well it is definately stiffer than stock. with that and the TT, i dont have a bunch of bounce in my ride anymore. it is not unbearable though, dont bother me to much.

 

[yosh18981898]

Shackles don;t affect the ride......

 

[Billy177]

shackles also correct the pinion angle

 

[Buckshot]

I have dual AAL on each side (I was really saggy so I figured one would get me back to stock, then 2 gives me the stiffness I needed for towing and load capacity) and I had the spring company re-arch my springs to give a 3" lift in back. The dual AAL's are helping maintain the new arch and avoid the return to original heat tempered arch that others have experienced with re-arches.

In my experience, AAL's by themselves on spring under setups don't actually give you any lift per se, they just return you back to stock. Mine actually LOWERED my total ground clearance at the spring mounts by the thickness of the AALs. (Stock leafs on 4 doors are set up so the lowest point in the spring pack is even with the lowest point on the rear diffy. Add more metal layers below the axle=get closer to the ground at that point.)

Now, on SOA configs, AAL's add lift by both returning to factory ride height AND by the adding of additional metal layers above the axle.

 

[Makahveli]

I have dual AAL on each side (I was really saggy so I figured one would get me back to stock, then 2 gives me the stiffness I needed for towing and load capacity) and I had the spring company re-arch my springs to give a 3" lift in back. The dual AAL's are helping maintain the new arch and avoid the return to original heat tempered arch that others have experienced with re-arches.

In my experience, AAL's by themselves on spring under setups don't actually give you any lift per se, they just return you back to stock. Mine actually LOWERED my total ground clearance at the spring mounts by the thickness of the AALs. (Stock leafs on 4 doors are set up so the lowest point in the spring pack is even with the lowest point on the rear diffy. Add more metal layers below the axle=get closer to the ground at that point.)

Now, on SOA configs, AAL's add lift by both returning to factory ride height AND by the adding of additional metal layers above the axle.

What? I have the both of them. Together they give you from 4.5-5.5 inches of lift. See when you have the AAL on it stiffens the spring pack which narrows a bit (arc) which eventually gives you two inches and it doesn't give as much when weight or force is applyed like reattaching it back to the frame and lowering it.(it works as a brace) and with the shackles since the leaf pack is narrower it will therefore make the shackle sit at a more vertical angle. Since the angle is now more vertical it causes the explorer to be lifted just that much more. So having the both of them is an advantage in height. Thats all I have in my rear(SUA) and 4"superlift in the front and the rear is still slightly angled higher.

 

[Buckshot]

What? I have the both of them. Together they give you from 4.5-5.5 inches of lift.

I agree to the net effect - if you have both. However, the AAL doesn't actually give you any lift by itself (it doesnt change the spring geometry) - it simply strengthens the spring pack. MOST explorers already have spring sag and straight from the factory these grocery-getters are designed to have a softer ride (read less strength=more sag), so AAL brings it back to what the spring arch is capable of under load. All depends on your individual spring strength which is why everyone here will say, you just have to try it - we can't tell you exactly how much lift it will give.

Excerpt from this link :

....by installing a longer shackle, you'll be transferring a bit more of the vehicle's weight to the axle where the shackle is installed....This added weight will tend to cause the leaf spring to flatten a bit more. If the spring was already close to its load limit, you may find you need to beef up the springs a little with an add-a-leaf spring. You can use a commercial kit (be sure to get one with one or more long, thin leaves, not a short, thick leaf) or pick up a set of similar springs at a junkyard and use one or more of those leaves to add to your spring pack.

... with the shackles since the leaf pack is narrower it will therefore make the shackle sit at a more vertical angle. Since the angle is now more vertical it causes the explorer to be lifted just that much more. So having the both of them is an advantage in height.

Yes, agreed - except that what is really giving you your lift is the shackle length and the fact that the AAL isn't allowing the weight of the vehicle to "flatten" out the springs, and therefore swing the shackle to a horizontal (or closer to anyway) position.

So in all, AAL puts the vehicle back to normal, but when combined with shackles, the AAL actually increases the strength of the spring pack enough to keep the shackles in your "more veritcal position" = more lift.

My double AAL corrected my sag and did indeed raise the frame=lift and the re-arch CHANGED THE DEFAULT SPRING GEOMETRY which gives me even more lift without shackles, but the reason I said AAL on spring under actually lowered my vehicle is I was talking about total ground clearance. The AAL on spring under lowered my lowest ground clearance point (shock mounts below the spring perches on my stock suspension points) to 1" lower than the center of rear differential. EVERYTHING else from frame up was raised back to stock height or a little above.

Whoa, I think I even confused myself.

 

[yosh18981898]

However, the AAL doesn't actually give you any lift by itself (it doesnt change the spring geometry)

You're thinking of saggy 2nd generations like yours. On my 92 sport, which didn't have any sag, they give the perfect amount of lift to match the front coil spacers.

They DO provide lift, at least on springs that aren't sagging and already make the vehicle sit level. Thats why the skyjacker 2" lift kit relies solely on AALs to get 2" out of the rear.

 

[EBInterceptor]

Months after I did my shackles, my springs started to flatten out, so I went ahead and added an AAL, and wala! Raised the rearend right back up. Most people end up doing shackles and realizing later they need the AAL. I honestly did not read this thread except for a few posts.

 

[Makahveli]

I understand what you mean by ground clearance as te AAL thickness is actually positioning the shock/leaf spring plate that much lower. An add a leaf does make it arc more which gives the lift your looking for. With AAL its all about the arc, I've tried the Super thick heavy duty AAL that rode so hard, it made me feel offroad when I was riding on streets. Now if you have some dangerous shackles that are bending cause they are weak then you have a problem, cause shackle strength has nothing to do with the lift, but the length does. The longer the shackle the more lift you get. And I like how Billy said that extended shackles help fix the pinion angle

Like heard many times b4, "The only way to lift your axle is to put on bigger tires" Which is also the only way to gain ground clearance as well.

 

[Buckshot]

"The only way to lift your axle is to put on bigger tires" Which is also the only way to gain ground clearance as well.

Agreed!

 

[Makahveli]

Too bad this is a poll, it should now go under useful threads in my opinion

And the poll need a selection for those of us with both shackles and AAL's