Warrior 153 shackles install with pics | Ford Explorer Forums - Serious Explorations

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Warrior 153 shackles install with pics

Four0Sport

Jack from JackOffRoad
Joined
August 26, 2004
Messages
3,026
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113
City, State
West Virginia
Year, Model & Trim Level
1993 2dr
Before I start on the install I would like to say that PB Blaster is our friend, and should be used liberally days prior to any work.

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I started by gathering all the stuff I thought i might need, this included a 1/2" drive ratchet, socket, the new shackles, blue loc-tite, a cheater bar, bottle jack, the new hardware, and a med. size flat head screwdriver. not pictured are the jack and jack stands that i already had under the truck and a 3 lb mini sledge that i used to tap out the bolts.

Last week I sprayed down all the bolts and nuts with PB Blaster and went out this morning and soaked them down again. After jacking the truck up, placing jack stands under the frame, and removing the wheels I placed a jack under the U-bolt perch to hold up the rear end.

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Next I loosened the nuts on the stock shackle bolts but did not remove them so that I could tap them out with a hammer w/out damaging the threads in case I needed the bolts later on.

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I tapped out the bottom bolt first and then the top. Do not be surprised if the spring jumps up slightly after removing the bottom bolt. Next I victoriously removed the old stock shackle and was left with this.

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If you lay the old shackle next to a new one you can deffinetly see a difference in construction, strength and length.

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I attached the the upper part of the shackle first snugging the bolt and nut but not tightening it to allow for movement when aligning the bottom bolt hole and the spring.

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A bottle jack placed between the frame and the leaf pack makes it easy to align the spring and the shackle to fasten the bottom bolt and nut.

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After snugging the bottom bolt I went back and tightened the both the top and bottom. The instructions say to tighten to 35-45 ft lbs but not overtighten to the point that the sides of the shackle buckle or bow inward. You want to keep the sides parallel for the best strength and longer life of the shackle.

Here are a couple pictures of the finished product. Overall the time it took to install the shackles with basic hand tools was 30 mins. My dad was close by watching in case I did something unsafe. Use the buddy system.

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This is my first write up with pictures, hope it is helpful if you are planning on installing the warrior shackles or any shackle for that matter. Before beginning this morning I called Rough Country and ordered front ext. coils that should be here in the next couple days. If all goes well and the rain stays away I will try to have a write up on those also.
 



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I should mention that while doing this modification it is a great time to inspect your shocks, leaf spring bushings, rear sway bar links, and many other parts. I chose not to replace the bushings bc they looked to be in good condition but I did grease before installing the new shackles. You can see in some of the pictures that my rear shocks are deffinetly pushed out farther now and in need of replacement. Eh, its gonna hafta wait, prbly till I get my hands on some 4door leaf packs. If there is anything I forgot to mention in the write up feel free to add. Thanks for all the help in the past, hopefully I can help out someone new and return the favor.
 






nice job man
so i reallized that i have the same bottle jack and floor jack as you!!!:eek:
anywaise i wish i was smart enough to use the bottle jack to push the leaf springs down cause it was a pain to pull the leafs down to be able to slide the bolt through
 






i had to look at the pictures again to see which jacks i was usin.. i had a total of like 5 layin around the truck during this. my dad willed the idea upon me, he mentioned using the bottle jack as i went to grab it for the same purpose. thanks for the compliment.
 






nice
 






Same jack also. Yeah, for Advance Auto Parts!
 






:thumbsup:
 






great write up, I've seen the writeups for the f150 seats install (which may be a cheaper option then lift coils from rough country btw) but none of them tell you how to install the shackles. I should be doing the shackles this weekend if they get shipped in and I'm sure this will help a lot. Thanks!
 






another way to do it if you don't have two jacks is to jack up the frame on one side and put a jackstand under it then do the other side. Keep switching back and forth each time going up one more notch on your stands, until the tires are off the ground.

Then put the jack under the side your working on and just pick the axle up a half inch.

This way there is no load on the springs and they won't jump. And you won't have to pull them into place when installing the new Shackels.
 






after swapping out both leaf packs recently i found it was much easier to remove the wheels, unbolt the u-bolts, and simply lift and lower the axle to remove all the weight from the leaf springs. it makes bolting and unbolting of the shackles much easier.

btw.. coil seat spacers might be a cheaper alternative than replacing the coils but after the install youre still left with saggy weak coil springs. I wanted something stiffer and less bouncy and thats what i got with lift coils. also.. i have 2 inch lift coils for sale in case you dont see it in my signature lol

Thanks everyone for the compliments, im learning more and more each day. for quite some time now i have been 'the explorer guy' at work whenever someone comes in with a ranger/explorer/bronco II question.. and i plug the site whenever i can bc this is where i gathered alot of the information i have on these vehicles.
 






30 mins???

Obviously you don;t have to deal with road salt and winter: )

I think it took me three days to get everything dismantled, using WD-40 PB blaster, heater, an impact gun and 3 foot breaker bar. In the end I had to replace the bushings in the frame side of the mount because the metal sleeve had become one with the shackle bolt and separated from the bushing when I removed the bolt.
 






30 mins???

Obviously you don;t have to deal with road salt and winter: )

I think it took me three days to get everything dismantled, using WD-40 PB blaster, heater, an impact gun and 3 foot breaker bar. In the end I had to replace the bushings in the frame side of the mount because the metal sleeve had become one with the shackle bolt and separated from the bushing when I removed the bolt.

The first time is always the hardest. It took me a couple of hours on my first try, and after doing a few times I could just about do it blind folded.
 






The first time is always the hardest. It took me a couple of hours on my first try, and after doing a few times I could just about do it blind folded.

Yeah, I've done it twice now and am going to have to do it again once my warrior shackles come in. It took about an hour the first time(NO RUST) because I didn't know what I was doing.
 






WV winters arent as bad as they use to be but my explorer still sees plenty of snow and salt as well as water and mud and coming home every night after work for a week and spraying everything down with PB Blaster made everything easier.

the only trouble ive had so far was the dr side front leaf spring mount bolt seized to the bushing but it was nothing a grinder and some new grade 8 hardware couldnt solve.

as far as things getting easier each time you do them i can agree with that. the first time i swapped front coil springs the first side i did took me an honest 2 hours. the other side 20 mins and when i went with the 4" coils i had both sides done in a half hour. the more you do something the easier it gets, thats deffinetly true.
 






How Much Lift??

Was just wondering how much lift you got out of the shackles? I have a 2000 explorer and I end up putting appx 600 lbs of work junk in the back of it and it sags. I want it to ride strait and true so my thought was the lift shackes and some new air shocks to even it out. Trying to get it done with little expense and still keep a decent ride. So again my question is how much lift did you get. Thanks
 












Thanx, that would be about perfect. I can then use the air shocks to keep it at that height and it'll help take some of the pressure off the springs.
 






Nice

I did the same rear lift but i made my own shackles and gainded 2" what did you gain
 









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