Warrior Shackles..ugh

[Anime]

Warrior

I just got my shackles last night from Desert Rat..geez what a small heavy box

Firstly, I'd like to thank Gerald for getting Warrior to make these for Explorers...with that being said, I have a few complaints..

Firstly, the "gun metal" coating looks nothing like gun metal, and is rather ugly..I would have much preferred bare metal I could have painted black.

They RE-drilled the holes on the shackles for the 14mm spec and didnt clean it up very well..not a big deal but smoothing the sharp edges would have been a plus..I'm grateful for not have to redrill holes through 1/4" steel tho The bolts are wrong I think too...who thought up the idea of using bolts with 1 1/2" of thread? Its the weakest part of a bolt....Warrior should know better and use bolts with only 1/2" of thread since thats all it needs..geez.

Finally, this was posted before on the longer warrior thread, but I didnt get how bad it was until I saw it myself..the center brace is only welded parallel to the sides..there are NO welds on the other 2 sides and this lets you see the support is flush against the sides at some spots and not even close at others! Theres like HOLES in the corners. Maybe its not that big a deal either other than what was said in the other post about water getting in them, but I think these would be a LOT stronger and better if the welds were around the entire thing. It might help considerably since the original warriors are mostly for j***'s, which are lighter weight (usually) than the Explorer.

I dunno if it'll change anything, but I wanna see if warrior will redo these..I'd rather have black, fully welded ones.

(!@$@#!$@# picky Explorer ownders..first its the bolts NOW its the rest of the shackle too...)

 

[Anime]

eh

THANKS FOR YOUR INQUIRY. I'M NOT SURE WHO DESCRIBED OUR SHACKLE COLOR AS
"GUN METAL GREY" BUT THEY ARE A "HAMMERTONE GREY" AND THIS IS HOW THEY ARE
REFERRED TO IN OUR CATALOG. ALL OF OUR SHACKLES ARE POWDER COATED AS THEY
WOULD ARRIVE TO YOU COMPLETLY RUSTED WITHOUT A COATING. IT CAN BE
REPAINTED IF YOU SO CHOOSE. THE EXTRA THREAD STICKING OUT OF THE NUT DOES
NOT WEAKEN THE BOLT IN ANY WAY. THE WELDS ARE ONLY ON TWO SIDES AS THAT IS
MORE THAN ENOUGH FOR RIGIDITY. AS YOU MAY KNOW MANY SHACKLES ARE SOLD BY
OTHER MANUFACTURERS WITHOUT ANY CENTER CROSS SUPPORT OF ANY KIND. WE HAVE
NEVER HAD A SHACKLE FAIL BECAUSE OF INADEQUATE CENTER WELDS AND WE HAVE SOLD
MANY THOUSANDS OVER THE YEARS. I HOPE THIS ADDRESSES YOUR CONCERNS AND
APPRECIATE YOU TAKING THE TIME TO GIVE US SOME FEEDBACK. HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

KEN BOSTWICK
OPERATIONS MANAGER & CFO

oh well...looks like I gotta get my own bolts...seesh

 

[GJarrett]

He is right. The shackles were never described as gunmetal and have always from the very first been available as either hammertone grey or gold anodized. The hammertone is an extremely durable powder coating that you can easily paint over. Many people have painted them black.

No set of shackles has ever broken their welds on the crossbar.

You are free to waste money on another set of bolts if you want to. My STOCK bolts from Ford rode on their threads. I've run the heck out of mine HARD and when I've removed the bolts (both Ford's and Warrior's) the threads aren't deformed in the least on either set.

[Edited by GJarrett on 12-20-2000 at 12:44 PM]

 

[leebo]

I'm impressed with the time it took to respond. Not bad.

As for the shackles.....never once have I had nor heard of anybody having a problem with them at all. I feel they're a great product and is shows.

 

[Anime]

eh

Well someon in the other thread sure called em GUNMETAL

I included a ine on my letter to them that stated I wasnt trying to say their product is horrible or anything, just my opinions as a customer, and ideas to improve an already great product.

As far as the bolts, which was my real problem anyway, I used to work in the fastener industry so I have my preferences about those things...of course it will work on the threads, but even from a basic pov, a smooth strong bolt all the way through the buhing and shackle will work better and be stronger, but maybe not enough so youd ever notice...I also wasnt sure if the factory bolts were like that too so thanks for clearing that up GJ

I guess it sometimes comes across wrong, but I'm just REALLY PICKY lol

 

[Anime]

another

Another ques for people with these things...I'm gonna test fir em before changin bushings and all that...but I noticed it looks like the rearmost crosmember (right behind the factory spare)looks like its going to be in the way of the longer shackle swinging back...does this need to be cut or trimmed or the top of the shackle never makes it back that far? Just wondering before I put em on then drive and hear **clunk clak snap pop bang**

 

[2001ExpSport]

The cross member is offset on the shackles for that reason. When you mount them, make sure the longer side is facing up. I have had them completely compressed and they still had room to go farther. I used the nuts and bolts supplied with the shackles and they work great.

When they are mounted, if you hear a slight knocking noise when you are flexing the rear suspension just tighten the shackle bolts. Not TOO tight though, just enough so that they are not loose.

Good Luck.

 

[Anime]

yesssssssssssss

Finally installed! Thanks again Gerald...

Got em installed yesterday...took awhile but only because the factory bolts had never been touched...the drivers side eyelet bolt had rusted solid to the metal in the eyelet! This whole time the shackle had been pivoting on the bolt edges..yeow.

Just in case anyone else winds up with this problem, heres an easy tip..(since pounding it with a BFH hadnt been working) The factory bolts have a "anti-spin" tab on the head of the bolt...and the factory shackles have that flare on the sides. The tab actually contacts the side of the shackle at either full extension or full compression..soooo I disconnected the frame bolt from the top of the shackle, then put it forward as far as it would go (so now its resting on the tab) then put the top bolt back in the shackle BUT I just set the frame ON the bolt..so the shackle is all the way forward with the bolts in it, ...so after that I just dropped the entire weight of the rig on it a few times and *POP* sure enough, it spun the rusted bolt loose.
It still had a hard time coming out..had to use the hammer again..but I was just glad it came out. This was probably caused by all the ater and snow getting kicked up into the shackle by the rear wheels..so I do recommend a light layer of grease on the bolts, and checking to make sure the bolts arent stuck every once in a while...

I'm pretty impressed with the lift these gave..even tho my leafs DID flatten out right after I installed the shackles...oh well. I noticed on my first test drive today the rear is slightly stiffer...but it seems to improve acceleration and cornering a bit

Now I'm just wondering..to finish off the lift, would I be better off to just get the procomp add-a-leaf, or have the springs re-arched? I also want to replace the front coils, but am stuck on whether to get factory height or the 1" raised versions from performance...I just dont know if the replacement factory height coils will lift it more than enough since the originals are worn..so the 1" coils might make it a 2" lift heh...