pwregan

Hey guys,
I am back for more info from the experts!
my rear passenger leaf spring has come out of the spring perch due to the fact that the shackle [ part that holds it verticle in perch] rusted away!!!
i want to replace the shackles and bolts on both sides,
so i was wondering are these factory only parts?
any upgrades to consider? bolts or bushings?
how easy or difficult will this be to do ?
would it be better to leave to a professional?

thank you for all past and present help. you guys are verry knowledgable and helpful!!

Patrick

Dinner

It is very easy to do yourself. It might be a little harder doing it with a box on (I'm not sure how much room is in between the box and the shackle.

I ordered the shackle with bushings through my work (Traction/Truck Pro) which is basically a Napa, but for big trucks. If you wanted to go this route, go to your local Napa store and order them through there. I'm not sure how much they would cost you ( I got them at cost) but it shouldn't be over $50 bucks each. Make sure you measure the width of your spring, because there are two different styles of Shackles for our trucks. One is larger than the other in width.

As far as bolts go I just used regular Grade 8 bolts that we had at work, I forget what length I used though.

Here are a few pictures I took while I did this before my shift at work. Took me a couple hours I think being as it was the first time I have done something like this (on small trucks).




This is after I cut the old bolt (they are a stupid torx head bolt), punched them through the leaf and shackle and removed the shackles. What I did was lowered the truck as needed in order to be able to but the upper bolt through the top of the shackle (I'm not sure if there is room like this with a box.)


Once I had the upper bolts through (don't tighten yet), I lifted the truck up so that the hanger started to come into line with the lower shackle bushing. Got those holes lined up and installed the lower bolt.


New Shackles in place:



I put anti-seize on all the bolts, inside of the bushings. Once the bolts were all in and the truck was sitting on it's one weight, that is when I tightened all the bolts. I did this myself during the winter and so far it's been a good 8 months and no problems.

pwregan

DINNER-
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE RESPONSE, IT LOOKS DOABLE I JUST HAVE TO GET A BIGGER JACK TO LIFT MY TRUCK.

P.S. - YOU HAD MORE SHACKLE LEFT ON YOUR SPRING THAN I HAVE- THANK YOU NEW ENGLAND WINTERS OF SALTED ROADS

Dinner

No problem, if you have anymore questions I'll try to answer them the best I can.

And yes salt sucks! That is 9 years of Canadian winter, they lasted pretty long I thought