Shackle angle=harsh ride

[hopefulcj]

I was on another un-named forum and the angle of shackles came up. Quick run down, its in the sig but...4" RC lift, around 1" of shackle lift. All of this came on the jeep when I bought. Ride is pretty harsh, which was discussed in another thread. Is anyone here running a shackle relocation bracket? I have seen plenty for XJ's but none made for a CJ. Has anyone out there use some or made some? Theoretically this should help to soften the ride. I have heard of moving the shackle mount back and drilling/tapping a new hole. I would rather not do that, I liked the RC shackle relocation because you could bolt it up, drive it, adjust it, and then weld it. Thanks in advance, and yes I did search this topic on several forums, and I couldnt find anything.

 

[gliryan]

Well you can go and buy new hangers (I did, now wish I hadn't spent that much money on them all), or cut yours off and move them if thats the route you want to go.

 

[Sasquach]

What is your shackle angle? and how much arch in your springs?

 

[hopefulcj]

Heres the pics. The top of the spring pack on the axle is about 4 inches till the bottom of the shackle, and the shackle does sit a few degrees forward. I was looking into something like this that they offer for the XJ;
Jeep XJ Shackle Relocation Kit

I have heard of guys flipping their shackle brackets to get a better angle as well. Just curious to what other guys have done to get a better angle.

thanks.

 

[Old Dog]

Your springs just have to much arch. (to short), it's a common problem with cheap springs.
No I don't know of anyone that makes a relocatong bracket.

 

[Sasquach]

My guess is your springs are just plain stiff, changing your shackle angle is not gona solve anything. If your shackle is laying more forward then what happens when the spring tries to compress and the shackle runs out of travel? You could concider removing a leaf or two from the pack.
JM2Cents

 

[gliryan]

You could maybe have a little more angle on the shackle, but its not going to help that much. Do what bigfoot said and remove a leaf if its a big problem.

Is that a yj 2.5" wide spring? If so I bought that kit and the leafs seem pretty flexy, though I don't have shocks in it yet.

 

[hopefulcj]

They are regular old crappy rough country springs. I was hoping that if I can get a better shackle angle that it would help with stiff ride. It's bad, when I go over speed bumps the whole jeep just bumps over the bump, no compression or anything. Over train tracks its enough to throw me forward. I know its a jeep, but still. If I decide to take some leafs out, I'm guessing take the from the bottom of the pack? just play around with it? Ill do a search and stop being lazy. Thanks guys. On a good note, I just got a bunch of christmas presents for the jeep. LED lights all around, smittybilt corner guards, rock sliders, and some other small stuff for the ignition. Im just happy that I finally got the steering wheel straight and it actually goes where I tell it to.

 

[gliryan]

Sweet deal on the lights! Honestly I have no idea when it comes to removing leafs and such, I'm sure someone will chime in on it. I wonder if your leafs are still super new and not broken in at all. I know the rough country stuff is pretty crappy and rough riding, but people seem to think its not that bad after they break in. Have you thought about a shackle reversal? That'll give you a better ride, but then you need to look into making sure your driveshaft isn't going to bottom out when it flexes.

 

[3QuarterTon CJ]

Before you remove any leafs, loosen the clamps that hold the leaf packs together, that will allow the leaves of the spring to move easier with less friction.

Also make sure that your shackle bolts aren't over-torqued, most people really reef on those bolts because they're part of the suspension system, If you use a lock-nut they don't really need to be that tight, and your springs won't fall out.

 

[Sasquach]

Let me see if I got this right, Your already having Xmas at your house? We still have nearly 4 weeks to go at my house so how are you pulling this off?
OK, so back to the springs, How many in the pack? if it has 5 say, take the smallest one out and try it and if it still rides like a empty 10 wheeler then take the next smallest one out. You can always put them back in if wanted.

 

[hopefulcj]

It was a preemptive strike by mr claus. AKA my credit card. Im in school and all this stuff piled up will give me something to do over the break.