Shackle replacement for a 2.5" lift?

[Tremelune]

I have an '83 CJ7 with some janky shackles and bushings. I don't want to spend money on upgrades until I've done some sortin', so I'm looking to replace these shackles with something on the cheap side just to keep the car safely driving straightish down the road.

My car has a 2.5" Rancho spring lift, but I don't think the shackles are part of it. Indeed, it sure seems like the previous owner threw some aftermarket YJ shackles on there and torqued down on the bolts in an attempt to make up the distance. Up front, the ones on there measure 2.5" between, 5.5" in total length, and 3.75-3.875 from bolt to bolt (it was tricky to measure). In the rear they're the same, but 3" between.

One of the mount points is smashed and rusted, so while I'm tending to that, What should I replace these suckers with?













I'd like to put a set of stock shackles and bushings on there, but I read somewhere that you want slightly longer shackles to work with the longer lift springs. Anyone know the math on that...? Do greasable bushings actually help with friction and ride quality, or is that more longevity (or just marketing)?

 

[Scout1067]

I recently did the BDS 2.5" inch lift on my 81 and put Currie greaseable shackles on. They were pretty pricey though. I don't know if there is a cheap option for shackles and am not sure if I would go with one even if there was. A shackle failure could lead to a very bad day depending on what you were doing when the shackle failed.

 

[gr8dain]

Shackle replacement for a 2.5" lift?

I have not heard about needing longer shackles with lift leafs. I was running stock shackles on my 2.5” lift with no issues. When I went to a 4” lift, I did swap out the stock CJ shackles for stock YJ shackles which went from 3” between the bolt centers to 3.5”. Again, no issues. And my YJ shackles do not even have that support piece in the shackles. They are just the two sides. Good luck.

By the way, the spacing between the sides of the shackles look a little too wide and are not snug against the bushings. They should be tighter without any gap. That would definitely add to a poor ride.

 

[Kane]

Re: Shackle replacement for a 2.5" lift?

Those aren't "janky" shackles by any means. They are actually very nice and strong. You main two issues are the leaf spring alignment and the worn bushings. Replace those bushing, loosen the axle mount u-bolts a bit and tap the springs to be right under the top shackle mount and tight everything back up. I would keep those and for a 2.5 in spring factory length shackles will be fine.

One other thing that needs attention is the passenger side shackle hanger and frame area. That looks like it was bent pretty good and some odd repair might have been done that need to be redone better. I would replace that hanger ASAP.

 

[Tremelune]

Well. The shackles may be good, but they're bent 1/2" inward, and the bushings are shot...Are there bushings available for 2.5" shackles designed to accept 2" springs?

I'm gonna take it apart soon and see what's really under that rust area. I suspect I'll need some professional welding help.

I'm trying to avoid convincing myself that the OME YJ conversion is justified...

 

[Kane]

Well. The shackles may be good, but they're bent 1/2" inward, and the bushings are shot...Are there bushings available for 2.5" shackles designed to accept 2" springs?

I'm gonna take it apart soon and see what's really under that rust area. I suspect I'll need some professional welding help.

I'm trying to avoid convincing myself that the OME YJ conversion is justified...

They are bent because the other owner over tightened them. That can be pulled back straight very easily in a vise. The bushings are factory size and can be bought from any Jeep supplier like Morris Jeep or Quadratec. They will pop right in, pull the shackles straight then bolt them back up and only tighten the lock nut until it is seated. Use new lock nuts and you will be good to go. If you want the OME YJ conversion for ride quality then go for it as that is considered one of the best out there. Then the shackles at least in the front will need to be changed out to fit the wider springs.

 

[Tremelune]

I'm not sure I understand. If I put bushings for 2" springs in, I'll have the same problem. If I put bushings for 2.5" springs in, the springs will be able to slide a a half inch back and forth between the raised "lips" of the bushings.

It seems like I'd need bushings with 1/2" more lip to them if I want to keep using these shackles with these springs.

 

[Kane]

I'm not sure I understand. If I put bushings for 2" springs in, I'll have the same problem. If I put bushings for 2.5" springs in, the springs will be able to slide a a half inch back and forth between the raised "lips" of the bushings.

It seems like I'd need bushings with 1/2" more lip to them if I want to keep using these shackles with these springs.

The rear springs currently are 2.5" wide and the front springs are 2" wide. You need a set for both sizes. If you go with the OME conversion then both front and rear will be 2.5" wide.

Waite so I just looked the the picture again. Are the front shackles for a 2.5" wide spring? It is hard to tell but if they are then I see your issue.

 

[gr8dain]

Are the springs and the hangers both 2” wide? Id fo, go get new shackles and bushings that are made for a CJ (2” wide) and reassemble. I would not want to have slipping nor would I want to crush the ends of the shackle to move i. Toward the spring and hanger.

If you are on a budget, make your own with thick enough flat stock with holes drilled 3” apart. Use new bolts and locking nuts too.

You don’t need the support bar in the middle, but it does add stiffness. The stock CJ shackles do not have it.

 

[Torxhead]

There are two types of bushings available for the CJ, one set for the oem style spring shackles and another set for the aftermarket spring shackles. I would suggest bending those shackles to fit with a set of the aftermarket bushings. Another thing I see from your pictures is that the front spring shackle hangars appear to be bent also. After installing a set of high lift springs it does put more load on the hangars. There is a rivet clearance hole on each of the front hangars, this is a common breaking point for them. There are a few aftermarket spring shackle hangars out there that are a lot stronger than the oem version. Those shackles that you have are the best available in my opinion.

 

[Tremelune]

Good news, for the most part...I removed a shackle, removed the one bolt holding the mount to the frame, and then ground of the welds that were holding the rest.

The frame looks straight and solid. There is that rust hole, but it's not as pervasive a I thought, and a kind of triangulated gusset was welded in nearby. I cleaned up the area and spritzed it with some primer.

I'm curious to know why it was welded instead of bolted, but...I'll chase the threads and use new bolts and hope for the best.







The hanger was quite twisted. I tried to squish it straight in a vice to no avail. I tried to blacksmith it with a mini sledge to no avail. I tried putting it in the vice, sticking a drift through it, and whaling on the drift to try and twist it straight to no avail. I guess it's good to know it's still quite solid, though it looks like this will keep the car off the road for the weekend (unless anyone knows where I can find a CJ7 shackle mount in Los Angeles).

 

[Tremelune]

Next up: shackles. The ones I have are beastly. They're proving tricky to bend...I'm gonna try and wrap the arms around the jaws of my vice and see if I can get them to open up.

I bought some new bushings from Currie, and I think I finally understand what's going on: Most aftermarket shackles are wider than stock, and they compensate with thicker "lipped" bushings. For some reason, the previous owner got a hold of these shackles, but elected to use the skinny bushings that came with the Rancho lift instead of sourcing a few bushings to fit the shackles...

I'm gonna try and get these suckers straight, swap in the Currie bushings, and then try and get them snug all around. I've read both 16ftlb (Currie) and 40ftlb (some thread) for the bolts, so I'm not quite sure what to do there. I use threadlock on just about every bolt I fasten.

Progress?

I also noticed that my springs don't seem to line up with where the hanger will go...I'm not sure what to do there, but it looks like I have 1/2" to work with if I loosen the U bolts and reposition them. I've never dealt with a lifted Jeep, so everything is an education.

 

[gr8dain]

Yes. This is progress. If I were you, I would mount the springs loosely on the frame and position the axle under it and see where the springs line up. Then work on the u bolts and perches there. Assuming they line up where they should.

And yes, if you go with that style shackle, you need the bushings with the raised edges.

 

[Belizean]

I would do as Torxhead said. Replace those hangers, they are weak. Mine were not even highly abused and I discovered they were cracked. I replaced them with much stronger ones

 

[Tremelune]

I straightened one shackle by putting it in my vice and opening it; banging the vice open with a hammer. When I moved on to the second, something inside my vice gave and now it can't force itself open anymore...I think I'm gonna cut my losses on that front.

Shackle recommendations? My plan was to get a set of Currie suckers, but I would prefer a set that are stock length. I'm not sure a 3/4" different will make much of a difference either way...

In other news, I opened up the bench-seat-storage-box for the first time and discovered a new shackle mount! I guess this was on the previous owners list. Wish I'd opened that up before...I also found a license plate and a Haynes manual. Wild stuff.

 

[Tremelune]

 

[Tremelune]

I'm having trouble understanding how the front axle gets centered to the frame. I get that you can loosen the U-bolts and shift it a bit, and I see the "stop" that the spring is supposed to rest underneath...Should it be dead center on the stop? Is there some other frame reference?

Like, if I loosen the U-bolts, attach the shackles, and then tighten the U-bolts in the new position, how do I know I haven't just shifted my axle off-center instead? It seems like my sway bar has been shifted 1/4" and I'm wondering if it's from more than just the weird jacking at the moment.

 

[Torxhead]

The front axle gets positioned by the centering pins on the top of the leaf springs. When you loosen the u-bolts, it will shift around a bit since the clearance hole on the axle spring pad does have quite a bit of clearance on it. You might have an issue lining up the spring shackle to the bushing locations if the leaf springs are twisted up a bit from off road travel, so just force them on. Like if you loosen everything up to install the shackles. You might be able to spread out those spring shackles by using a 6" length of 1/2" all thread and some heavy duty nuts and washers placed on the inside of the shackle. That length of all thread can come in handy also for spreading out driveshaft and front axle ears as they get spread out a bit when the universal joints get broken. Don't overtighten those ears on the shackles either.

 

[Tremelune]

Success! Mostly, I guess. I wound up buying a set of greasable, stock-length shackles from Crabtree and they seem to be great. I wish I'd marked the grease hole so I can face them away from the gap in the mounts, but that's getting a bit precious...

I hit them with some Rustoleum primer and satin black to ease down on the bling and clean up the mount I found in the bench storage, and got everything together. I loosened all the U-bolts and shackle bolts, jacked the axle so the springs were "free", then torqued the shackle bolts to 24ftlb (80ftlb for the center bolt). It lined up pretty well.

To get the spring pin into the axle spring pad, I had to force one of the springs outward with a lever while slowly lowering the axle into it. I got the U-bolts snug, lowered the car, then torqued them to 55ftlb.

My shackles still angle outwards, and I can't figure out why. It's almost as if the axle is an inch too long between the spring pad pin locations...

I'm delighted to report that the car drives significantly better. It's not exactly a YJ+, but more predictable. I'm inclined not to worry too much about the shackle lean until I replace the tires and get an alignment...

 

[Torxhead]

Another thing you have to consider about extended length spring shackles is that they will affect castor. Although yours are pretty short.