shackle reversal off road or on
Capton Bill
Jeeper
I am look to do a shackle reversal but am not sure If it will bennifit me I do most riding in the rocks and just what it takes on road to get to the trails. 
shackle reversal off road or on
- Thread starter Capton Bill
- Start date
I am look to do a shackle reversal but am not sure If it will bennifit me I do most riding in the rocks and just what it takes on road to get to the trails. 
Old Dog
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IMHO keep them in the front. That way they push into the rock instead of pushing back away from it.
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Shackel reversal is the way to go. It will make handel better on road and it will help off road. It will work better in the rocks makes it easier to climb over the rocks.
IOPort51
NOT the voice of reason Jeep-CJ.com
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skyjacker 2.5 lift?nitro shocks,31" BFG A/T off road.8000 lb Warn winch, original owner.=^)
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bondo258
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Bondo and Rustoleum.
Great ride, but the wheels get stuffed backward against the wheelhouse, under compression.
Considerations for caster angle should be done, to avoid wander.
With larger (31' tires and up) on a modest lift, you have to trim the fenders rearward and relocate a few items, to keep your flex, and avoid u-joint breakage. Especially if you disconnect the sway bar when off roading.
Longer brake flex hoses needed.
It's a can of worms, with an excellent ride quality as a reward.
Don't do it to a Narrow-Track. Clearance is really poor.
Don't do it if you like your CJ looking stock. After you trim the fenders and slit the wheelhouses to bend them backwards. You'll want some TJ guards to cover the butchered metal.
Handles great off road and crawling. Rear swinging tires slightly reduce breakover angle when compressing.
If you want to run 35" tires, you better have a tall lift, if off roading. Fender rub breaks u-joints, and pops caps out of position.
Considerations for caster angle should be done, to avoid wander.
With larger (31' tires and up) on a modest lift, you have to trim the fenders rearward and relocate a few items, to keep your flex, and avoid u-joint breakage. Especially if you disconnect the sway bar when off roading.
Longer brake flex hoses needed.
It's a can of worms, with an excellent ride quality as a reward.
Don't do it to a Narrow-Track. Clearance is really poor.
Don't do it if you like your CJ looking stock. After you trim the fenders and slit the wheelhouses to bend them backwards. You'll want some TJ guards to cover the butchered metal.
Handles great off road and crawling. Rear swinging tires slightly reduce breakover angle when compressing.
If you want to run 35" tires, you better have a tall lift, if off roading. Fender rub breaks u-joints, and pops caps out of position.
richardoutwest
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Ride quality is better...........BUT
wander can be a major concern and sometimes can be corrected, sometime very hard.
Steep downhill descends can cause the front of the jeep to buck and bounce, can cause control issues.
As said above, not recommended for narrow track.
wander can be a major concern and sometimes can be corrected, sometime very hard.
Steep downhill descends can cause the front of the jeep to buck and bounce, can cause control issues.
As said above, not recommended for narrow track.
Capton Bill
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I have streached the tub 18 inches and made a frame I am running dana 60's 69 inches mount to mount yj springs with 42 inch irok's very little road use is the off road use worth the trouble
Capton Bill
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I vote yes
Capton Bill
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do my shackles have to be at the same elevation in front as the rear
bondo258
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Bondo and Rustoleum.
No. Stock elevations on the frame are perfect.
You are just moving the shackle end to the hanger end, and vice-versa.
Whatever heights these are on the frame are fine, if switched.
You just need to take propeller/driveshaft lengths, caster, brake lines length, And wheelhouse clearance into consideration.
Arched springs flex toward the shackle. the more arch, the more axle travel.
Longer shackles can make this worse, as well.
Flatter, closer to-stock springs have much less axle travel. In fact a totally flat spring will bring the axle toward the hanger, if compressed or flexed.
BusaDave9
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I have a shackle reversal and don't care for it.
A lot of people that have installed shackle reversals have said it greatly improves handling and wonder. I think this is because if the shackles or bushings have any movement to them they will cause more wonder if there is no shackle reversal. This is because with the shackles up front the front of the springs may move. The steering linkages are also in the front of the axle and when the springs move and the linkage stays still this causes wonder. Replacing the shackles and bushings would also make the wonder go away.
We have covered this before and here is what I had to say then:
I say don't waste your time or money doing a shackle reversal. If you have wonder address that issue by replacing the shackles and bushings but don't throw out the baby with the bath water.
Just my opinion.
A lot of people that have installed shackle reversals have said it greatly improves handling and wonder. I think this is because if the shackles or bushings have any movement to them they will cause more wonder if there is no shackle reversal. This is because with the shackles up front the front of the springs may move. The steering linkages are also in the front of the axle and when the springs move and the linkage stays still this causes wonder. Replacing the shackles and bushings would also make the wonder go away.
We have covered this before and here is what I had to say then:
Here is the rest of the thread: http://www.jeep-cj.com/forums/f19/shackle-reversal-kits-5258/Yes this is a hotly debated topic and since everyone has a right to my opinion I will put my two cents in. If you don't have much of a lift and the leaf springs don't have much arch to them then a shackle reversal wont' make much difference. But if you have a lift the front axle will move back quite a bit as you go over bumps. For that reason you will need a long travel drive shaft. I have a shackle reversal from the previous owner and this has caused quite a few problems. My drive shaft was bottoming out and banging into my transfer case. I had my drive shaft replaced with one with a long travel slip joint. It still bottomed out and I replaced it a 2nd time with one with 8 inches of usable travel (more than enough). The front tires were also smashing into my fender and I had to do a lot of metal cutting to resolve that.
In the above picture my tire is pressing into my inner fender. If I were to turn my wheel to the right it would press very hard into my nerf bar.
Although I already cut my front fenders before the above picture was taken I had to cut them some more. The nerf bars had to go. I then got rock sliders.
Here is a more recent photo.
You can see that the front tire moves far to the rear as the suspension compresses. This is the biggest problem with a shackle reversal and why I to make other modifications to keep my jeep from damaging itself going over bumps.
I say don't waste your time or money doing a shackle reversal. If you have wonder address that issue by replacing the shackles and bushings but don't throw out the baby with the bath water.
Just my opinion.
BusaDave9
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Because the front axle moves back as the suspension compresses with a shackle reversal this caused my shocks to hit my steering knuckles until my shocks were destroyed.
Here's some more information on that: http://www.jeep-cj.com/forums/f104/busadave9s-79-cj5-13135/#post104332
Let me stress that most of my problems with my shackle reversal were caused by the fact that my springs have a lot of arch to them. If the springs were a little straiter I wouldn't have seen these problems (or at least not to this degree)
Here's some more information on that: http://www.jeep-cj.com/forums/f104/busadave9s-79-cj5-13135/#post104332
Let me stress that most of my problems with my shackle reversal were caused by the fact that my springs have a lot of arch to them. If the springs were a little straiter I wouldn't have seen these problems (or at least not to this degree)
73CJ
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I've got M.O.R.E. SR with YJsprings. MORE moves them further forward. I run tube fenders. No clearance issues with 38s.
I did need a new driveshaft. Shock issues
I like it. Helps wander on the road.
I'd do it again.
I did need a new driveshaft. Shock issues
I like it. Helps wander on the road.
I'd do it again.
fishinfool98
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I welded mine up tonight.
Only reason you would need them is if you are SOA and lifted over 6 to 8 inches
Sent from my C771 using Tapatalk 2
Only reason you would need them is if you are SOA and lifted over 6 to 8 inches
Sent from my C771 using Tapatalk 2