busted leaf spring shackle.
 

i get to work this morning, hop out of the truck and notice as i am walking behind it, a considerable port list (that's lean to the driver's side for you non nautical type.

i crawl under and have a look and sure enough, the front leaf shackle is rusted to shit and finally gave way.

feck. just bought this thing last week.

the PO had the rears replaced awhile back. didn't even think to look at the front ones that closely when i bought it. just kind of figured they were fine since they weren't replaced at that time.

the passenger side don't look a lot better. so, looks like i'm doing both sides real soon.

is it a major PITA?

how 'bout a coilover conversion? expensive? what does it gain you? i suspect the coils probably ride/handle a bit better. is that all?

Re: busted leaf spring shackle.
 

The best thing to do is grind off the head of the rivet and punch them through, then bolt them back up with grade 8 bolts and lock nuts.

ARe you talking about going coilovers in the rear? That means custom mounts on the frame and axle, and setting up a link suspension. Leaf springs are fine for a street truck.

Re: busted leaf spring shackle.
 

same thing happened to me recently, just found out today. I'll be doing my rear shackles on my '95. Gonna start spraying thrust or PB on it tonight.

Re: busted leaf spring shackle.
 

I've already grinded my left rear leaf shackle on my 91 Ranger. Took about 3 hours. (Went through the bed) cause part of the shackle was still attached to the leaf. Matched up the rivets on the frame with the mounting holes on the new shackle and it don't look like the eyelet of the leaf is gonna match up with the new shackle. I've clocked 6 total hours so far. I'm using the old leaf spring so I new I was gonna have to get the old leaf spring bolt out. Sprayed it 20 odd times with PB and WD. Used a 4' breaker bar I made from 1 1/2" x1 1/2" x1/4" angle rod and it didnt budge. Well, stripped the nut a little but still didnt come off. All in all, I did the hard work. The local mechanic'll take the leaf bolt out, mount the new shackle and attach the leaf, all for $90 bucks. I still cant believe the factory used rivets!

Re: busted leaf spring shackle.
 

just did some research - Dorman makes replacement shackles and brackets. Here's their numbers (most auto parts retailers can just type these in):

shackle - 722-001
rear bracket - 722-010
front bracket - 722-011

Looks like those numbers cover '86-'07 models, except for the front shackles, which only go up to '97. I looked them up for my '95 2WD, but it never asked if it was 4WD or not, so those numbers might fit 4WD as well.

Re: busted leaf spring shackle.
 

Im going to be doing the same thing in the Spring. Mine should last until then.

Re: busted leaf spring shackle.
 

since the rear shackles are relatively new, I'm thinking of just disconnecting the leaf spring there, and take the whole dang thing out. then i can try to get it out using a press.

Re: busted leaf spring shackle.
 

just spent a while rolling around under the truck looking at the job I have ahead of me.

i am seriously considering popping the bed off, for a few reasons....

1. looks like it will be a lot easier to work on the spring hangers with the bed gone.

2. i can have a real good look at everything else and maybe do a little corrosion preventive maintenance. was thinking of painting everything in site with por 15.

3. it looks fairly easy, right?

please say, why sure ranger pete, it's a breeze.


my plan of attack is to back the truck under my new, very sturdy deck, unbolt the bed, hoist it up with straps, drive out from under it.

is there a decent tutorial for removing a 97 ext cab short bed?

i have a liner and leer cap. is it possible to remove it all in one chunk or do i need to get the liner out to access bolts?

am i opening up a can of worms here? should i just do it with the bed in place?

i need to do both springs front hangers. the rears were alreay done by the PO.

Re: busted leaf spring shackle.
 

It is tough on the drivers side because the gas tank has to be dropped. The mount themselves are really cheap. About $35 at the dealer. Here they are a stock item. And the dealer sells about 2-3/week.

On my dads we just welded in some T-nuts, then bolted it on. I also hit both sides with weld. This eleminated the need to drop the tank.

The hardest part is getting the center bolt out. If you can get the bolt to spin, you can spin it and have some help hit the end with a hammer. Make sure you have the nut on as not to mushroom the bolt, then it will never come out. Once the bolt is in the sleve, use a 3/8" extension to finish pounding it out.

I just replaced all 4 on my plow truck. It was intimidating at first but it wasn't to bad.

Removing the bed is not a bad idea, its fairly easy, fill spout, 6 torx bolts in the bed. And wiring for the lights. The beliner will have to come out to access the bolts.

taking the spring out is an excellent idea, this way you can lay it flat and beat the hell out of it with a BFH to get that center bolt out.

Re: busted leaf spring shackle.
 

gonna yank the bed off next week and do both front mounts.

anything i need to be looking for while it's off? Was thinking of doing both rear brake lines as it is likely an easier job with the bed off.

plan on hitting everything with a wire brush then por 15. will a quart do the job?

Re: busted leaf spring shackle.
 

I'm planning to do mine in the next week, but with my bed ON. But I'm only doing the rears, so I should be ok with the bed on there, right?

Re: busted leaf spring shackle.
 

I just noticed I bent mine on the drivers rear, so I'll be changing both also..

dang..

Re: busted leaf spring shackle.
 

yeah, nothing like the gas tank to make it a PITA.

i'm gonna pull the bed, because i think it will make the job easier overall. just hope those damn torx bolts don't give me any trouble.

Re: busted leaf spring shackle.
 

I changed out both springs and the one shackle and hanger that hadn't been done yet with the bed on.

Re: busted leaf spring shackle.
 

didn't get to mine yet, as I would have liked. I've got about three loads of scrap to haul taking up the room in my garage that I need to work on my truck. Can't do either one because of the other! Can't fix the truck because the scrap is in the way, can't haul the scrap till I fix the truck! Hopefully I'll get a morning or a day when I can work on it, since it'll have to be outside, and the afternoons and nights are getting to be chilly-billy around here.