Help shackle install/removal

Well this went just about as expected. Total nightmare that took from 9am-4pm, mainly due to the drivers side. All OEM components completely frozen with rust on a 2015 truck. Can blame MN winters and the liberal use of salts on the road. Unreal.

 

some pics of the process. I envy all the folks outside of the rust belts were things just pull apart. I had to cut bolts and make custom press sleeves since the Harbour frieght maddox ball joint kit doesn come with the correct size for pushing out the Oem bush inside of the leaf. Even the oem shackle side plate was frozen/rusted to the bolts and unable to remove initially.

 

Welcome to the club buddy! At least you got both out as one piece lol I only got one the other side I had to torch the bushing and cut the sleeve:

 

Yeah, definitely feel your pain. I'm glad you eventually succeeded! I'll never do it again. My time is worth more than the extra cost to pay someone who has the proper tools and know-how. I installed the whole rest of my kit (coilovers, diff drop, carrier bearing drop) in less time than it took me to replace the shackles and their four bolts. I'm still more than a little pissed nearly a month later.

How about pics of the finished product?

 

I'll post some pics tomorrow. Same with me, the rest of the project / kit went just fine and took less time than the shackles and 4 bolts. I'm running 6112's at 1.9" and +2 CB shackles with 275/70/18

 

Funny thing is, I had called a few shops around town for install prices before I committed to doing it myself, and one of them (that ended up convincing me to do it myself) was like "2 hours for the fronts, so $250, and there isn't much to the rear." Au contraire.

 

If I ever do another trucks and the bolts are stuck I’m taking the leafs off torching the bushing and sawzaling the the sleeve out that took less time then messing with the press and everything else.

 

Glad to hear they're in I would still install the CB drop kit, over time it will help with over all wear on the U joints/Pinion.

 

So just so im understanding going to install poly bushings this week from coach the bushing and inner and outer metal sleeves need to come out to install the poly correct?

 

Yes inner and outer sleeve has to come out. Good luck!

 

Well that just made it interesting lol

 

It’s a bitch

 

I got one fully out with the ball joint press: the other I torched the bushing out and then cut the outer sleeve with the sawzall and took a chisel and pounded it out.

 

Soak in PB blaster or break away for 48 hours

 

Yeah reading through the thread seems like it can be a nightmare. I gotta good feeling mine will be stuck going to start soaking tonight

 

Yep mine bolts were even seized in the sleeve had to cut the shackle off with a sawzall to

 

My Drivers side bolts were sized also. See my pics. Give yourself plenty of extra time to accomplish this task.

 

Well update thankfully took me 10 mins to get mine out surprisingly mainly because the ball joint tool was a pain in the butt to set up by myself lol but for 138k miles they came out super easy with my 3/8s impact and a 26 mm socket I think I can't remember

 

Dam lucky

 

Are the shocks removed for this process or left in place?

 

How high are you going in the rear?
Shouldn’t have to.

 

Mine were at the time

 

Not sure if it's necessary to remove them if you're only installing 1" or 1-1/2" shackles. I removed mine though. It's only one bolt per side and they aren't hard to line up to reinstall.

 

@xtyfighterx this is an old thread but DAMN did I just feel your pain. I was worried about getting my front coilovers installed. That took about 6 hours of hard work but went in relatively smoothly. I thought replacing the rear shackles would be easy after doing the fronts. I got 3 out of the 4 bolts but couldn't get the last one out. Rusted and seized up from PA winters. Had to pay the shop $250 to get the old shackles out and new ones in.......Some BS!

 

Yep defiantly wasn’t a fun install for how simple it would of been. That’s why I tell everyone to soak the bolts and bushings in PB blaster or some kid of penetrating oil for like 3 days straight before touching the shackles.

 

Can I guess?...driver side, rear bolt was the seized one.

 

Driver’s side, bottom bolt. They needed to whip out the torch after it whipped their asses like it did mine.

 

yepppppp mine was seized up too. I manage to get the bolt out at least, but a full day of torching, beating, pressing, and air hammering the bushing got me nowhere lol. I keep that damn bushing as a memento to remind me that some things are just better to pay the pros to do

 

Torch hammer and chisel will be your best friend on this

 

Do the press in bushings only come out in 1 direction? if so, which direction should the be pressed out? TIA.