Help shackle install/removal

This is what happened to me today. Got only one side done for today. Cut the bolt because it was seized to inner sleeve. Pressed out the rubber part because it was stuck to outer sleeve. Then chiseled for a few hours. What a nightmare. Atleast one side is done.

 

Damn, that really sucks. I took a pry bar and my sledgehammer and destroyed the stock shackle bolts before it nudged. Sprayed a ton of WD40.

 

Did you happen too use an air hammer on it? Wondering if that’d of worked any better?

 

Used Kroll, jaw puller, press, reciprocating saw, and air hammer. Just didn't use torch. Not as easy as they make it seem on youtube. Nevertheless felt accomplished when done.

 

The bolts were seized to the rubber bushing. I had to do the bushing replacement no matter what. I dont know how some people are just pulling the oem shackle out. Boggles my mind.

 

Had to have been early on if it moves that easily from vids. But mine actually seized to the inner sleeve.

 

I tried a ball joint press, then proto puller on 2 different days and wasted hours each day before I just drilled out the rubber enough to fit a sawzall In there and cut the sleeves out towards the gap so I wouldn’t knick the spring and it was really pretty fast but my bolts were not stuck, only the sleeve. If I had to do over I would immediately go straight to drilling and sawzall. Would have only taken 2-3 hours to change bushings.

Edit: I also pb blasted over the course of two weekend attempts at least 4 times. Just save yourselves the trouble and sawzall out if press does not work immediately. To be clear I would still pb blast a day or two before more than once but the press is not worth more than 30 minutes attempt. Drilling and cutting out was fast.

 

Mine seized to in also. And bushing froze to outer. Crazy.

 

The stock bushings can come out in either direction. Spray some blaster in there over a few days before you need to take them out, it helps immensely.