Heavy Replacement Shackle Hanger w/ lift

[meatheaded nucklebuster]

Started out my right front wheel bearing was going bad so I pulled the ranger into the garage to work on it after I finished moving into the house im renting at college. I was bored and waiting for a ride to get parts so I pulled the bed off and YIKES!!!! Apparently the last half of the summer the mild wheeling I had been doing on the logging roads around the resort I was working at had not been good for the already ragged rear suspension. So... time for some fun with the tools I bought over the summer. Here goes a booty fab heavy shackle hanger w/ lift build. I also bought the Oreilly version of the belltech 6400 shackles for more lift so with the combination I can take out the sketchy stacked blocks I am hoping to go with the 63" chevy leaf swap soon to get the front bracket lower and the spring more level.

The passenger shackle COMPLETELY DETACHED

and the hanger in disrepair as well

A buddy brought up two of our tall jackstands that we picked up at a garage sale a few years back. And also two dana 60 rears I had back home. Im putting in the one thats welded with 4.10 gears. Thanks Korey!

 

[bobbywalter]

custom is fine


but really......stock oem replacement shackles work fine too....be a long long time before they bust again.....


but factory shackles bust like dried twigs with a spool and dry pavement donuts.

 

[meatheaded nucklebuster]

Oops ran out of wire...got some...

Ran out of gas.....turned 21 and got hammered....

Got some gas finished one side started on another and mocked up the driver side

It is at full droop so the shackle angle should be about 30 degrees hopefully im guessing lol. My Buddy came up for my birthday party and brought me some 36 truxus sts on 16.5 rims for the dana 60. They are low tread and my least favorite interco tread but hopefully next spring ill get some hummer take offs.

 

[meatheaded nucklebuster]

Oh I almost forgot. When my buddy picked up the truck it axle hopped bad so he made a ladder bar for it. Well he comes from a street vehicle background where there is little to no torsional flex. Instead of using a heim ha just set up a shackle on the front mounted to the frame. Fast forward 9 months after a little wheeling and I go to take it off so I can take out the lift blocks and redo the rear suspension. I unbolt the front and the rear just falls of the axle tube along with the welds and a big chunk of axle tube. Well just a good excuse for a dana 60 rear and bigger tires and then a SAS to match the rear.

Picture where you can see the ladder bar.

and the hole in the axle

 

[bobbywalter]

dodge dakota hangers work good to lower as well.


but. the angle your spring rate has to apply now changes the ride drastically, even adding shims or cut and relocating the spring perches to keep the pinion angle correct has a limited affect with the spring cycle.

lowering the front hanger to correct the lift need, mitigates the issues.

 

[meatheaded nucklebuster]

Dana 60 prepped for ruffstuff antiwrap perches and shock tabs

 

[meatheaded nucklebuster]

dodge dakota hangers work good to lower as well.


but. the angle your spring rate has to apply now changes the ride drastically, even adding shims or cut and relocating the spring perches to keep the pinion angle correct has a limited affect with the spring cycle.

lowering the front hanger to correct the lift need, mitigates the issues.

thats basically what I got was shackles that lower chevy dodge just like the beltechs.

Im doing new perches so pinion angle is no issue

Dont know what mitigates meens but basically with the 63in chevy leafs and the accordingly relocated front hanger and the rear shackle at ride height the leaf spring should sit almost perfectly level and function as "stock". Thats the plan anyways.

EDIT misread your post...I am not lowering the front hanger for lift. I am relocating it as needed because of the longer chevy leafs but to stay with the contour of the frame it will be dropped about 1-1/2 inch

 

[bobbywalter]

so you are lowering the hanger. good.


putting the spring closer to stock rake is a good goal. keep the long shackle...just make the frame mounting points where they rake the spring correctly....in this case lowering the front hanger at least as much as the rear

 

[Roger]

Source for the Dakota hangers? Pics?

 

[bobbywalter]

source? 90's dakota


pics. not sure. you have to fit them with a drill.


used those and front hangers from a 92 or 93 1 ton gm van on a couple of trucks to eliminate blocks

i was going to use this myself, but due to current design goals i need to ditch the rear hanger all together so i can fit my tool boxes.


on edit, they ar good for like 2 inches keeping it on the frame similar to stock...in the case of the installations i did angle was used at the bottom rail and 4 inch blocks were ditched

the front hanger has some harder drilling due to the crossmenber setup on the ext cabs...but basically a drill and grinder is all i used besides the hand tools to bolt them on

 

[Roger]

Thanks... One of many projects is removing blocks altogether and using lower brackets.