Broken Real Left Shackle. Any Suggestions?

[djo652]

Hey all,

Both of the rear leaf shackles are broken on my '96 Ranger. They look like they're riveted on. Any suggestions on how to take them off and how hard of a job this is to do? And where can I buy the parts...online sites? I can do most of the work myself but now it's freezing in NJ.

Any info would be appreciated......Thanks,

Dave

 

[fordboi415]

If they are infact riveted on then drill out the rivets buy new shackles and then bolt the new ones on, or you could grind the rivet heads off and drive them out

 

[Sunk]

Do you mean shackle hangers? They are riveted to the frame. How you remove them is up to you, and you have a few options. You can grind the heads off and punch them through, heat up the heads and chisel them off, slit Xs into the heads and chisel them off or drill them out as mentioned.

You should be able to find the hangers at your local Ford dealer or maybe a member on here.

 

[djo652]

Thanks guys!!! I was actually thinking of doing the exact things you both mentioned...with the exception of grinding the heads off (good one!) I was also thinking of using an air chisel but that might be overkill. I think it's the shackle hangers but not certain. I'm sure I need the part that's riveted on but whatever else is there that can rust, I'll probably need too.

I have another issue you may be able to give me some insight on. The truck has about 146k miles on it. I just replaced the shocks and installed a hitch to haul around a bass boat.

The check engine light is throwing a P0701/4 code but I'm pretty sure it's a bad EGR valve. Also, the EGR valve is attached to a pipe that feeds back into the exhaust manifold...that leaks too.

I need new tires all around and who knows what else...the clutch feels a little mushy. I really love the truck and would love to fix it and keep it but a new one is better than $20k and I don't need another bill.

Do you guys think this is worth fixing or am I going to throwing good money after bad? I'll put $1k into it if I can get another 40-50k miles but if not, then it might not be worth it. What's the average life of a '96 Ranger? Can I get 200k out of it or is that unheard of?

 

[fordboi415]

Start by fixing the leak as that may be the cause for the code, if after you've fixed the leak and the code is still comming up then replace the egr valve, as for the clutch that's an easy diy and tires are always going to need to be replaced, I would keep the truck there are guys on here that have 200k+ on their trucks

 

[Sunk]

Maintenance is going to be part of owning any vehicle. I say definitely keep it, a friend of mine has 190k on his '94 and it runs great.

 

[jebus92]

Hey DJO652 you can check this link.. for the front bracket but at least it will give you some nice tips

http://www.therangerstation.com/forums/showthread.php?t=20421

Good luck!

 

[djo652]

Hey Jebus...I read that link you sent. Lots of good information. In fact, it looks like I should probably do the front ones also. The parts are relatively inexpensive from Rockauto.com. I didn't really get a good look at them on my truck the last time in was in the air. I'm asuming if the rears are bad, the front ones aren't far behind. I'll check them out tomorrow.

 

[brendank]

The hangers are also available from the dealer. Unlike most items, they're actually reasonably priced.

 

[djo652]

Thanks Brendan69. I checked with the dealer and their prices aren't bad at all. In fact, when you add everything up (incl. shipping), they actually turn out to be a little cheaper than RockAuto...at least for the Husky parts. The Dorman parts are very cheap at nearly 1/2 price of everything else. I had my eye on them but they were completely out of stock and had no clue when they'd be in again.

Does anyone know anything about Dorman parts when it comes to their hardware like the leaf spring shackles / hangers? Should I spend the extra $$$ for the dealer or Husky parts? It's a $70 difference and if they're basically the same with the same performance, I'd rather go the with lesser $$$ item.

Any thoughts on this?

 

[dorman68]

I used them on my truck with no issues.

 

[pocket-rocket]

I used them on my truck with no issues.

x2

 

[scooter6529]

I've got a 94 Ranger and broke 3 out of the 4 hangers, I found a guy out of Pennsylvania selling suspension parts all the hangers, shackles, bushings, and mounting bolts to do both sides for 199.95 with free shipping.
1-888-9GETATS