[Lumpdog]

Alright, after a weekend of wheeling, I got to thinking about my the suspension on my truck. Has anyone ever done a front shackle reversal on a GM truck??? I know that rear shackle rides better, but there are lots of issues with the shackle in the back. For one, the driveline angles get shitty quick. And as you approach an obstacle, your front axle moves rearward and is constantly trying to unload the springs. Jeeps came factory with shackle in the front, and I would suspect there is a reason for it (if you only drive the jeep on the paved road, i think shackle reversal makes sense though).

But with a front shackle design, your front driveshaft doesn't stretch or shrink very much, it just mainly changes angle with droop. Also, as you approach an obstacle, your front tires will push into it and increase the traction on the tires. You would have to do xover steering, but with any amount of lift and lots of offroading, xover steering makes sense whether or not you move the shackles.

It seems like it would be fairly easy to do. You could use a rear shackle in the front spring hanger, and weld on some spring mounts on the bottom of the frame. With this set up you could use flatter stock style springs and gain a little more lift just by the new mounts alone.

Anyways, just a thought, would like to hear some other opinions on this.



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[gripguru]

i strongly agree that the shackle out front is a far more functional suspension design offroad. I bought and installed the MORE shackle reversal for my jeep, and tried that for two years. I was very unhappy with it. I welded the MORE mounts to the frame at the rear of the springs and have shackles back up front now. It is all ghetto fabbed together for now, but hopefully that will change soon.

 

[AJ]

hey lumpy... I like the idea, and since i'm redoing the suspension anyway, I could do it... any more ideas on how to work it?

 

[blazinzuk]

I have had both on my sami and liked the shackle reversal better. Of course I like to dune run and jump my truck shackles in front = bent springs. It took me a while to science out my driveline issues but once I got them figured out I never really had a problem. I also bent a spring trying to bump a rock. If you have plenty of room in the wheelwell thats no big deal but I did not. :rotfl: :rotfl:

 

[Lumpdog]

AJ, I think it would be quite easy, move your front spring perches forward for your longer springs, use a rear axle shackle for the front, and either make a fixed rear mount on the bottom of the frame. Maybe go to the junk yard and grab another set of front mounts to weld/bolt to the frame, then it would kinda be setup like a rear axle shackle flip. If you wanted an extended front shackle, get a pair of the adjutable rear axle shackles that are real common with 2wd lowering kits, mount it upside down, and then you can move the spring up and down in the holes till you find where it works best, then trim it off.



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[gripguru]

'cept the caster angle is SUPER important here and cannot change from stock :deal:

 

[Lumpdog]

True, but some degree shims, and/or better yet, cut and turn the inner C's, which is super easy!!! Plus at the same time, you get your front pinion up higher, which is a big bonus with us low pinion guys.

I would do the spring swap, put dgree shims in till I got everthing right with the shackle length, flex, driveability, etc.; making sure to check that the spring shackle won't fold over backwards and bend the springs up. Then finish it off with a cut and turn to the factory caster angles and ditch the degree shims.......

And like AJ's Ford front axle, they are already setup for the spring in the front. Ford one tons have the shackle in the front from the factory. So this could possibly work great with no caster changes at all.



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[gripguru]

that all sounds just right, and I recommend that method as well

 

[Lumpdog]

Contrary to popular belief, my truck is not my wheeling rig.....but it's the only one running and driving that's worthy enough to have some fun in. I still use my truck every day to haul trannies and junk, and I do daily drive on the streets....maybe I'll try it with the stock springs, that would be easy enough to do, then I wouldn't have to the xover steering if I left the axle in the same position. I could test it to see how it works, cause it would be very easy to go back to stock if it didin't work out right.



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[whitetrashmafia4x4]

did u ever try this and did it work thanks
jeramie :beer: