Have to love the shackle angles
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rusty_tlc
Dain Bramaged Member
The rears shackles are scary. 
Your shackle angle does suck but that is a nice late model rear axle with the integrated parking brakes. 
It looks like the drum brake mounting plate bolts on with four bolts like a minitruck also, nice. Lucky you, no c-clips. What year is your 40?
It looks like the drum brake mounting plate bolts on with four bolts like a minitruck also, nice. Lucky you, no c-clips. What year is your 40?
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John Smith said:Your shackle angle does suck but that is a nice late model rear axle with the integrated parking brakes.
Those four bolts only hold the backing plate to the axle flange....this is still a C-clip rear...
Those axles can be found in 08/80 and later FJ-40's.
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my shackle angle isn't even that bad and i inverted mine the other day...guess it is time to get my soa done too
I got a good shackle angle on my 4in HFS and I don't even have the body on it yet 
Mark W
Yep, I really don't really care that much I guess.
Don't you just loved "chasing POFUs"? 
Mark...
Mark...
Mark W said:Don't you just loved "chasing POFUs"?
Mark...
No, I get tired...
dgangle
total rice
My solution of a similar situation was to remove the shortest spring leaf and move the shackle hanger forward ~1.25". Improved the ride dramatically while only dropping the rear 3/4". Let me tell you Toyota must have never wanted them to be removed. Those buggers are on there. Working upsidedown makes it more fun too.
I don't have my body on yet, but my shackel angle looks very similar. In fact the front ones's curve in slightly to the rear. I can't seem to figure why shackel angle is so fricking important. Is it that big of a deal. Opinions appreciated.
dgangle
total rice
It's very important. It greatly affects ride quality and articulation. When one has a vertical shackle and hits a bump, the only movement is in the spring itself. Leaf springs get longer/flatten out as they compress. Plus the shackle is more easily inverted on extension of the spring.
Adding the body, hardtop, spare tire, rear gas tank or anything that adds sprung weight will change the angle and affect the ride.
You may not want to worry about it right now as it sounds like you have a long way to go before you have to worry about how it rides....but on the other hand I give you credit for considering possible future ramifications now. If you do want to relocate the rear frame-mounted shackle hangers forward to increase the angle as I did, it would be much easier to do before the body is on and ever easier if you could put the frame upsidedown.
Adding the body, hardtop, spare tire, rear gas tank or anything that adds sprung weight will change the angle and affect the ride.
You may not want to worry about it right now as it sounds like you have a long way to go before you have to worry about how it rides....but on the other hand I give you credit for considering possible future ramifications now. If you do want to relocate the rear frame-mounted shackle hangers forward to increase the angle as I did, it would be much easier to do before the body is on and ever easier if you could put the frame upsidedown.
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When you have a vertical shackle, it also sends basically all the street jarring straight up into the frame.
If you have a bad angle like that, it's entirely possible your springs will move so little they won't break in. I had longer shackles on for about 8 months and my springs never broke in. Put stock shackles back in, with much better shackle angle, and I had the springs broken in with 3 hours of hard flexing.
If you have a bad angle like that, it's entirely possible your springs will move so little they won't break in. I had longer shackles on for about 8 months and my springs never broke in. Put stock shackles back in, with much better shackle angle, and I had the springs broken in with 3 hours of hard flexing.
Just put back the stock springs (SOA) 
