Rear shackles removal (1 Viewer)

[FJ73Texas]

2. As smart as Toyota engineers are, this would not be the only vehicle that requires something ridiculous to be removed to remove something simple. (Check out Tacoma upper control arm bolt removal)

......Or 2007+ 5.7 Tundra alternator replacement. Can make a grown man cry. It should be illegal to make alternators that difficult to replace.

Anyways I recall the shackles being like this on the FJ73 I had. Ended up cutting them off when I put the new suspension kit on it.

 

[FJBen]

My shackles are the same way on my BJ74. I did pull the tank to clean it and I SHOULD have replaced the shackle bushings then. Bad move on my part. The tank was kind of a pain to put back in, not awful but still a pain.
Im now going to replace the shackles this spring and it’s sawzall for me cutting them out. Way easier than removing the leaf spring/U bolts or dropping the tank.

 

[PaulGrant]

Yes they’re backwards, no you don’t have to cut them out.

- pull the bolts off
- pull off the plate
- remove the spring and let it hang clear from the area
- pull the outboard bushing from the chassis mount

all the should remain at this point is the inboard bushing and shackle with pins.

- use a deep-well 22mm (iirc) socket to clear the upper pin and hammer the shackle out. There should be enough clearance to wiggle it out.

you may need to use a mapp touch to burn out the old bushing depending on how much corrosion is present.

Tried that but the tank is in the way. I eventually cut them off and then inserted the new ones from the correct side. Had to loosen 2 of the exhaust mounts to be able to move the exhaust a 'ball hair' width to get the shackle in.

 

[renago]

they are fitted in the wrong way , as simple as that .
cut them , easiest solution

 

[mxtaco48]

I cut off my bolts or you can drop your tank. I upgraded to 3/8th" shackles and 18mm bolts.