Rear Suspension sag correction needed.

[DomSmith]

After returning from SnT I have some SERIOUS rear sag going on. You can see from the pictures that the rear shackle angle is pretty far back and when loaded down and on the dunes the shackle was hitting the perch (blue arrow). Just after the tire carrier was installed I noticed the shackle angle change. Are these springs just flattening out? Seems weird to be hitting the perch rather than bump stops (I suppose this is due to the elongation of the spring?)

These are 10+ year old 4" Skyjacker Softrides that have been great for me and I really liked the way they sat for MANY MANY years. I am considering just replacing them with the same, but am worried that all the weight (tire/cooler carrier, aux tank, hi-lift) in the back is going to cause a sag if I match the front and rears. I've read the FAQ's and I understand everyone has differing opnions but, I DON"T WANT TO go SOA, and don't want bigger tires than 33's. Add-A-Leafs seem like a waste of time for the long run and I am interested in the OME's but they don't have 4" springs. Should I consider adding longer shackles to OME's and call it good. Anyone running the equivelent of 4" OME's (2 1/2" OME's w/ shackles?) I do mild wheeling, mex trips, and an occasional 200+ mile round trip to work. No need for extreme suspension but I do want to be able to wheel effectively.

I have very limited knowledge on suspension so any help is appreciated...

Oh yeah, and I'm not opening the door for another Spring-Over debate.

 

[dgangle]

There is no straightforward answer and your goal can be accomplished in a multitude of ways.

Replace springs. It looks like the rear spings have sagged. 10+ years use ain't nothing' to complain about so the most straightforward approach may be to simply replace them. If you are now carrying more weight I wouldn't expect them to last as long. that is assuming the replacements are truly the same as those you are removing.

Longer shackles. Remember, the lift provided by longer shackles is only approx. 1/2 of the increased length of the shackle. You may want to do this in combination of other things.

Re-arch your springs. Cheap but same labor as to replace. Will probably not last long IME.

Add a helper spring.

Combination of the above or a different brand that has a higher spring rate for the additional pounds you are now supporting. All depends on what you want to do, budget and time. If it were mine I would rearch with a helper spring...probably not the longest lasting solution but one with predictable results. My 4" SUA BTB's ran so rough I had to remove 2 of the 6 leafs and move my rear shackle hanger forward 1.125" to get a non-vertical shackle angle and an almost bearable ride.

 

[FJBen]

Order up some custom Alcan springs. Tell them what height you want...and what weight rating. If you are going to be continually carrying coolers, tire's etc. Be conservative on your weight rating thought.

If you have them build 4" over stock springs and have them add 600lbs overstock weight, that means when you put 600lbs in there, you will have a 4" lift...no extra weight and you'll have a 5"+ lift on the rear.

I would make them 1" longer on the shackle side to help with the shackle angle as well.

I had 4" alcan's on my Pig and they flex and rode very nicely for many years and are still in use without sag on another pig.


http://alcanspring.com/

 

[muddy12]

It looks to me as if longer shackles are all that's needed.

 

[CruisinMT]

mine was sagging in the rear too i put on 1.5" extended shackles and it perked right up.

 

[Degnol]

It looks to me as if longer shackles are all that's needed.

X2At least that's where I'd start.

 

[Fast Eddy]

It looks to me as if longer shackles are all that's needed.

x2 for the K.I.S.S. principle, especially if you like the flex you've got now.

 

[FF LC FREAK]

It looks to me as if longer shackles are all that's needed.

mine was sagging in the rear too i put on 1.5" extended shackles and it perked right up.

X2At least that's where I'd start.

x2 for the K.I.S.S. principle, especially if you like the flex you've got now.

X4 or is that X5. It looks like you have pretty short shackles anyway for 4" lift springs. 1.5"-2" longer shackles would probably set you up nicely. If your springs ride good, I would go this route before buying new springs and having a "break in period"/rougher riding springs.

Good luck!

 

[Downey]

Considering the weight you have mounted that far behind the rear axle housing, I don't even think the rear springs are fatigued, I think you have 1,000 percent normal rear end sag, hardly detectable. Everybody is correct though that a longer rear spring shackle might be the best remedy.

 

[1973Guppie]

Dom, get some flat bar and make your own extended shackles, they will flex better and are super easy to make, you can check mine out if you wish, made them myself, shackles are better without the center section, you don't need it. In combination with longer shackles, I would buy a pair of manafre's long add a leaf, they are actually not that stiff and break in nicely and add some life to an old spring pack. I am using them f&r on my SOA and they have worked out great.

Either you could do all that or just quit messin around and go SOA!!

Noah

 

[rockcod]

Dom,

Make your own shackles. I used 3/8" x 2" plate and drilled 5/8" hole, you will have to replace your bushings to accept the 5/8" hole bushings.

 

[DomSmith]

Damn, by the sound of it I bet Tony and Noah could both make me a set and then I'd have a trail spare!! Thanks for the input guys. I think I'll try this before I redo the springs.

 

[rockcod]

Dom,

What length do you want???????

 

[DomSmith]

I'll give you a call Tony. (If I can find your #) I'm on tomorrow then heading home Thursday morning for a 4 day. Are you around any of this week/weekend?

 

[rockcod]

Dom, here is a pic of the shackles I made for my sons 40. Let me know what length you want and what size hardware.

 

[DomSmith]

Tony-

Those look great. The front and rear are stock 3" shackles now. I think the rear needs to come up about an inch to get even with the fronts. With that said, the rear is at quite an angle so it needs to be more than an inch longer. Maybe I should bring the rig by sometime when you have time and we could bang them out. Let me know. I really liked the way the rig sat a few years ago (a bit higher front and rear) so maybe we could bump both ends up?

As for the hardware I'm not certain. I think they are all stock pins now. I have the next 3 days off and a few days off next week too, or whatever works for you. Let me know when you have some time.

 

[FF LC FREAK]

Just remember, if you change the length of your front shackles, you will also change your castor. If you add much length in front, you will probably need to add some shims to keep the correct castor.

Good luck!

 

[DomSmith]

Tony-

Thanks for checking out my issue. I tried to get the inner diamater of the Skyjacker bushings w/o result. It looks like the ones I have now are using the stock shackles so whatever the inner diameter those are should work. Any idea the bolt size on stock shackles? I guess I'll try to measure them today. I couldn't find any bushings at SOR with 1 1/16" outer diameter that skyjacker says the eyes are, so I'll probably just order up from them.

Thanks for letting me check out the hood. It's nice to know there are people out there helping those other than the beautiful people in Santa Monica...

 

[rockcod]

Hey Dom,

If your bushings are still in good shape, we can make do with those.

After you left the station we got a pretty good train fire, 2 box cars and a sleeper car, over haul was a bitch!!!
You are always welcome to stop by and get a dose of reality

Tony

 

[Cruiserdrew]

My take is just that you've added extra weight to the back end. That MAF bumper is 150 pounds at least. And that's not to mention all the gear you might have hauled to the beach.

Unfortunately, the remedy is springs with a higher spring rate. The Softrides are very soft. I had a set I had to get rid of, because of the low spring rate. Alcans work very well, and their 4 inch heavy load springs solved my issue at the time.

A longer shackle will not solve your issue. It might mask it a bit, but in the end, your springs just need more capacity. An add a leaf might work, but I don't know of any add a leafs that are arched for a 4 inch lift.

Spending $400 on a set of Alcans would be money well spent. Just tell them you want an inch more lift than you really want, and 500 pounds more capacity than stock.