Shackle Lifts on a FJ62 on 33s?

[Fieldtester96]

When i was screwing around with my suspension and putting in new bushings i ended up pulling a stud out of the shackle on the rear end that i just cant seem to sink back in. So i plan to get a new set of rear shackles but im considering going for a shackle lift. Cool Cruisers has a good deal on 1.5" and 2" shackle set for the front and the rear, is this a good deal? also how will this effect handling and the driving geometry? Also if you dont like shackle lifts whats the reasoning behind it?

 

[White Stripe]

You have to adjust the a caster up front and the pinion angle in the back if you do a shackle lift.

 

[tmxmotorsports]

You have to adjust the a caster up front and the pinion angle in the back if you do a shackle lift.

X2

 

[Fieldtester96]

You have to adjust the a caster up front and the pinion angle in the back if you do a shackle lift.

What if i just go with a 1 inch lift in the back and no lift in the front? and is the handling without the adjusting the castors bad? id just assume it would only change the castor by 1 to 5 degrees.

 

[White Stripe]

What if i just go with a 1 inch lift in the back and no lift in the front? and is the handling without the adjusting the castors bad? id just assume it would only change the castor by 1 to 5 degrees.

If you lifted just the rear 1" then you would have to drive it and see if you get a driveshaft vibration at highway speed, same with if you do 2" in the rear. If you get a vibration, then you would have to shim up the pinion by adding shims in the leaf springs. Up front with even a 1" shackle lift you would want to adjust the caster using shims in the leaf springs.

 

[Fieldtester96]

If you lifted just the rear 1" then you would have to drive it and see if you get a driveshaft vibration at highway speed, same with if you do 2" in the rear. If you get a vibration, then you would have to shim up the pinion by adding shims in the leaf springs. Up front with even a 1" shackle lift you would want to adjust the caster using shims in the leaf springs.

Now wouldn't the fact that your extending one end of the leaf spring while keeping the other in the same position will already adjust the pinion angle? just curious i was thinking it was harder than just adding a shim so that wouldn't be hard to do.

 

[OSS]

What you're trying to avoid with longer shackles is a 90° vertical angle of the longer shackle after its installed. That will give you a very harsh ride with little spring travel. Ideally longer shackles should only be used with longer springs (to keep the shackle angle correct).

But countless guys have just slapped on longer shackles and driven like that for decades

 

[Fieldtester96]

What you're trying to avoid with longer shackles is a 90° vertical angle of the longer shackle after its installed. That will give you a very harsh ride with little spring travel. Ideally longer shackles should only be used with longer springs (to keep the shackle angle correct).

But countless guys have just slapped on longer shackles and driven like that for decades

So if my springs are naturally fattened out so putting longer shackles on it might actually improve the ride by putting the shackle angle back to the original position?

 

[OSS]

The springs have lost their temper/strength and arc, so they're flatter. If you put longer shackles on them, yes the body will rise up a little but the springs are still weak. The longer shackles will increase the height away from the bump stops, but at the cost putting new strain on the already weak springs since now there's more travel before hitting the stops. ... So they'll just get bent even more out of spec.

Right now your old tired springs aren't doing much. Most of the time (especially in the front) you're riding on the bump stops.

Extended shackles are relatively cheap & easy to install. No real risk trying them out & see how you like it. The springs you have are kinda toast anyway.

 

[joebattle1]

I ran an extended shackle for a while. More like an 8” shackle that I got from SOR. I wanted the truck bigger and taller cause I was young and dumb. I didn’t know what I was doing. Truck rode like absolute sh:t. Wrote about it in my build thread. Got some OME anti inversion shackles from Georg a few years back. Rides like a dream now.

 

[Cruiserdrew]

The problem is, the front will have even less caster than stock, and will tend to wander more on grooved highway or under braking. So if you do this, get some steel caster shims from Valley Hybrids, and adjust caster to 2-3 degrees. If you're doing that much work, you may as well install an engineered lift kit like OME! And even with OME, I run 2 degree caster shims on the front of my FJ62 to improve the steering.

The rear pinion angle will also be off, and may or may not cause driveline vibrations.

I don't think these trucks handle all that well even stock, so don't make things worse.

 

[SteveH]

Slightly longer shackles are an acceptable way to get a little lift and stay off the bump stops on a tired-suspension 60. I saw no caster issues, but I kept to fairly short shackles. If you get stupidly long shackles, then you will have issues. Of course, OME is a better solution, long term.

 

[Fieldtester96]

Slightly longer shackles are an acceptable way to get a little lift and stay off the bump stops on a tired-suspension 60. I saw no caster issues, but I kept to fairly short shackles. If you get stupidly long shackles, then you will have issues. Of course, OME is a better solution, long term.

Just curious what size shackles are you running? the best option i have is 1.5 in the front and 2 in the back and i dont have a frame of reference to know if these are stupidly long or reasonable shackles.

 

[Fieldtester96]

I ran an extended shackle for a while. More like an 8” shackle that I got from SOR. I wanted the truck bigger and taller cause I was young and dumb. I didn’t know what I was doing. Truck rode like absolute sh:t. Wrote about it in my build thread. Got some OME anti inversion shackles from Georg a few years back. Rides like a dream now.

Im curious how did it ride like s***? i mean my cruiser is no dream to drive right now but i dont have a problem with a harsher ride, its not like im driving it for comfort or anything. Also how big over stock were those? im trying to get an idea of what is too big when it comes to shackle sizes. Also i do plan to upgrade the leaf springs i am just doing it in parts so i can more easily afford it, I.E. upgrade the shackles and bushings, then the leafs and ubolts and then the shocks and mounting brackets.

 

[Devils Paw 80]

Just curious what size shackles are you running? the best option i have is 1.5 in the front and 2 in the back and i dont have a frame of reference to know if these are stupidly long or reasonable shackles.

I've had a short SOR shackle lift , now discontinued, on my 62 for 16 years with no issues regarding steering or vibrations.

The ones you're looking at would give half the lift of their given length, so 3/4" in front and 1 in rear. They should be fine, as they're about he same as mine. I did replace my stock springs with rust free stock springs last year and didn't notice and difference, FWIW. Still a good ride IMO, with no caster shims.

 

[Fieldtester96]

I've had a short SOR shackle lift , now discontinued, on my 62 for 16 years with no issues regarding steering or vibrations.

The ones you're looking at would give half the lift of their given length, so 3/4" in front and 1 in rear. They should be fine, as they're about he same as mine. I did replace my stock springs with rust free stock springs last year and didn't notice and difference, FWIW. Still a good ride IMO, with no caster shims.

See that sounds alot better than having it 1.5 and 2 inches taller, i dont want much more height that way i can avoid all the problems with the pinion angle and the caster angle. But also im still young so having a car that rides like s*** is fine with me for the time being. Do you have any tips or advice for me pertaining to the shackle lift?

 

[Cruiserdrew]

Don't start your Land Cruiser career taking the cheapest way out, or in the end, you won't like what you have. You have a whole life to mod your truck.

Me, I'd leave it alone, buy new factory shocks (which are a serious bargain if still available) and Cruise on. When you have your feet under you, then do things properly.

 

[Fieldtester96]

Don't start your Land Cruiser career taking the cheapest way out, or in the end, you won't like what you have. You have a whole life to mod your truck.

Me, I'd leave it alone, buy new factory shocks (which are a serious bargain if still available) and Cruise on. When you have your feet under you, then do things properly.

Im not doing this as a way to get a cheap lift, i messed up my back shackle and am going to replace it instead of trying to salvage it. I thought while i was spending the money id go ahead and get a longer shackle for temporary height until my next purchase of new springs. Its more of id rather not waste my money on something im gonna replace anyway in a couple of months.

 

[SteveH]

Just curious what size shackles are you running? the best option i have is 1.5 in the front and 2 in the back and i dont have a frame of reference to know if these are stupidly long or reasonable shackles.

FWIW - the last time I checked on Toyota shocks for an FJ60, they were ~50/each - so I bought KYB gasadjusts that were much cheaper and work well for me.

RE: shackle height - that's what I used. What I mean by 'stupidly long' are the 8" shackles you (if you're old enough) used to see underneath the rear end of old AMC Gremlins and Chevy Novas with totally sagged out leaf springs.

 

[Fieldtester96]

That's what I used. What I mean by 'stupidly long' are the 8" shackles you (if you're old enough) used to see underneath the rear end of old AMC Gremlins and Chevy Novas with totally sagged out leaf springs.

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Oh yeah my brother in laws 60s mustang has those, yeah i definitely dont want to use anything that big.