Spring over. shackle conversion. Help! (1 Viewer)

[btees]

Ok long story short.... I bought an axle already cut and turned and stuck it in my rig. It already had a shackle reversals for spring under. Now the axle is rolled foward with the pinion angle fairly steep. Should I remove the front hangers and go with a shorter weld on style hanger? Longer shackles? Need help

 

[btees]

Thanks for the info. Just ordered a set of hangers from RS.

 

[reddingcruiser]

That particular shackle reversal kit was intended to retain the stock caster angle. If the C&T you did changed the caster (and pinion) angle, that setup won't work, as you found out. You should also order RS spring perches because once you reconfigure the front spring hangers you're going to need to dial in the caster (relative to the angle of the spring). At the least, you may need shims to get the caster correct. Depending on whether you end up with positive or negative caster, to some extent you can play with the shackle length or location of the spring hangers to correct some of the caster.

Worth repeating: the caster is fixed, relative to the pinion angle and you cannot that except with a C&T.

 

[btees]

Ok. All I know is when I bought the axle he said it was c&t. I know he was running 55 rear springs. From the looks of the shock mounts welded on the axle the new hangers look to center it back up. Will see.

 

[reddingcruiser]

@btees it looks like we are almost neighbors.

 

[btees]

@btees it looks like we are almost neighbors.

Yes it does! Thanks for the help! I'm in the middle of a v8 swap might be looking for your expertise again in the near future...

 

[reddingcruiser]

Yes it does! Thanks for the help! I'm in the middle of a v8 swap might be looking for your expertise again in the near future...

I'm always up for a road trip.

 

[btees]

I'm always up for a road trip.

Maybe you've encountered this

I'm always up for a road trip.

Maybe you've encountered my next predicament. The hanger from RS is wider than the old style at the frame. With the saganaw conversion weld on plate hanging below the frame it will not allow the spring hanger to center on the frame. Should I trim the hanger to fix and incorporate it altogether when I weld it up?

 

[reddingcruiser]

I suppose it's possible to combine the two, provided you have room around the spring eye to bolt up the steering box. Normally I suggest moving the gear box towards the center just enough to clear the spring hanger, but it looks like you're pretty much welded up.

If you are also changing the spring perches and shackle hangers as part of this project, another possibility is outboarding the spring hangers just enough to clear the gear box mounting plate.

 

[btees]

I suppose it's possible to combine the two, provided you have room around the spring eye to bolt up the steering box. Normally I suggest moving the gear box towards the center just enough to clear the spring hanger, but it looks like you're pretty much welded up.

If you are also changing the spring perches and shackle hangers as part of this project, another possibility is outboarding the spring hangers just enough to clear the gear box mounting plate.

Yes I'm all welded up on the mounting plate. And have the steering shaft completed. I'm think I'm gonna trim the plate and slide the hanger in and combined.

 

[reddingcruiser]

Looks a little different from that angle. Go for it.

 

[pjohnson]

Is your steering box going to interfere?

 

[btees]

Is your steering box going to interfere?

Its gonna be pretty tight. I'll fill you in when I get to it.

 

[btees]

So this is all tacked on. It is going to work with about and 1/8" of room between steering box.

 

[jim land]

Some say it is best to mount the steering box more horizontaly, it could give you more room

 

[btees]

That particular shackle reversal kit was intended to retain the stock caster angle. If the C&T you did changed the caster (and pinion) angle, that setup won't work, as you found out. You should also order RS spring perches because once you reconfigure the front spring hangers you're going to need to dial in the caster (relative to the angle of the spring). At the least, you may need shims to get the caster correct. Depending on whether you end up with positive or negative caster, to some extent you can play with the shackle length or location of the spring hangers to correct some of the caster.

Worth repeating: the caster is fixed, relative to the pinion angle and you cannot that except with a C&T.

I dont know if its gonna be achievable with out a CT I have the RS shackle hangers to do yet but it doesn't look promising. What do you think?

 

[reddingcruiser]

What's the caster angle now? Pinion angle?

 

[peesalot]

that spring hanger is about where mine landed, bolt close to steering box nose. Put shorter shackles on the back, like 4" max and redo the spring perches to lower the pinion and correct the caster angle

 

[btees]

I come up with 89 degrees on the flat of the knuckle arm. And 98 on the pinion.

 

[reddingcruiser]

From the pictures it looks like you do have positive caster, so 89 degrees would make it about 1 degree positive caster. With 35" or larger tires, I usually shoot for around 1.5 to help the death wobble at bay. Assuming we are seeing the same thing on your protractor measurements, you could live with 1 degree.

Hard to be sure from the pictures but if the pinion is pointed up that should put the pinion at 7 degrees and wrong for a normal U-joint setup. Drive line angles are a separate subject, so, what tranny are you running?

I've been on the road for 9 hours, so others are welcome to check my math.