shackle replace

[2oldman]

Yellow arrow points to what I know as a spring shackle.. hope that's right. It's coming apart at the top. Although I have driven (without my knowledge) with one of these having completely failed, I really don't want to hit the road knowing it's failing.

Is this a DIY with sockets, the proper wrenches and a bottle jack?

[garyp4951]

Use jack stands to support the frame in front, and behind the axles, there is no need to lift much, and use a bottle or floor jack to remove tires, a floor jack or two helps doing both axles one side at a time.
Being 18 years old, I would consider replacing springs, equalizers, and shackles with new ones. I have always used Dexter, or MorRyde products for the axles weight rating.

[2oldman]

A youtube vid shows the removal of a wheel. It didn't look necessary - is it?

[fj12ryder]

Lynnmor wrote:

fj12ryder wrote:

jdc1 wrote:
A whole wet bolt kit is $100 on Amazon. THey're just greasable bolts, sleeves, ect.

Not really the full story. They do away with this whole crappy system of just snugging down the nuts so the shackles/through bolts can rotate with the movement of the suspension. The wet bolts use shoulder bolts that tighten down to the shackles and there is no movement except the through bolts in the brass bushing. This is how the suspension should be set up from the factory.

I don't follow that explanation, the original bolts with straight knurling to prevent rotation. In my mind it is still the same crappy system with bronze bushings replacing the plastic ones and a halfass way of greasing.

Most of the suspensions I've seen, including the one I replaced use a through bolt, and yes it is knurled. The bolt has no shoulder and the nut, usually a Nylok, is tightened down snug enough to allow the spring to move within the shackles. And also when slightly worn, allows the shackle to move on the bolt. This causes wear on the bolt, and on the shackle, so you can end up with elongated bolt holes and worn shackles. When the shackles are bolted solid like the wet bolt kit, the only movement is the spring rotating on the brass bushing. The shackles cannot wear out because they don't move, and therefore don't wear.

I may not have explained it very well, but believe me it's a much superior system to the normal trailer suspension setup.

[Lynnmor]

fj12ryder wrote:

jdc1 wrote:
A whole wet bolt kit is $100 on Amazon. THey're just greasable bolts, sleeves, ect.

Not really the full story. They do away with this whole crappy system of just snugging down the nuts so the shackles/through bolts can rotate with the movement of the suspension. The wet bolts use shoulder bolts that tighten down to the shackles and there is no movement except the through bolts in the brass bushing. This is how the suspension should be set up from the factory.

I don't follow that explanation, the original bolts with straight knurling to prevent rotation. In my mind it is still the same crappy system with bronze bushings replacing the plastic ones and a halfass way of greasing.

[fj12ryder]

jdc1 wrote:
A whole wet bolt kit is $100 on Amazon. THey're just greasable bolts, sleeves, ect.

Not really the full story. They do away with this whole crappy system of just snugging down the nuts so the shackles/through bolts can rotate with the movement of the suspension. The wet bolts use shoulder bolts that tighten down to the shackles and there is no movement except the through bolts in the brass bushing. This is how the suspension should be set up from the factory.

[jdc1]

A whole wet bolt kit is $100 on Amazon. THey're just greasable bolts, sleeves, ect.

[2oldman]

fj12ryder wrote:
Replace those half-ass shackle assemblies with wet bolt kits.

I should do that. It sounds like the tricky part is getting the weight off by jacking in the right places.

This rig is 18 yrs old and I've had to do this only twice. Well, three times now.

[fj12ryder]

It's not that big of a deal. I replaced the shackles when I installed the wet bolt kit. Raise the trailer to take the load off the shackles, then use a jack on the wheel to adjust things to allow the shackle bolts to be removed. Not too bad.

Replace those half-ass shackle assemblies with wet bolt kits. I can't believe they still put out trailers with such a lousy suspension arrangement.

[TXiceman]

Like I noted on the Escapees forum, look at the CRE system with Mpr/Ryde and upgrade your suspension with wet bolts and heavier shackle plates as well.

Ken

[2oldman]

I guess knowing where to jack is important. A mobile tech did it with just a jack but I didn't pay attention to where that was.

[MFL]

It is not as easy as it may appear, due to lots of pressure on the shackles/springs. Some rigs may be easier than others, but IIRC, I needed to block up lift some on the frame, to remove weight, and then use a jack under spring ends to remove bolts and bushings.

Jerry