Shackle angle
- Thread starter Tebbsjeep
- Start date
- Location
- Bountiful, land of rocks
POR
Active Member
So.. heres my math.. ive seen the trend of people laying them back thinking they get more travel.. by laying it back you loose leverage on the spring, so they dont do their job correctly. Also another downfall is when the shackle drops out its uncontrolled flex. To me that means that could be the reason you rolled when you were all twisted out on some sideways sketchy line. When they bottom out ot letting the spring give past its intended "give" and causes flattened springs quickly and premature wearing on bushings and worse case bent/broken leafs. Ive found most of the time a tire picking leaf sprung setup will out wheel most floppy sprung setups. You suspension is much more predictable feeling as well.. wow lots of text there lol.. hopefully i made sense lol!
- Location
- Bountiful, land of rocks
So you like your setups more vertical than the above picture? I setup my "Jeep" with them about where those are (loaded for the trail) and have been fairly happy with them for quite some time. My logic was that with the shackle at a 45* angle (roughly speaking), I'd get a little shackle travel over small bumps and be able to let the leaf spring "work" as a spring on uptravel. Having the shackle move seemed to decrease wear on bushings in my head.
I can see your flattened/overarched spring logic and I have killed a few main leaf over the years
I got ALL KINDS of conflicting info when I was setting my rig up and just went with that 15ish years ago. I wouldn't say my setup is magic by any stretch but it's worked quite well for me for a long time. I have the front of rig linked up now and kind of wish I'd just stayed with simple old leaf springs. There's been thought of going back but for a rig I use about 4 times a year.... I'll just leave it as is and try to enjoy it when I get the chance (I should trade it for a decent LJ and go from there?)
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took me a minute to find a picture showing the shackle angle
I can see your flattened/overarched spring logic and I have killed a few main leaf over the years
I got ALL KINDS of conflicting info when I was setting my rig up and just went with that 15ish years ago. I wouldn't say my setup is magic by any stretch but it's worked quite well for me for a long time. I have the front of rig linked up now and kind of wish I'd just stayed with simple old leaf springs. There's been thought of going back but for a rig I use about 4 times a year.... I'll just leave it as is and try to enjoy it when I get the chance (I should trade it for a decent LJ and go from there?)
took me a minute to find a picture showing the shackle angle
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The angle is about 40 degrees. That's all I read on the Cherokee forums was to get close to 45. I have all of my tools and a 33in spare in the back too. I don't wheel it super hard and most of its use is trail riding and camping. It pulls the occasional trailer to the dump. After seeing how flat it got, I do want to add another leaf or two. Thanks for the input guys.
- Location
- Bountiful, land of rocks
- Location
- Bountiful, land of rocks
@POR So you'd correct mine to at LEAST where I drew the red line?
You'd advise the OP to move his shackle back to the furthest back bolt hole?
(I'm not trying to pick a e-fight or anything, just wanting to learn some actual math/theory. I've been pretty happy with the rear suspension for a long time. I attributed my rear main leaf fatigue to a 4:1 transfer case and heavy 14 bolt running 38-40" tires. Just thought it'd be par for the course. If the angle could be changed/corrected and the leaf springs would last more than 2000-2500 miles {granted those aren't "normal" miles for a trailered rig} I'd be interested to know)
You'd advise the OP to move his shackle back to the furthest back bolt hole?
(I'm not trying to pick a e-fight or anything, just wanting to learn some actual math/theory. I've been pretty happy with the rear suspension for a long time. I attributed my rear main leaf fatigue to a 4:1 transfer case and heavy 14 bolt running 38-40" tires. Just thought it'd be par for the course. If the angle could be changed/corrected and the leaf springs would last more than 2000-2500 miles {granted those aren't "normal" miles for a trailered rig} I'd be interested to know)
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POR
Active Member
Yes id tell the op to stand up the shackle more. What your saying is telling me your fighting the consequences of flat shackles. I have a toyota i built in 07 i run old school skyjacker 4 " lift springs on and set the angle straight up and down on the front pack. Ive never bent or broke a front spring to this day. Ive beat it like it owed me money for years and years.. i think those are the only thing i havnt broke on it lol.. also... id stand your shackles up a little.. see what results you jave....
POR
Active Member
All these reasons is why you should stand that shackle up. I doubt youll need extra leafs.
- Location
- Bountiful, land of rocks
I did have that exact problem on my front springs. (that's why I went to coils) I had a more vertical shackle angle. Bent springs at the first ledge (as you come down off the slickrock part of Hells Revenge and climb that first 2-3' ledge to get to the sandyish area).
If I did go through all the work of extending the frame and such, I'm not sure I'd go past about 65* or so? The rear has the shackle back so I probably wouldn't be banging it into things while climbing unless I'm in reverse. Are shackles fwd or rear on a Toyota front spring?
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POR
Active Member
Ok so im not driving now lol so i looked at your pic better.. where you drew the red line is where i'd put my shackle angle at. On toyota front springs the shackle is in the back, not like jeeps lol.. but even on jeeps i stick to my formula.
- Location
- The Land Northward (Bountiful), Utah
Looks good to me.
40-45* is ideal in my opinion. Straight up and down rides like crap on little choppy square edge rocks.
That's halfway between compression and droop and keeps you from inverting a shackle and bending a leaf.
I'd wager that there's a similar consensus on NAXJA with literally thousands of XJ owner's.
I've put a few hundred thousand miles on modified XJs if my opinion means anything. Which it probably doesn't lol.
40-45* is ideal in my opinion. Straight up and down rides like crap on little choppy square edge rocks.
That's halfway between compression and droop and keeps you from inverting a shackle and bending a leaf.
I'd wager that there's a similar consensus on NAXJA with literally thousands of XJ owner's.
I've put a few hundred thousand miles on modified XJs if my opinion means anything. Which it probably doesn't lol.
That's what I've read everywhere too. But having the shackle at this angle has really flattened my leafs out. I'm thinking I'm going to move the shackle back one more position so it'll be around 55-60 degrees and see if I get any arch back. I'm sure it rides great this way, but I'm afraid it'll get negative arch sooner how it sits. My leaf packs could very well just be worn out already though.
