The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area General Truck Talk Leaf spring shackle question

Just replaced my leaf springs. Where the rear spring shackles mount in the rear frame mount, the half of the shackle that sits inside the mount is such that it allows no travel for the shackle. Here's a picture of what I'm talking about. Notice how the shackle plate is completely boxed in on the inside and cannot possibly pivot.

http://picasaweb.google.com/orchidskip/SpringMountQuestion?authkey=NSoET2M8OJA

Looks like the original shackle frame mount. It's riveted to the frame. It just seems like a wierd design not to allow the shackle to move. The old one was pretty tweeked. And, the new one was hard to install given the fact that the shackle had no way to move in order to line up with the eye of the spring. I had to raise and lower the whole truck and use a porta power to take the arch out of the spring to line it up. Is it just me or is this a crazy design? Anyone have an idea what the deal is here? Thanks, Skip

orchidskip,


I have no clue how it works, but it sure doesn't look like it works that way!

Stuart

at the pivot piont, not alot of room is needed to move. as for using a porta power to get it in, it may be the wrong spring. also a pic of the spring itself would be useful. some springs are spaced to allow movement without alot of pivot. these springs have large spaces between the last 2 or 3 leafs.

Orchidskip,

I don't know if the shackle frame mount is original, but if it's riveted it probably is.

I don't think the 1/2 and 3/4 ton trucks had the shackles pointing down and the springs under the shackles. That was on the 1 ton and up trucks. What happens if you turn your shackles up, and mount the spring over the frame mount? Now you'll have all the movement that you would expect. I believe that's how it should be done.

I hope you havn't buggered up your mount or your shiny new springs in the process.

Good Luck!

To dcwampler, Not wrong spring. And there is room for changing the spring a bit by adding leaves and increasing the arch a little. Idea being that one should be able to capture the eye of the leaf with that pivoting shackle. I get what you're saying about the springs having some movement in them. I'll add a picture of the springs.

jhaa, Now that just might work. I'm sitting here at my desk at work wishing that I was home to try your advice. I re-installed the way it was before but clearly the PO could have had it wrong. Nothing was damaged. It was just hard to line up the shackle with the eye without being able to pivot. If you are right then I'm really good...at installing things incorrectly! Skip

Jhaa lives is right. The spring goes on the other side of the mount.

Don, on my '55 second 3600 the spring is above the mount at the rear. I've really gotta clean mine up, especially after seeing yours.
Kim

Skip - do you have an assembly manual? sect 4 sheet 7.00 shows the shackle coming off the mount to the top with the spring above, like jhaa sez, the opposite of what you show in your pictures ... underslung is bigger trucks and the shackles are quite different .... the PO may have changed it on purpose to raise the rear

Bill

Bill,
I wish I had an assembly manual. You guys are quite correct. Friday night I went to the local main street car show specifically to look at a TF and sure enough I found one. Sure enough, there it was. Shackle mounted on top. It's one of those, "Duh! Why didn't I figure that out???"

Kim,
If you want to rebuild your leaf springs, you can probably use my old ones. They aren't in that bad of shape. They have extra leaves for more load carrying capacity and you can have them for free. You can play around with refurbishing them, clean them up, add some friction pads and bushings and then install when you are ready. As I recall, you tow a boat so you may actually benefit from the extra leaves.