SAS questions!

[pELYgroso]

I'm getting ready to mount the shackles and I have a couple questions.

first, when I'm figuring out where to cut the holes in the frame for the shackles, do I want the shackles to hang straight down where the hole will be so that when the load of the truck sits on it they'll be at the slight "perfect" angle? or is there another way to figure out exactly where to cut the holes through the frame? (I have frame jigs, just need to know where to put them)

second, I have a little torch but I'm horrible with it. can I use a hole saw? anybody done it?

thanks in advance!

 

[lewis]

First off what are you SASing? If its a toyota around 89-95 you can start with a hole saw but there is bracing inside you willl never make it through. Also are you running new springs? If they are brand new you need to put into account that they are going to settle and this will effect your shackle angle. When I did mine I put the springs on and put no weight on them just had them hanging until until the shackle was slightly forward. You won't want too much angle as unloading them and loading may cause the shackle to invert. Soma say they need to be straight up and down but this caused my shackle to have too much angle when I put weight on them. It also depends on how long your shackles are going to be. Clear as mud?

 

[rollover]

If I recall you want it to swing rearward slightly so when you approach an obstacle it pops you up and over rather than compress and slide your weight back-wards making it harder to climb.

Talk to Von@BenHanksRacing, Carl@Teraflex or Eric@Delux. They should have your answer.

 

[193kyle]

Lewis is right about the hole saw, you will never make it all the way through, you can use it on each side and then torch out the center. Is the front hanger already mounted? If not just go ahead and cut the holes for shackles and get the frame tubes welded in. then just tack the front hanger on, hang the springs, slide the housing under and set the weight of the truck on it. If the springs are new, you want the shackles kicked back slightly, if the springs are already broke in then you can set it to your desired angle. I always do shackle tubes first now, because it is a hell of alot easier to knock the tacks off the front hanger and move it a little then to move the shackle tubes. however if you already have the hanger welded you will just have to hope for the best. If you have any questions feel free to call me, Kyle 801-920-4391

 

[ricsrx]

cut the holes for shackles and get the frame tubes welded in.

Kyle, when the tubes are in the frame, does the majority of the tube stick out on the inside or out side of the frame?

 

[193kyle]

Center them, then slide 1/4" to the outside.

 

[pELYgroso]

thanks for all the info! ya, it's an '86 yota. I havent' welded on the front crossmember yet so maybe I will just tack it and adjust if necessary. These springs are already broken in. Is that perfect angle around a 45 degree, slanting from the frame towards the back? or a little less?

 

[193kyle]

It depends on the arch of the spring, a flatter spring you can have the shackles kicked back a little further for a smoother ride, a spring with more arch will lengthen more as it compresses and can possibly hit the body mount at full stuff. Your shackle length also comes into play. How much lift are your springs, and what length are your shackles?

 

[pELYgroso]

not sure what springs they are. The PO told me they're a mixture. They're 48" from eye to eye with the center pin 20.5" from the front eye. There's 6 leafs in each pack and they're not terribly arched. the shackle is 9".

here's another question: the shackle where it meets the spring is pretty much the same width as the spring. In the middle of the shackle it jogs out and where the shackle will be mounted to the frame, it's about 2" wider. almost 2" wider than the TG frame tubes. Why would that be? I pulled these off a truggy and don't remember what it looked like when it was installed.

Also, the crossmember that I pulled off the truggy has only about a 1.25" drop. (between where it's welded to the IFS crossmember and the spring hangers is 1.25". I like this idea to keep the COG low, but with the front spring perches up so high and the 9" shackle, i imagine my pinion angle will be pretty crappy. have any of you used shims successfully? Is this set-up sounding like it will work?

 

[big cherokee]

9 inches is a pretty long shackle im running a 2 in drop hanger in the front of mine with ruf springs stacked so a 6 leaf pack, im now running sky manufacturing boomerang shackles up front i was running 6 in shackes and they worked really good, just went with the boomerangs to clear the body mount on
compression.


i was wondering what happened to this rig glad to see your still at it.

 

[193kyle]

Sounds like 45 degrees should be a good shackle angle, but those shackles are way too long, with only an 1.25" drop I would stay between 4 and 5" for your shackles or you'll never be able to bolt up a front driveshaft. Also for the shackles, you typically run spacers on the leaf side of the shackles as the frame tubes are wider than the leaf spring. Not sure as to why your shackles are so wide. You can run shims on the front springs but i wouldn't go more than 4 maybe 6 degrees. Are you running dual cases or single? that will make a big difference on your front driveshaft angles.

 

[pELYgroso]

right now I have the auto in there. hoping to do the duals behing the auto some day or swap in the 5 speed w/ duals out of my wife's truck. Maybe I'll look into getting some shorter shackles. any suggestions on who makes them reasonably? I'll post in the wanted section, too.

my project has been sitting for a few months now. seems like there's no time to work on it. the wife's working in St. George this week so I thought I'd spend a few nights in the shop and see what I can do.

 

[193kyle]

Trail Gear, all Pro, Marlin all have the front shackle kits with the spacers

 

[Rot Box]

In the long I plan to move the hole one inch forward from where the jig puts it and also move my front hanger forward one inch. With my springs that would put the axle a total of 2.5-3" forward from stock. Depending on what your plans are for the rig you may want to consider that as it keeps the tires out of the firewall, and also provides a nice approach angle. Either way try your best to get the shackle angle as close to 45* as you can. Also loose those shackles 4-5" hole to hole is perfect depending on how far you drop your hanger maybe you can just cut those down and drill a new hole? I put my hanger as high as I could while retaining a decent pinion angle with 4" shackles and i am really happy with the outcome.

Remember that the IFS truck frames sit 1" lower on the body so a 3" lift would be more like 4" compared to the same springs on a factory solid axle truck. I would shoot for low lift and wide stance...

 

[pELYgroso]

ya, I was thinking of moving everything forward an inch or so. So maybe I'll tack the crossmember into place an inch forward and try and get the shackle right from there? I put 63" chevies under the rear and I think it sits juuuust right so I'm trying to level it out from there.

yet another question:
-I hate it when the rear end of rigs drags across the ground at the bottom of WW, etc. but I didn't want to bob this runner because I like having the space behind the back seat SO, while installing the 63's, instead of moving the new spring hanger forward 11" I only moved it forward about 7" which moves the rear axle back about 4". Now, the rear shackle sits right at the very back end of the frame and angles outward almost to the edge of the body. I like this. better departure angle and my body won't be banging on stuff as much back there. Is there anything wrong with this? With 35's on, the front of the wheel well sits perfect so I won't have to cut it at all. I will, on the other hand, have to cut out a good hunk of the back of the wheel well which will have to include a bit of the interior wheel well also. (and patch it back up) Is this too hard to do? anybody done this? I've never seen or heard of it being done but I thought it would serve my purposes well so I just went ahead and did it.

 

[solidfrontaxle]

I think I've seen it a few times. If you're good with sheet metal, I say go for it! It's an awesome solution.

 

[Goose]

In the long I plan to move the hole one inch forward from where the jig puts it and also move my front hanger forward one inch. With my springs that would put the axle a total of 2.5-3" forward from stock. Depending on what your plans are for the rig you may want to consider that as it keeps the tires out of the firewall, and also provides a nice approach angle. Either way try your best to get the shackle angle as close to 45* as you can. Also loose those shackles 4-5" hole to hole is perfect depending on how far you drop your hanger maybe you can just cut those down and drill a new hole? I put my hanger as high as I could while retaining a decent pinion angle with 4" shackles and i am really happy with the outcome.

Remember that the IFS truck frames sit 1" lower on the body so a 3" lift would be more like 4" compared to the same springs on a factory solid axle truck. I would shoot for low lift and wide stance...

rot box has some good input there, moving the front hanger forward solves tire clearance issues. Ive moved my front hangers way forward.
my shackle mount, I opted to to mount under the frame. Instead of through the frame. mostly because of my perch width on my full width 60. Ive done it both ways, & I felt that under the frame was much easier & I was able to use a shorter shackle. shorter shackle = less axle movement forward & backward ,(Tire clearance, driveline splines)

 

[Chevycrew]

I went with the 63 chevies and didnt like them, Im now 4linked with the rear axle moved about 6" back. I love the increase in wheel base. But my sheatmetal had to go, I cut a lot, and havent put any back. Im soon to be cutting more to fit the 42's

 

[abhaulr1]

any pics?? would like to see the 4 link setup. I just did my sas on my 88' and moved the front axle forward a bunch. my shackle mount is drilled in front of the body mount. my wheel base is 111".
Dwayne