The drivers side leaf spring was making terrible squeaking noises so i went under with a can of WD-40 and to take a peak. Well the one side of that leaf spring shackle is almost rusted out, to the point its not connected from top to bottom- if that makes sense. Where is a good place to get leaf spring shackles for a decent price. College kid here so I cant break the bank. Also, how hard is it to get the leaf spring bolted back on/what is the process for that? Im assuming the leaf spring is under a load and will spring out when unbolted. Thanks for any help.

-Nick

 

hardest part is getting the old bolts out of the sleeves, i do them occasionally at work and the bolts usually rot the sleeves and you end up having to replace the bushing too. no worries about the springs being under tension they wont be. just jack the truck up and support the rear on the frame, then jack up the rear end barely just to take off the weight and go ahead and try to get the bolts out.

ive had a few where they actually came apart but not many. dealer sells the shackles and spring shops might, unless the zr2 ones are goofy or rare

 

I found O'Reilly has various shackles as aftermarket parts. Check out the store since they weren't listed readily online. That's my next project along with my add-a-leaf. Kept dragging my receiver hitch on the rocks last weekend.

 

Yeah I figured the hard part might be the old bolts. I assume ill probably have to cut them out.

I also was wondering the theres a difference between the ZR2 shackles and regular ones. I am going to do a bastard pack on my truck one day but I dont have the springs up here at school with me to do it. Right now would have been the perfect time lol. Oh well.

 

If you can't find any local to you I still have the stock set when I changed mine out a few years back. I'll let them go for the cost of shipping if you need them.

 

Sent you a PM

 

I took another look at it yesterday and I compared it to the good leaf spring shackle on the passenger side. Basically the shackle is so rusted that it collapsed and the leaf spring is sitting on the frame. Theres enough metal left to keep it from swaying from side to side though. I just called an auto shop and if I get the part they can do it for roughly $80 they said. I think I might do that instead cause I dont really feel like dealing with it. Ive heard from people that its a pain in the a$$.

 

So I ended up taking it somewhere. It only cost me $82 and some change and only took them an hour and a half. They were spot on with their quote and how long it would take. I bought the shackle from amazon. Its a dorman shackle, advanced auto wanted $50, i got it for $33 or so. I have a feeling ill need to replace the other one sooner than I wish, pretty rusted also.