I recently purchased a set of shackles at autozone, the question I have is that the shackle consists of two pieces of metal that have no support in the middle. Should I have someone weld bar in the middle to provide additional support or do you think it'll be fine the way it is?

Thanks,
Jeff

 

Have someone weld it!

 

is there some kind of trick that is needed to get the bolts out of the old shackles because i got the nuts off but I couldn't figure out on how to get the bolts out on my 2001 2dr blazer

 

Yeah, a heavy hammer! You may have no choice but to burn them out with a torch and replace the spring bushings.

 

i was going to try to hammer it but there was a black box on the drivers side right where you have to hit it, i was going to remove it but they were labeled the same as the gas lines, so i wanted to see if someone said if its ok to remove it because im kind of new to doing stuff to my cars

 

Spray them down liberally with some PB Blaster or your choice of penetrant. Work the bolt with a wrench and get it good and loose. You may have to drop the shield for the gas tank down a couple of inches to get enough room to get the bolts out, that is, once you can get them to move.

The bolts can be a PITA but they are doable. Take a breather now and then to calm down, think things out and you'll get it done. You don't need to remove the fuel canister to get them out. Clamp down a vice grips on the bolt head tight and hammer on that instead. Much easier and less work.