mine looked loose then i tried to tighten them and they broke they were wore down in the middle, just couldnt see it cause it was in the bushing itself. but you could tell mine where bad just looking at them. there shouldnt be any slack at all with them, atleast i dont think so.

 

Hmm, I see. The rubber looks okay on the bushings, and the bolt isn't rusted at all. I am going to assume they are good and tight for now. When I jack the truck up to put in the shocks, I'll play with the steering components and try to tighten the stabilizer bar more.

Updates and maybe some pics coming soon.

 

Okay, it's been a minute since I posted anything up here, but I finally got the shocks into the truck.

I'm glad to say the difference is amazing! The Monro Reflex shocks are really stiff and the ride does seem a little bit bumpy at times, but compared to how it used to feel, I love it. Way better handling, MUCH less roll and braking dive.

I also tried to see how hard it would be to take the shackles off...

I was using a Milwaukee 18v impact wrench, and it took the nut off with ease, but could not get the bolt to spin. I'm talking about the bolt that holds the shackle to the leaf springs. I can't believe that it is that rusted, though rust was raining from the underbody when I ran the impact on the frozen bolt.

Any ideas how I could get that damn bolt out of there? Think Rost-Off or some penetrating fluid could do it?

The swap meet is next weekend and I hope to find wheels with less offset there

 

In the end I had to mess around with penetrating oil, an impact wrench, and a breaker bar but I eventually got the shackles off and put the new ones in. I think the truck looks awesome now, with the wider black wheels and 2" front and rear lift. I'll post a before and after tomorrow.

 

Finally the before and after!!!!!!!

Thanks for the tips and suggestions everybody threw out here! I'm stoked with how it looks, and with the steering work and wider stance, it handles 500% better!

Now to redo the brakes...cake compared to the steering work

 

looks good brother, job well done.

now you just need to get some wider flaps for her!