North West Cruisers of Idaho: Tech: Front Shackle Hanger

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How to adjust the front shackle hanger for an improved ride and flex

Stock landcruiesrs have a very short shackle between the frame and spring. The distance between the bolts is less than three inches. The shackles restrict the amount of distance the spring can move forward and back. The shorter the shackle, the less the spring can move. A longer shackle would increase the potential for flex, but there's an obsticle to adding a longer shackle. The stock shackle angle on most cruisers is almost verticle, i.e. 90 degrees from the ground.
The ideal angle for a shackle is 45 degrees at ride height with the top tilted toward the spring. At 45 degrees, the shackle can move equal distances forward and back with extension and contraction of the spring. It also travels upward as the spring extends which softens the ride. At droop, when the spring contract, the shackle end attached to the spring also drops down below it's ride height, allowing for more droop.
When you change the height, you also change the angle of the shackle. Longer shackles than stock tilt the shackle in the wrong direction. To compensate, either the spring has to be lengthened, or the shackle hanger has to be moved. Not having a spring stretcher handy, I opted to move my shackle hangers.
The first step in moving the shackle hangers is to jack the vehicle up, suport it with jackstands from the frame, and remove the tires and shackles. Next, I dropped the axle to the ground to have some room to work. The shackle hangers are attached to the frame by two rivets and four welds. The bumper horn on the outside of the frame blocks access to the welds on that side. If you intend to keep the bumper horn, you will have to cut the hangers off, and replace them with new/used ones. I ordered a set of used hangers from SOR. They came with part of a frame still attached.

You can see two of the welds in this picture.

In this pictures, you can see the inside of the frame and the rivets.

I cut the heads off the rivets with and angle grinder, then knocked them through with a hammer and punch.

To remove my stock shackle hangers from the frame, I used a sawzall to cut the main seciont off the frame, then an angle grinder to remove everything else. This is all that was left.

The frame had quite a bit of weld left on it. I spend quit a bit of time grinding it smooth in prepairation for the new hangers.

There are several ways to attach the original style shackle hangers to change the angle of the shackle. The could be rotated 180 degres on the rivet holes, netting about six inches of change(not shown). They could be slid back one rivet hole, giving about two and a half inches of change.

I opted rotate mine 180 degrees, and mount them forward, which put me between the other two positions.

To maintain a correct alighnment, I dilled out the rivet holes to 3/8" and used a 5/8" dowel to keep the shackles square.

The shackles I used are six inches long with about five and a quarter inches between the bolt holes. The end result put me at a slightly steeper angle than I was noping for, a longer shackle could fix it.

You can see two of the welds in this picture.
In this pictures, you can see the inside of the frame and the rivets.
I cut the heads off the rivets with and angle grinder, then knocked them through with a hammer and punch.
To remove my stock shackle hangers from the frame, I used a sawzall to cut the main seciont off the frame, then an angle grinder to remove everything else. This is all that was left.
The frame had quite a bit of weld left on it. I spend quit a bit of time grinding it smooth in prepairation for the new hangers.
There are several ways to attach the original style shackle hangers to change the angle of the shackle. The could be rotated 180 degres on the rivet holes, netting about six inches of change(not shown). They could be slid back one rivet hole, giving about two and a half inches of change.
I opted rotate mine 180 degrees, and mount them forward, which put me between the other two positions.
To maintain a correct alighnment, I dilled out the rivet holes to 3/8" and used a 5/8" dowel to keep the shackles square.
The shackles I used are six inches long with about five and a quarter inches between the bolt holes. The end result put me at a slightly steeper angle than I was noping for, a longer shackle could fix it.