Front shackle reversal

[pitracer1]

i have a 87 grand wagoneer with a front soa lift. was wondering has anyone done a shackle reversal and what does it take to do one? any info or pics would be helpful. thanks.

[dajeeps]

welcome to the fourm.if you use the search,you will find what your looking for and them some.

[Stuka]

There are people here who have done it. WHat is your reasoning for wanting to do it? There are a few advantages to having the shackle in back, however there are also some big downsides.

[El_Diablo]

such as?

[billyj7175]

such as?

Pros: Softer ride, tighter turning radius, a larger approach angle.

Cons: Changing pinion angle (usually) requires a cardon joint and a longer slip yoke, with the softer ride comes a tendency to "nose dive" when braking/descending steep hills.

[pitracer1]

i looking in to doing this because i keep bending main springs and just recently broke a spring. and was curious to know if this could be done.

[fulsizjeep]

I am not familiar with how this one was done but we love the way it flexes. The front drive shaft is a longer than stock and also has longer travel in the yoke.

http://jubileejeeps.org/tech/soaluna

[El_Diablo]

biggest off road aid is that on a ledge the axle will tuck under instead of trying to push out.... i would imagine that would help more than the negative effects of going down hill

[billyj7175]

biggest off road aid is that on a ledge the axle will tuck under instead of trying to push out.... i would imagine that would help more than the negative effects of going down hill

My only experience with that kind of setup was I had a buddy who ran a shackle reversal on a Samurai (w/YJ springs) that was setup for serious rockcrawling, which is a complete different vehicle and/or intention. He felt as though he lost traction on the front end. His explanation was that when encountering a bump (rock/ledge), the axle will swing rearward, which does allow a more natural flow to absorb the bump, but since it's putting less downforce on the tire, traction is reduced. I'm no engineer, but I did see that in play as he couldn't climb obstacles that he could clear before the shackle reversal.

He had a hard time getting the axle positioned far enough forward to keep the tires from stuffing into the aft part of the fenderwells, not to mention he went through three different front driveshaft configurations before he got it right. After attempting to modify the stock one to work, he just called up Tom Woods' and shelled out the money for a 'good' driveshaft setup.

[J20 project]

The front suspension is meant to push into the obstruction, not away from it as stated above.

One of the basic purposes of the Hotchkiss front end that our Jeeps have been patterned after.
Search for some Hotchkiss suspension stuff on the net. Goes back to the 40's or earlier I believe.
J20 project

[jtr]

i looking in to doing this because i keep bending main springs and just recently broke a spring. and was curious to know if this could be done.

This is because there is more leverage on your springs being spring over. Your Jeep is heavy.

[pitracer1]

Thanks guys,your info has been very helpful. now i just need to figure out which direction i want to go.

[Stuka]

Yeah, most of what was stated above is spot on, except for the turning radius bit. No clue how that would change.

You will certainly need a drive shaft with a lot more compression, or you risk breaking the t-case when the axle compresses. And if you slam the brakes, the front end will nose dive, which drives me nuts personally.

To help prevent bending front springs, switch to a double military wrap spring. Which will basically double the strength of the main leaf.

[El_Diablo]

it really is to bad that nobody makes a mil wrap stock replacement

[rustywagoneers_com]

biggest off road aid is that on a ledge the axle will tuck under instead of trying to push out.... i would imagine that would help more than the negative effects of going down hill

Not sure if I am reading you correctly here. With the shackle in back, as the front axle droops, it moves forward - hence the need for the longer slip in the driveshaft. (Which, IMHO - is the only serious downside to shackle in back). Under compression - the axle would have a tendency to move backward some - depending on the amount of arch in the springs to start with.

When you drive up against a ledge, and load up against it, the shackle in the back rig will tend (from what I have seen, anyway) to let that wheel climb up and forward over the ledge, and then bring the rest of the truck with it.

Maybe we are using different words to say the same thing, but I cannot quite tell.

Anyway, all the other factors aside - the only real downside (as I already stated) to ME, as far as shackle-in-back goes, is the necessity of a longer-slip driveshaft.