YJ shackles

[Goesman]

When you in stall spring shackles how tight to do you make them. My 95 has a 4 in lift with stock shackles I'm guessing. I have removed the track bars and the sway bar and I still can not get any suspension flex at all. If I get a front tire on say a rock 8 inches tall the jeep stops in it tracks in four wheel drive. It will spin one back tire and one front tire. This is on level ground trying to pull up on a rock I have in the yard. One more thing I am going to try is backing off the shackles bolts to see if who ever lifted this thing went crazy and over tightened the bushings down and it just binding up. If that is the problem, just how tight are you suppose to tighten them down.

Thanks for the help.

 

[Goesman]

Update: loosened up the shackle bolts. It took a big breaker with all I got to break them loose. Backed them off a few turns and bam now it gets the front tire up a good 18 inches before it lifts a rear tire. Who ever did the lift on this jeep must of used the largest impact they could find and hammered down any and all bolts as tight as they could possibly go. That's my luck.

 

[Chief Hof]

Evening Goesman, I'm just seeing this post...you might want to re-visit this, unless already sorted out...

The shackle-to-spring bushings should have a sleeve installed that the bushings ride on which also prevents over-torquing. Is it not there?
Regardless, the torque value with stock bushings (including the sleeve) is 95 ft-lbs. I'd also consider swapping the upper bushing as well. That thing is looking rough.

Shackle-to-spring OEM bushings:

https://www.quadratec.com/p/crown-automotive/rt21048-shackle-kit-wrangler-yj

The frame-to-spring bushings are a cartridge design that may need a vise to install...might want to check those also. They're torqued to 105 ft-lbs:

https://www.quadratec.com/products/56001_01.htm

I'd stay away from polyurethane, not only will you flex better with rubber, but your fillings won't rattle loose...(speaking from experience on this point). Once you get all your bushings sorted you'll notice quite the difference in ride and handling (relatively speaking for a YJ on the latter of the two)

 

[Goesman]

Thanks for the tip on the urethane bushings. I couldn't tell you if they have sleeves in them. I am going to grab some new shackles and bushings in the very near future. I have had my eye on the boomerang shackles.

 

[machoheadgames]

I'm not sure what's going on here....it really shouldn't matter too much what the torque of the bolts is, because the shackle plates clamp the sleeve and the sleeve rotates inside the bushings as the spring flexes. Something must have been seized or something. As the shackle pivots, the sleeve should stay tight and in the same position with the shackle plates and not move at all, while the spring bushings rotate around the sleeve. But, with stock bushings, the sleeve is molded to the rubber which is a full assembly pressed into the springs. So in stock form, the rubber bushings twist anytime the suspension is at non stock height. Which is fine, but not very smooth and sometimes the bushings disintegrate over time from dealing with that twist.

I run poly bushings on mine and I really like them. With a good grease they are super fluid and smooth as the suspension moves.

I have to imagine you have bolt sleeves in place because it would be pretty much impossible to get the bolt that tight otherwise. So not really sure what the deal is.

 

[Chief Hof]

Understood and agreed on rotation of the bushing relative to the sleeve during suspension articulation. For the bolt torque specs, I was going by the FSM, so there's validity to establishing the recommended torque. If the sleeve is missing it would allow for excessive compression of the bushing 'flanges' between the shackle plates and spring due to over torquing which, depending on how tight the bolts are, could result in binding.

 

[Gilaguy23]

Here's what Im thinking. You have non stock springs and bushings. Those poly bushings have a thicker shoulder than the OEM ones. The OEM shackles which you have use a stepped bolt thru them. That no matter how tight the nut is it only squeezes to the bolts shoulder. Throw in the wider poly bushings,smash the poly bushing and you get no ease of movement at the shackles. If you switch shackles they use a straight bolt which makes it easy to mash the chit outta the bushings. They come with nylocks so snug them up to where you can spin the bolt still in the shackle and you should be good to go.