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Thread: Shackles and Hangers

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    El Capitan
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    Shackles and Hangers

    I think I'm missing something. How does lowering a truck with shackles and hangers throw off the rear end geometry. The only problem I can think of would be pinion angle, and that can be adjusted with shims if need be. I going to be lowering my truck pretty soon and just want cover all the bases before I make the purchase.

    I know everyone recommends the TVS, even people that don't have it, but it is not low enough for me. And I don't want to buy parts from 10 different places or have to cut up brand new parts to get my truck down to where I want it. I've pretty much made up my mind what I'm going to get, I just want to know what I'm missing about shackles and hangers besides being a pain in the azz.

    Sorry for the long post. Any help would be appreciated.

    Rusty
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    From my limited knowledge: shackles should be an easy install. Hangers will require removing rivets which is PITA part. Best of luck!

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    Hangers are by far the "cheaper" route, over the price of Hotchkis lowering springs, but be prepared to drink a lot of beer and cuss during the install.

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    the good news is the hanger on a ford truck are easier to install than on other truck due to how close the gas tanks sits to the frame (chevy puts there's right up to the frame!!!!) And the bad news is all hangers are still a PITA!

    Dealing with your throwing out the rear geometry question, i had both on my last 2 trucks and never had a vibration so i dont' think it was. To me, if you do both, you have a lowered truck and your geometry is pretty well back to stock since you brung down the front and rear of the spring. Good luck!

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    my vote is 100% DONT DO HANGERS!!!! lol

    definately not worth the HUGEEEEE PITA of swapping out hangers to save a few bucks. many guys have posted up horror stories of their own about hangers, many of them taking 6-8 hours just to swap the friggin hangers out many end up having to take the whole bed off just to make it easier to grind and air chisel the rivits off. for ALL that ridiculous work, and not improving the handling of the truck nearly at all, other than lower center of gravity, its a waste in my personal opinion.


    if the TVS isnt low enough for you, there's a VERY easy fix to get more drop out back...throw a set of shackles on it, and you can add an additional 1" and be even with a shackle/hanger combo, or put it on the 2" setting and be sitting an inch lower than the shackle/hanger combo would allow. and also improve the handling and ride of the truck at the same time, and a million times easier to install than hangers.

    dont get me wrong there's nothing wrong with doing shackles and hangers, but for a few more bucks, its WELL worth it to do leafs & then add shackles if you still want it even lower, and you'll also get better handling and ride at the same time, as opposed to doing hangers

    then to recoop the costs of leafs a bit, you can always sell them to somebody with a regular f150 since it will drop their truck an additional inch


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    I just had the Belltech drop hangars installed since I too could not get the desired look or drop with the JLP drop shackles I used to have and as well felt that the TVS system wasn't low enough. The drop hangars were a big job - probably 6 hours - but I definetely got the look I was looking for.
    However the ride is now only good until I hit a certain type of bump which causes a bottoming out. I thought perhaps my Bilstiens were the problem and had shock extenders installed today. Unfortunately there appears to be no change in this condition. I do give some of the blame to my 22" rubber which is of a significantly lower profile than my original 20" Goodyears. As far as geometry change is concerned, yes the pinion needs shimming since the driveshaft doesn't align perfectly to the rear differential and under hard acceleration and with a few of us in the truck I do get vibration ( the Belltech kit included 6 degree shims which by the way is NOT enough and it appears that I am going to have to get someone to custom make me 7 - 8 degree shims since no one seems to carry them and because it is not recommended that one stacks shims ).
    That aside,I believe there is a geometry change in the spring itself since the belltech drop hangar causes the spring to have more of a "plowing profile" since it causes the front part of the spring to be attached to the frame higher up. I believe that this causes the spring to be more sensitive to certain types of bumps. From this point it seems that the only solution to the bottoming out that I'm experiencing, given that I want to retain the existing look or drop, is to have a c - frame installed which will give the rear axle about 2" more travel / clearance.
    I am doing the research as we speak.
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    wow you have alot of mods ^^^ any pics of that beast?

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    Thanks for the information. I keep changing my mind about what I want to do. Is the vibration due to the fact that you've got a lot more horsepower than stock, or will it be the same with a stock motor? I think a c notch is almost mandatory with that much drop, especially if you do any towing, so I would probably do that anyway. I'll probably change my mind a few more times before I make the purchase after the first of the year. Thanks again for the info.

    Rusty

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    Here are a couple.
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    Another
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    Another...
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    And lastly.
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    Last edited by got_an_SRT?; 12-01-2005 at 06:44 PM.

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    Rusty,

    I believe that horsepower may have something to do with it, but in the end it is always most efficient and therefore best when the driveshaft is perfectly aligned with the differential. As well it would place the least amount of strain on the universal joint.
    I haven't checked to see if the alignment of the u joint gets worse when I have more people / weight in the truck although the vibration seems to be more noticeable.

    The bottom line is I want the look and will therefore look to fix the bottoming out. That being said, I generally don't do the work myself but find it most efficient to hire someone to do it.

    Terry

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