Shackles/pivot...

Hi folks. LONG post coming... I've been looking at shackle issue threads and replies here before repeating something others might have posted. No luck, so here's my situation and question. Please bear with me as I post the back story. I purchased replacement leaf springs due to broken leafs (leaves?) on both sides- two on the left, one on the right, discovered while doing pre-winter maintenance and after doing the front suspension (replaced worn front left tie rods, both side upper ball joints with torn boots, sway bar links, and struts). I thought I had a tired spring front left, because the truck with only 318,000 miles on it started leaning that way, and I live in the mountains and dirt/rocky roads, 7 miles to pavement. Sway bar link was gone... not just broken, but somehow completely escaped to freedom. The strut sagging likely wasn't the problem, after all. The right rear spring shackle was frozen in downward position, thus lifting that corner and torquing the entire suspension (beside not pivoting as it should). Getting the old bolts out was mostly the horror flick others have mentioned, but I got them out without a torch. Luckily, the driver's side tapped out relatively easily, lucky since the front end would have been a pain with the gas tank tucked in right there. The right side proved to be another situation entirely. I had to use the angle grinder to cut out the bolt on front, since pounding with a variety of hammers, from 3 pound to 8 (limited swing, but more mass), a new 1/2" air impact driver, and newer yet air impact hammer wouldn't budge it. The nut came off pretty easily, but was destroyed as the sacrificial wider surface to pound on. The bolt in the bushing sleeve chose to resist every attempt. The breaker bar with 4' of schedule 40 iron pipe fitted nicely to extend leverage did get the whole thing to move, but it was stuck in permanent bond to the sleeve. The angle grinder with cutoff wheel did the trick (cut the inside first, if you don't want to be under the truck resting on jack stands), and new bolts arrived yesterday, November 27. The lower rear bolt at the shackle is a different situation, thus my post here. That bolt also broke loose with the 4' breaker bar rig, after getting the nut off. I did get it out by spraying and pounding. The TOP is the potential problem at this point, before reassembling. The shackle has a grease fitting top bolt (both sides), which I lube every year just before winter. Regardless, it was as mentioned, stuck in the vertical position, not budging either forward or back. That might have been what broke the leaf in the spring, but I don't know. It definitely was what made the truck lean left. I've forced grease into it repeatedly over a few days, to the point I discarded maybe a half pint of grease that came out through both ends over time. I pounded it forward with the 3 pound hammer, then back again with the same tool. I've done this a couple of dozen times, but it's still difficult to pivot by hand. The inner is easy enough to move by hand. It doesn't swing freely like some youtube videos show while guys are replacing springs, but I figured (as I did the left side) that the grease in the pivot point might make it less than completely free. Even the easier inner side can be pivoted, but stays in place once hands off. I've not only greased the difficult outer/right from the fitting, but sprayed different types of penetrating oil at the bushing. It takes a hammer or difficult manual by-hand effort to swing the outer shackle bar. Now, to the question: Does anyone think the weight of the truck will further loosen it to where it actually works (pivots), or should I replace it now, before another spring or sway bar link opposite corner be damaged? At every turn of this job, I'm buying and waiting for new parts. No one around here has Toyota parts (or even hardened metric bolts), so I'm buying them online. This great old truck that has never required any major work for over 8 years is my main ride, and it's out of service now for two weeks. My Samurai is a great little truck, but underpowered to go the 40 miles each way to town on the highway. New shackle is an easy answer, and a broken new leaf spring if that happens would be a drag. But if anyone has lubed the living tar out of a tight pivot point and had it work again, I'd love to hear about it. I'll be waiting for parts again otherwise. Thanks in advance for any replies, and thanks for reading this long post.

 

I for one appreciate the long post. I had been thinking about replacing all leaf spring bushings, but now I'm having second thoughts. I'm not sure if there is a difference between your 1996 and my 1998 model, and I would hate to have the problems you experienced. I'll hafta check to see if there is room to put a box-end wrench on the nut and a rachet on the bolt for each position.

My bushings have 110,000 miles on them and I would really like to hear from others who have replaced the bushings in their leaf springs.

 

If you're spending the coin on the new leaf springs, you should just get a new shackle and upper bushings as well. No reason to do any of that twice if you have everything apart.

From what I recall though, the stock shackles have the bolt pressed into one plate. Are you mixing this up for not pivoting? I'm not quite sure what you think is not pivoting, or rotating freely, but if anything is seized, you should address it.

I'll add this: Don't torque the stock shackle bolts until the truck is on the ground. If you have aftermarket leaf bushings or shackles, the stock torque specs are invalid.

@skeezix The rear hanger bushings are super easy to replace. The bushings in the leaf springs are slightly harder- but if you have a press or a means by which to press them out, they aren't terrible. By far the most difficult part would be removing the forward bolt, as they can seize as described by the OP. But soaking them in pb blaster for a week ahead of time should help a considerable amount.

 

Thanks. When I did the front suspension, I wasn't aware the leaf springs had broken parts. When I started doing the rear, I wasn't aware the shackle was frozen solid until disassembled. I greased it repeatedly over the course of over a week, and sprayed bushing to housing points as well with penetrating oil of different types. The inner arm moves easily be hand, and the outer is still very stiff. I can move it by tapping with a 3 pound hammer. It's still very stiff. The new 14mm spring bolts came in today, and I installed the spring. The truck still sits high on the right rear. I bounced on the rear bumper with the shock still disconnected, trying to have the weight loosen things up, which changed nothing, The truck sits high on that corner, and the shackle angle is less, so still keeping the spring at a different pressure. Ordering the new shackles tomorrow. It wasn't the cost that kept me from making the purchase, and I'll know better next time.

 

skeezix, I'd think if the bolts come out more easily than mine did, the job should be okay.

 

Steve, I'm not sure what you mean by "inner arm".

From what Andy01DblCabTacoma had to say, I'm also now not sure I want to tackle removing the bushings when the springs are just hanging loose on the truck, and I'm not too keen about the leaf pack either.

Hope you get everything back together and running okay.

 

Depending on the age of your leaf springs, you can just replace them.. it's more coin, but most will have new bushings in them.

 

@ Skeezix, and Andy01DblCabTacoma, I had two broken leaves on left side, one on right. I replaced my springs last week, and am now waiting for the new shackles to arrive. The shackle set on the right side of the truck was stuck solid, and not pivoting at all. I greased it repeatedly, and broke it loose, but it's very stiff, especially the outer one. I have to pound it forward or back with a hammer for it to move, unless it's in one specific position, when I can wrestle with it to pivot it less than couple of inches. It's supposed to pivot forward and back as the spring flexes, as the length changes from it's resting deflection due to load or bumps in the road... the spring moves all the time in normal operation. What I mean by "inner arm" is that the stock shackles have the upper bolt holding them on the truck via the bracket welded to the frame, and two separate arms reaching down toward the spring and 14mm bolt which holds the spring in place. They're independent arms, as far as I can tell (and photos in the listing for the new set I ordered shows the inner and outer as separate pieces). Lift shackles have a stiffener welded between the two, making them one piece, plus the bolts. I'm going with stock height shackles, so there's an inner and outer on each side of the truck. The shackles have been free of the springs and weight of either the truck or rear axle when I changed springs, so getting everything off except the upper bolts has been done, so won't be a big deal to do again (plus I put anti-sieze on the shafts of the bolts, so they won't stick again). If the upper bolts are as stuck to the bushing sleeves as the lowers were, I'll be cutting them off with the angle grinder instead of pissing with them again. ...I honestly didn't know most of the bolts would be impossible to remove, or I would have ordered all new parts to begin with and cut them off, instead of dragging this job out over a couple of weeks waiting for more parts. ...almost done.

 

....thanks for your input/suggestions.

 

I think 1998 was when the more standard and readily available aftermarket leaf packs started being made. Or something to that effect. Or would it be affect? Hate to that one.

For instance, the J59 leaf packs from Deaver that I installed onto my 2001 would also fit your 1998, I believe. And I completely agree with replacing upper shackle bushings as well when installing new leaf packs. I went with new OEM rubber bushings for the upper shackles, and the springs themselves came with poly bushings. No complaints or issues, other than normal poly bushing noise from time to time. It can be remedied a few ways.

 

I think it would help you to introduce some more commonly used terms for what you're referring to.

The leaf spring is attached to the frame via spring hangers- forward/front and rear.
In this case, (the front of a leaf spring truck can be different) the forward end of the leaf spring is fixed to the frame, and rear is supported with a shackle.

The shackle, is just that. It's not generally referred to as inner or outer components. It just so happens that Toyota designed the stock shackles with one side of the shackle with the pressed in pins. Most shackles are not that way. Nor is it true that "lift shackles" have center support cross member. They certainly can, but that's not universally true. I have 1.5" lift shackles which are just two plates.

What's surprising to me, is that your rear hanger was seized. Those bushings are just rubber. I don't believe there are metal sleeves involved, but it's been a real long time since I've had stock shackles. But I do know that when I removed my stock bushings recently, rear hanger bushings where just rubber. Given the design of the stock shackles, there is a specific torque spec, so maybe yours were over torqued?. I can't imagine that the shackle pin could get stuck in the rubber bushing alone... I know you've had issues, so something is amiss. I hope you got new rear hanger bushings to go with the new shackles.