BAMF HD Shackle hangers

@SilverSurfer is there any chance you could tell me a brief order of attack for this project in terms of what areas of the truck are on stands vs floor jack? Is the axle constantly supported with a floor jack? Or does it just hang unweighted? Thanks for any advice you can lend!

 

Remove spare tire.
Jack up the rear.
Chock the front.
Parking break off.
Jack up the rear axle and support with jack stands.
Unbolt the leaf spring shackles from the hanger.
Lower axle and jack stands to give your self room to work.
Watch your ABS harness and brake lines.
Go to town…

 

Very much appreciated good sir!

 

Install really wasnt too bad. Now we've got the beef.

 

Looks great! What was your rivet removal method?

 

I cut the hangers off then cut all the rivet heads off. Pry off remainder of the hanger. Grind rivet down to frame then centerpunch center and drill a divot with around a 3/16 drill bit. Air hammer for horizontal and ball joint press for vertical ones. Finish it off with a cold beer.

 

I’m on the fence but >-< close to ordering a set for my truck.

 

What are you hung up on? If its the install I wouldnt worry too much, as long as your comfortable with a grinder I think you could do it in a day.

 

Just procrastinating really. My cutting skills are alight and I think those rivets will be more of a PITA than rivets on an aircraft. Smaller rivers are east, grind and pop off the head then punch the back out. Sounds like these are much tougher lol.

 

Id definitely buy an air hammer if you dont have one. With my method taking out the rivets only took about 20 min per side.

 

Great work!

 

Placed my order this morning!

Question, is there a reason people don’t grind the center of the head out then pop the heads off then punch them out? Are the rivets just too big for that to work or just using a grinding wheel easier?
That’s what I would do on aircraft when drilling rivets out but they were probably 1/2 to 1/4 the size of those on the frame.

 

This is the process that @GHOST SHIP outlines and it honestly seems like the best way to go

 

I’ve since started using a cheap ball joint press for the rivets under the frame and it’s faster and easier than drilling them out. Still grind them flat, but just use the press to pop them out. The x-member sometimes absorbs some of the shock from hammering so they tend to be tougher to just pop out with the center punch. The two upper rivets come out just fine using the drill and punch technique. I haven’t timed myself lately but I know I can get these installed way faster than most quoted times using this method, but my experience has a lot to do with that too.

 

Thanks for sharing that.

It seems pretty straight forward. I checked and a few autozones near me have some presses that should work along with the master spacer sets.

My goal is to keep the oem shackle (like the rest of the oem take offs I have) since you never know if you’ll need it.

Thanks for the extra advice.

 

Few questions while I wait. Any recommended grinder wheels or drill bits for those rivets.

With the expected added droop, should I consider extended brake lines or possibly limit straps? I know right now with my lift the are ok if I get a wheel off the ground but I’m not sure how much give it’ll have left.

I’ve got the Ironman Foam cells in the rear with their lower weight rated leaf pack, giving me about 2” lift back there.

 

These hangers keep stock geometry, I don't think you'll experience any additional droop. But extended brake lines aren't a bad idea regardless

 

Thin cut-off wheels are a better approach than a thicker grinding wheel. If you want the easiest way to drill out the rivets, get cobalt bits. They’re made for metal and will stay sharper longer compared to all purpose drill bits. They’re usually a bit more expensive but worth it to keep in your toolbox for other projects.
I usually recommend extended brake lines in the rear for anyone with even a moderate lift. IMO extended fronts are usually not as important especially if you plan on keeping the sway bar.

 

You will gain articulation when changing out the shackle. You can get "more droop" by just swapping out the stock shackles.

 

Thanks!

Thanks, I’ll make sure to grab some. I was looking at a good set of cobalt bits, since the cheapo I have now only work for non metal stuff. I’ll also grab the cut off wheels too.
Yeah, I’m keeping the sway bar, thanks for the opinions.
I was eyeing the extend brake lines since they're on sale too so I might just have to get them to be sure.

Ahh ok, I misunderstood what I read. Good to know. Reading is the east part… comprehension is where things get tricky