Hi,

New to the site, love the info.

My 84 Suburban needs new rear and front leaf/shackle bushings. I am looking at Energy Suspension, but I got conficting info on the eye install. One party said take out the whole bushing, another said leave the shell for the new bushings.

Any tips on remove/install process with the leaf eye/shackle is appreciated.

Also, how do I tell which rear shackle bushing size is on the car? The repalcement kits come with 1/2 or 3/8 inch diameter bushings. I use this vehicle every day, and need to order before removal. Hard to get a tape measure in the bracket area. Any suggestions?

Thanks a lot

Dewjam

I removed the steel sleeves when I did mine. It was a PITA!!! After I got it done I thought to myself...Why didn't I just leave those things in? If I had to do it again I think I would just round over the edges of the sleeves w/ a die grinder and stick in the new ones. You might have to remove some material off the bushings to get that to work.

To remove the bushing:
-Drill out all the rubber in the bushing and remove the center sleeve
-To remove the outter sleeve cut a slice in it (in a place where if you go to deep it won't weaken the spring) and than drive it out.

Hi,

Thanks for the reply.

Do you know if Energy Suspension or the other makers have a definite recommendation? Will the new poly-Urethane bushing set right in the eye without the shell? Is the eye exactly round enough/uniform to work properly w/o slippage.

I am asking every question I can before teardown. I have to keep this truck on the road.

By the way, what ignition timing do you run? I tried to re-curve, but something is wrong with the way the weights fit--Just doesn't seem right. I did it like the instructions and pictures, but I know something is wrong. My vac advance bellows-spring may be weakening too.

I plan to hook my super accurate vac gauge in line with the vac advance to the distributor, and compare vacuum and rpm ranges. I can also mico adjust the vacuum level via a cutoff valve to get just vac advance numbers.

My total advance seems way small--like less than 20 degrees.

Any suggestions?

Thanks,

DeWayne