Ok, heres the deal,
This weekend we are doing shackle reversal on my rig, the question is how far down do I have to space the front spring hanger from the frame horn? I want to have good caster without having to use shims, but at the same time I do not want my rig to look like a big green stink bug! (rear way up in the air)
The kicker is that I bought Old Man Emu springs front and rear. The rear have more lift than the front, so the rig will sit level (This is how OME corrects the factory rake of the stock cruiser.. ie so it will sit level) Front springs have a 30mm lift and the rear have a 65mm lift ( 1.25"front 2.50"rear)
I was thinking around 1" spacer under the front hanger with the rear shackle hanger tube in the frame rail aprox 1" from bottom of frame.
Has anybody done this with OME springs before? and yes I did an extensive search on the subject before posting!!

Thanks,

-Scott

My old roommate just welded the stock spring hanger directly to the frame horn and he didn't have any problems with it not sitting level. He did recess the the rear shackle mount into the frame rail though. He was also using stock springs. But if I remember right, he did make some custom axle perches that might have raised him up a hair. HTH

I had better add that my rig is not going to be spring over,and I am going to move the front hanger 1.50" forward.

-Scott

An inch sounds about right. Tack it and see. Get an angle finder and measure your castor. Adjust as needed.

Hey Cruzilla what did you end up doing with your shackle reversal did you use a 1" spacer or did you end up using a bigger spacer?

You would either have to cut and remount your spring perches or space the front hanger down as you describe to get the caster correct. Spacing the front hangers down kind of defeats the main purpose of a shackle reversal in getting the best approach angle. Any other purported benefit is not worth all the trouble in my view.

I'm going to be into this soon as well, I'm going from spring over back to spring under for a variety of reasons.
I have the standard shackle reversal with hole in frame and stock hanger in front.
when adjusting for castor, a few extra degrees positive is pretty damn nice all around, what the pinion will be like , with a stock housing,(mines rotated, another thing to change), whether it'll be pointing too far down , I don't really know.
I'm going to use 60 series rears all around(already have em in back) so the shackle hanger will have to be moved, likely with a stock hanger beneath the frame.
may just go to non reversed shackle setup as well, as other than dangly front shackles, it's a pretty overrated modification.
want to end up with clearance for 33's and not much else, so that's the big factor in what I do with my hangers and mounts.
cheers,
ryan

So does a shackle reversal help with anything other than approach angle :confused: I was under the impression that it would help the handling on road (dual purpose cruiser)
TAT

I ended up spacing the front hanger down 1" and 1.5" forward, keep in mind this is for Old Man Emu springs front and rear.
If I had to do it again, I would not weld in a bushing mount threw the frame for the shackels, my shackels are 6" long center to center 8.5" total length :eek: ! I feel the best way would be to leave the rear hangers alone and use a set of chevy shackels ( they have a open and a narrower closed end) and put the narrow end in the stock rear spring mount, get a new set of rear mounts (or make new ones outa 1/4" square tubing) and mount them 1" down and 1.5" forward for the front. You may have to make your own custom length chevy type shackels to get the rite lift, but I think stock length will be real close.
I feel the 1" down is fairly important for a SU rig, this helps in giving you more room between the bump stop and the top of the axle, shackel reversal changes the geometry of the spring and as a result it makes the axle closer to the frame in a SU rig!
I still had to use a 2.5 degree shim to correct caster but the Cruiser handels much better now, does not get pushed around by high winds or follow ruts in the road, it also preforms better on washbord dirt roads. The only bad side is the nose dips when braking hard, but thats really not to bad . Also you need to get a longer slip yoke on your front driveline or it will seperate at max articulation.

Good luck!

-Scott

So you gotta any pics of your pig since the SR if so please e-mail me, what degree of shims are avaible and would it be a good idea to use the stock hangers from the front in the rear ?

Thanks

Yes you can use the stock hangers, what kind of pic's are you looking for?

I would like some pics of your hangers (front & rear) and how it sits

Thanks Cruzilla :D

Can anyone show some pics of a shackle reversal with SOA lift :confused: really want to get everything right the first time and still be funtional :D

I will try to send you some pic's this weekend, I will need your E-mail to do so.


-scott

My SOA and shackle reversal, prior to adding power steering. I did not lengthen the front of the frame I did flip the front springs end for end.

http://myweb.cableone.net/reaves/cruiser/SOAfront.jpg

Ken, what kind of springs are those? Are you going to have Todd cut and turn your knuckles?

Stock springs, I took apart the packs, wire wheeled them and painted. My front drive shaft is pretty long. I welded the perches with about 4-5 degrees of caster. I will only cut and turn if this doesn't work out but it shouldn't be a problem, I am lower than most 4" lift springs.

So you must have flatend out the spring pack keepers and drilled and stuffed bolts threw them, not bad idea!

These are OME

Originally posted by cruzila
These are OME

Do you ever have problems with you pinion pointing down when the "hinge" shackles opens up?

my only question is...is that tie wrap holding your tierod together...:D :D

Uh, yeah, isn't that how you're supposed to do it? I did beef it up a bit, I went with 2 tie wraps.