94 SR5 Mountaineer

I've been putting together a list of parts I need for the rear of my 94 pickup.
So far I have:
CS019 Med. Duty leafs
Bushing kits
U Bolts
Bushing sleeve
N94 shocks
My question is about what shackles to buy, I have searched multiple times but can't seem to find a good answer. The ARB application guide and other distributors don't even have a shackle listed as available for the 89-95 trucks. I'm sure I need new ones, mine are rusted due to years of road salt. I want the install to go as smoothly as possible, so what shackles does anyone recommend? Any help appreciated.

highonpottery

iTrader: (1)

your parts list looks complete to me for the rear. if i were to do the swap again, i would decide whether or not you will want a ubolt flip in the near future. if you do, buy that and install at same time to save $ on ubolts - otherwise nevermind. also, what are you planning to do up front?

if you install just the rear susp. you will have a VERY raked truck. that's how mine was before before leafs were broken in, and before i did the front lift. my shackles were in good condition, so i chose to keep the stock ones because i was worried about going too high initially. now that it's been a few years and they are broken in (and i've lifted the front), I find myself wanting about .5-1" more height in rear as it's pretty much perfectly level unloaded. after the leafs settled, i believe i gained around 2" lift from stock height. i mentioned the ubolt flip kit - that's if you wanna wheel and need more clearance underneath (also the OME ubolts are very long and may need to be trimmed) - also, i found the stock shocks as the limiters for down-travel, so i triangulated my shocks to get a little more.

stock shackles are 3.5", and for every 1" of additional shackle length you will gain .5" ride height....so like for me, i will go with a 5.5" shackle to gain 1". the nice thing about aftermarket shackles is that you can buy a pair once, and swap out the side plates if you want to adjust height, whereas the Toyota ones don't really come apart. Trail Gear sells individual parts, as do other vendors - or you can just drill some 3/8" steel to make your own plates.

so...decide how high you want your truck, then maybe buy a set of stock height shackles (3.5-4") for the break-in period and decide later on final ride height after the WOW factor wears off. i broke my leafs in faster by carrying heavy loads of dirt and rock.


just to add to your OME list - buy some front shocks and the steering stabilizer. doing this will make your ride significantly better as long as all the rest is in check (rod ends, BJs, idler arm, etc.)

good luck!

94 SR5 Mountaineer

Thanks for the info. These will definitely be stock height. I guess my real question is, can anyone point me toward a shackle to buy for use with OME rear leafs that will go on smoothly with no fitting issues and no extra parts? I know ones like trail-gear's only come in 5" or longer, so I'd have to drill new holes in them. there's also the OME shackles with the anti-inversion bar, which I can't seem to figure out why they are listed only for 84-88 trucks and not 89-95.

highonpottery

iTrader: (1)

All shackles will be same amount of work. Did you not search for vendors? 2sec of google showed at least half dozen vendors for shackles shorter than 5"

94 SR5 Mountaineer

Yes, done plenty of searching. Just looking for recommendations and trying to figure out what part number to order OME, if it exists. Their application guide isn't very clear as to what goes with which trucks. For example, there's a GS14 greasable shackle kit for 2005-12 trucks and a GS3 under the 79-85 section. Nothing for 3rd gen. pickups

Green93

I've been shopping around and I've pretty much decided to buy from rocky road outfitters. They've been very quick and helpful so far. On their site they list an anti-inversion shackle. I'm sure it's stock length. Prices look ok as well. I will be picking up the kit for my 93 truck. If you take a look let me know if their pricing is out of line from what you've found.

http://www.rocky-road.com