Failed shackles
 

I was in the mud out in Azusa Canyon climbing out of it when my buddy pointed out the fact that my bed was riding 1" above the wheels and not rubbing.
both rear shackles wore out and collapsed the springs.
https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.yot...dcc860a81f.jpg
So I broke out the 2" lift shackles I bought before I bought new Pro-Comp 5" lift springs last year to try and use the old springs a while longer but, that didn't work out too well because the right rear spring ended up bending itself backwards and flopped down like a wet noodle.
https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.yot...9d454f2d7d.jpg
I'm changing the front shackles now, it is the hard part but, I'm making progress.

Shackles are on and I'm inside the house with medicated pain relief lotion on the back, neck and shoulders. Those new bolt nuts for the new shackles have special locking feature that makes putting them on as much fun as being skinned to the waist during the Spanish Inquisition.
https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.yot...b9e3cb6103.jpg

Two words: Air Tools.

I have a nice & powerful Snap-On impact gun but, I do not have a 28 or 29 mm socket, which ever size the new bolts and nuts were, I'm a power/pneumatic tool fool but, the Energy Suspension polyurethane bushings appeared to be 1 or 2 mm smaller than the new shackle bolts were big.
I used an adjustable wrench because I don't have a regular spanner the correct size either.
It'll be a while before I have to remove them so I'm not too worried about next time.

they all wallow out the bolt holes like that... there can also be issues with the nuts coming loose, which 4crawler addressed by welding stops on the sides of the shackle arms.

if you drive the vehicle a lot, the only real fix is a set of davez no death wobble shackles.

they use metal tubes between the shackle arms, and when you tighten down the nuts, it locks the shackle arms to the tubes.

so you have what amounts to a metal square, that rotates against the urethane(or rubber), it's not metal-to-metal, like in your pic.

The new shackles I have on the rig now will stay there until either we put the Chevy springs in or link her but, money doesn't want to play nice now and I can't afford that stuff yet.
Need some people to die and leave me money even though I am not in their will.

lol, i'm with you on the money thing!

i probably bought three sets of shackles and bushings, and i even welded the stops on one set, all for naught, it all wore out in short order.

the problem with the davez shackles is that they are a royal pain in the a** to install, pushing the tube through the bushings really sucks.

Totally understood, putting these large diameter bolts through the polyurethane bushings wasn't happening, they had to be screwed in and being my tool selection for such large fasteners is lacking to say the least the chore was a drag. That's why they will stay there until hell freezes over again.

https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.yot...967dde0d77.jpg
With the shackles being as large as they are and the Pro-Comp springs being a bit on the short side, it is plainly apparent I need new springs up front so next week I am ordering a set to do rears up front and finally have the front suspension done proper.
My budget build worked for less than a year before I started breaking stuff so now she is on her way to being built proper with a much larger budget so when I break stuff next time, it'll be glorious and extremely memorable. 😋

This looks good and it feels good but, tomorrow we will know if it works as good as it looks.
https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.yot...137de778ff.jpg

https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.yot...9a6ce249ba.jpg
The truck feels good off road, much smoother than she was and the steering is one finger no matter where she is.
I'm happy with how she works and even more happy with how she looks dirty.
https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.yot...db348cecbe.jpg