Wheels on the ground (with pictures added) - Montana Owners Club

stiles watson · 02-14-2009, 03:33 AM

All facets of the shackle/wet bolt job are complete. For those with the OEM MOR/ryde (re) who may be inspecting your units, the easiest way to spot whether you are getting wear is to look at the "Z" bracket where the shackle bolt goes through. If that bolt hole isn't nice and round, but elongated, the bolts are also wearing. I will post some pictures a bit later. I had worn nylon bushings on both sides. There was some elongation of the bolt holes in the shackles, but they looked better than I had feared.

An interesting comment came from the MOR/ryde Service Tech. In response to the pictures I sent him, he said, "Thanks for the great pictures. Unfortunately, they are not something we haven't seen before." That tells you that the shackle issues or even the delamination problems are not unique to my unit, but rather fairly common in all brands of RV that use the thin shackles with the nylon bushings, whether with the MOR/ryde (RE) or any other type of equalizer.

While I don't fancy myself as an expert, I am experienced with shackle replacement. I have now done three since March 2007, one on my previous unit with a standard equalizer, one on Charlie's rig at the Rally in Goshen with the Dexter shock absorbing equalizer, and now on the MOR/ryde (RE) equipped rig I have.

If you have over 10,000 miles on your rig, and have not seen any issue with the shackles, that's great. Just remember, most of the time the wear is not easily observable, bolt heads and nuts cover the wear. Worn out nylon bushing will never be seen just by looking at the outside. Whatever you do, be safe. Feel free to post, PM, or email me should you need any info I have.

Fire5er · 02-14-2009, 03:45 AM

Stiles,
How much did they want to have the job done at the dealer, and how much did it cost you? I have been thinking about put the wet bolt kit on, but we only have 3600 miles on so far. In 5 years we will be retiring in 5 years and want to have the job done before then because the plan is to start to part time then. Can't wait to see your pictures of the job. Thanks for the info.

capn chris · 02-14-2009, 03:50 AM

Stiles,
Were your replacement shackles thicker than OEM, too?

HamRad · 02-14-2009, 04:42 AM

Stiles,

We're happy to hear you've got your wheels back on the ground. Now you're ready to roll.

For anyone interested in seeing the old vs the new.......

While my photos are a few years old they do show a good comparison between the OEM vs the Dexter Heavy Duty ones. You can also see the elongated holes and destroyed bushings. Just visit my PictureTrail link and click on the album that shows the shackles and tank leak.

We've only replaced one set so far so Stiles has much more experience. He also has the varied experiences of having changed out different systems.

Bottom line is that if you have 20 K or more and have never checked your shackles you should do so at once! These things do wear out. And they are absolutely critical in keeping your wheels on the ground and rolling like they should.

Dennis

Pete Hanson · 02-14-2009, 05:12 AM

Stiles, thanks for your post. I have ordered the Dexter E-Z Flex equalizers to put on my 2002 2955RL this Spring. Assuming the snow will melt at some point around here. I'm hoping the job will go relatively smooth and I won't have to worry about shackles for awhile.

capn chris · 02-14-2009, 05:16 AM

Pete,
I'd look very closely at your shackles. I did both last spring on my '05. We did have a lot of miles on it, but if you're doing equalizer, do shackles at the same time?!! Just my thoughts.

stiles watson · 02-14-2009, 06:02 AM

Try this slide show of Shackles and Brackets. When viewing, it takes a minute for the pictures to get clear, so be patient. Second, at the bottom, you can slow down the pace of the frame change.

Fire5er, I can't answer about dealer labor charges. I am 600 miles from my dealer and I don't trust the guy that is 60 miles away as far as I can throw his building. Additionally, he is slower than winterized molasses and has no appreciation for full timer's issues.

Unless you run into some unique problem (like my broken spring bracket requiring welding), with the right tools and a helper, the job can be completed in one day. I would charge at least $300 labor with the owner helping me.

The MOR/ryde wet bolt kit from MOR/ryde runs a little over $200. A year ago, it was $105. I do recommend purchasing the kit from MOR/ryde. The wet bolts and shackles are the heavy duty parts that come from Dexter.

The MOR/ryde kit includes "Z" brackets that have been modified for wet bolts, heavy duty shackles, wet bolts & nuts, and all the other nuts and bolts to do the job of changing out the "Z" brackets.

Pete Hanson · 02-14-2009, 08:05 AM

Chris.....I guess my wording should have been more complete. I have purchased the whole kit that contains the equalizer and shackles. I'm hoping to get under the rig and do the surgery in a few weeks.

Pete

Fire5er · 02-14-2009, 11:22 AM

Stiles,
Thanks for the great pictures and info.

twindman · 02-14-2009, 05:20 PM

Do you have to remove the bolts, etc to check for wear? Or is it visible just by crawling under and looking??
Thanks
p.s. I have put on something like 35000 miles in three years, so it would seem they may be wearing....

HamRad · 02-14-2009, 06:13 PM

Twindman,

You do not have to necessarily remove the bolts but you must have a good light source and be within inches of the bolt. Even then the wear can be difficult to see. Unless you have mechanical experience along these lines you will probably be best served by removing the bolt to actually see the shackle holes.

For instance..... My brother (who is a mechanic) looked at mine. He said they were definitely wearing but I could make another 6 K on them as they were. So after we returned from our trip we changed out the shackles. They were definitely ready to be changed. One was almost worn completely through.

With the new stuff on the rig I feel much safer.

Montana was supposed to be putting a stronger shackle on. But even these are not as heavy duty as are the Dexters.

Check them out before you take another trip just to be safe.

HamRad

stiles watson · 02-15-2009, 02:01 AM

I might lose, but I would bet that if you have 35,000 miles on your rig, you have worn out nylon bushings and significant wear on the shackles. Being able to inspect them w/o removing a nut would only work with the OEM MOR/ryde (RE) equipped unit. Then with a flashlight, you could inspect the inside of the "Z" bracket where the shackle bolt goes through. Otherwise, you will need to at least loosen the nut on the shackle bolt at the spring eyes to look behind it.

sreigle · 03-09-2009, 02:35 PM

Stiles, if I may take advantage of your post to open this topic, here's a picture of how I figured out we had a shackle problem. This was on our prior Montana, a 2003 model. I didn't even have to undo a bolt or nut to see we had a problem. (Thanks, Stiles, I think this is a dangerous problems overlooked or unsuspected in many cases.)

Not always will a shackle problem show up this easily. Here's what others have found. Some were obvious without disassembly, some not. These are just the pictures I happened to still have.

Gruffy -

drhowell -

azstar -

HamRad · 03-09-2009, 04:01 PM

Steve,

Wow! I am really surprised that you didn't end up having a major problem. Sure glad you caught it before you had a serious problem.

Dennis

sreigle · 03-10-2009, 08:48 AM

The first picture was of ours, the others were from other members. Somewhere I have the pictures you sent, too.

The only reason I caught ours that early is because of this forum. After reading all the problems I went out and checked. The first picture is what I found. That was on the prior Montana. So, when we replaced axles on this Montana, that was the perfect time to have the wet bolts installed. There was no additional labor since they had to remove the old ones while replacing the axles. We replaced the springs as well as the axles. No sense going to the heavier axles but using the lighter springs, which was an option. We also went with the heavier tubes for the axles, the external tubes. Apparently the 7k axles have two different tubes. The lighter ones are the same as on the 6k axles.

rames14 · 03-14-2009, 05:38 PM

Are the Mor Ryde wet bolts available as a factory option? With our new Big Sky on order, it would be a good time to have them installed at little additional labor.

You may also like: