Replacing shackles

[wildcard]

I know this topic has been discussed before. Is there an easy way to do this replacment? Can it be accomplished by jacking up frame, and leaving wheels on? I'm sure with all the expertice on this board someone has this information.

[Montana_1988]

Not a difficult job but I think it would be easier with the wheels off.
Here's a suggestion:

Place a jack under the frame and jack it up enough to take the slack of of the springs but not necessarily lift the tire off the ground.

Place a jackstand under the frame and use a piece of wood on top of the jackstand. The piece of wood is to keep the pressure even on the frame, otherwise some jackstands have a tendency to place the load on the outer edges of the frame.

Once the jackstand is in place, lower the weight on it and remove the jack.

Place the jack under the axle and lift it enough to remove the tire. Once the tire is off, lower the axle and let it hang on the springs. All the weight is now resting on the jackstand and the remaining tire.

You are now free to remove the shackles for that one wheel. I would keep the jack under the axle to support the weight of the axle when the shackle is removed. It's easier if you only remove one set of shackles at a time. I.E., one end of the spring then the other end of the spring.

Once you're done with the one wheel, put it back on and remove the other wheel and repeat the process. Once you're done with the one side, repeat the process on the other side.

After I bought my 5er I upgraded the suspension to the Center Point air ride. I did it just as I described above except I had to support the entire weight of one side of the RV on the jackstand due to both tires being removed. Was real easy. Almost a year later I installed new axles. Again, I did it as described above except I was supporting both sides of the frame with jackstands but still only removing the tires from one axle at a time.

If you're going to go to the trouble of replacing the shackles, I would highly recommend replacing the nylon sleeves with brass sleeves, along with new greaseable bolts. Place the brass sleeves in the freezer for about half an hour before you begin the task. After you remove a nylon sleeves, take a brass sleeve from the freezer, lubricate the eye of the spring with a light oil such as WD-40, and tap the brass sleeve into the spring.

Dale

[azstar]

Hi Lynn,
Go to Members and look up HAMRAD. Find one of His old posts. At the end of His posts you'll see "picture trail". If you click there it will take you to some pics. He has there when He did His.

This is also they way I did mine. When the Rig is sitting as shown in the pic. take a single jack with a 4x4 or steel beam long enough to jack both axles at the same time to take load off the equalizer. Remove the top equalizer bolt and your ready to change out everything from there.

As Dale said, not to tough.

Wish you well,