Un-necessary worry - shackels - Montana Owners Club

BandJ · 07-09-2005, 01:08 AM

I have read a number of articles in this forum pertaining to the " Shackels ". I am not a mechanic. I am not sure what looks OK, or what looks bad..

I went under my RV and looked at th bolts and shackels. I did not see anything that semed unusual. There appeared to be no wear. I could not see that the shackels had moved. The shackels were thick and the bolt tight. What I did see was a lot of Rust.......

What exactly am I looking for.

hodag · 07-09-2005, 01:59 AM

BandJ, i am working on that project now. the bolts that hold the springs to the frame are not that much of a problem but are not greaseable. the group of bolts and metal shackle links are the problem. thats the triangle piece between the 2 sets of springs. being dry bolts and the movement there the links wear at the spot where the bolt goes through. holes will get eggshaped and wear throught the link. if you understand what i,m saying you can eyeball or measure the bolthead to end of link to check for wear. the closer the bolthead to end of link, the more eggshaped the bolt hole in the link. WEAR and TROUBLE ahead.

HamRad · 07-09-2005, 02:07 AM

BandJ,
If you go to the "PictureTrail" link in my signature block and click on the album labeled "Shackles" you'll see what it is you should be looking for. The wear is VERY hard to see while the shackles are in place. But if you look very closely you CAN see when they start to wear. Of course once they are removed any damaged ones can easily be recognized as you can see by the pictures. I'm not the only one who has posted some pictures. There are several very good examples.

If you have under 20K miles on the rig then you probably don't have anything to worry about. Over that number and you really should check them regularly of if you don't feel comfortable doing it have a mechanic take a look. If you know what you are looking for the wear is easy to spot. By the way... my brother is the mechanic in the family. I just hand him the tools.

Good luck and safe travels....

HamRad

Paul Severson · 07-11-2005, 07:06 AM

Where did you obtain your new parts?

Montana_738 · 07-11-2005, 10:46 AM

Paulseverson,
You can buy the shackles direct from Dexter, they are in Indiana. Make sure you measure the equalizer from one hole to the other, There are two different sizes they carry, they will ask this question when you place your order. I think my cost was about $120.00. I don't have the number handy but if you go to google and type in Dexter Shackles you will get the number there.

Bill

hodag · 07-11-2005, 03:18 PM

if you are thinking of replacing with original equipment, check rvsurplus.com. you can get bolts with grease fittings on them from these people....and just about anything else you want.

HamRad · 07-11-2005, 04:13 PM

I thought I'd posted an answer regarding where I got my replacement shackles but I don't see anything! I guess CRS is really taking over!

We got the replacement kit for the shackles from a local trailer/brake shop. Cost was about $150.

HamRad

sreigle · 07-11-2005, 05:56 PM

As already noted, often the problem is not visible just by observation. We did have one that clearly was bad and could seen just by looking. We had about 25k or maybe 30k miles on it when this picture was taken. If you have a newer Montana with the Dexter axles yours may be less prone to this problem. When we took the factory tour back in May the shackles they were installing looked to be much stronger than those on our 2003 model.

Here is what ours looked like. You might be able to remove the nut and see if yours has any damage. Somewhere in the axle manual is info on torquing these nuts. I understand they should be retorqued occasionally but haven't done that yet on ours. Ours were replaced a couple of months ago.

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