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Old 07-16-2009, 04:26 PM   #21
HamRad
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2 Sinks,


Have taken one camping trip so far and can't really tell any difference in the ride quality.I greased all the bolts again the other day to check for proper grease flow and all seems ok so far.

I don't believe the shackles are designed to improve the ride quality. They are designed to simply hold the wheels to the frame.

KTManiac,
Thanks for the info re: brass vs bronze. I love that we can learn so much from this Forum.

HamRad
 
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Old 07-16-2009, 04:59 PM   #22
dsprik
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HamRad is absolutely correct. Ride quality difference is only noticeable when the old oem shackles fail...
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Old 07-17-2009, 02:42 AM   #23
2 Sinks
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KTManiac...Thanks for the clarification on the bronze sintered bushings.The EZ Flex kit did not meet my expectations and I feel I wasted aprox $200.00 and my labor to install.I could have fabricated the thicker shackle straps myself and bought a bulk piece of bushing stock and cut the bushings to length,the wet bolts are available at a local trailer supply company...Hind sight is always 2020.

Ham Rad...I know the shackles won't improve/smooth out the ride...however I installed the EZ Flex equalizers also and thought maybe just maybe they would smooth the ride out "slightly" but I can't feel any noticeable difference.I am going to fab some brackets & install 2 shocks per axle in the near future.

Dsprik...I've had shackles fail before and also a spring main leaf break while on the road in our previous sob...that was quite an experience.The repair was very inexpensive after I got my hands on the parts though.

As the old sayings go "You can't make a silk purse out of a sows ear" and "You can't change the stripes on a zebra"
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Old 07-17-2009, 05:12 AM   #24
blarkman
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You can buy the shocks and upper brackets from Mor/ryde and the lower shock plates from Dexter. Total cost about 250
bob
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Old 07-29-2009, 03:01 PM   #25
WorkerB
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The shackle kit arrived yesterday. I did the right side yesterday afternoon. It took about 2 1/2 hours and everything went smoothly. I did the left side this morning. The left side took 3 1/2 hours and there was a lot of binding and nothing lined up easily. Thanks all for the info and encouragement.
John
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Old 07-29-2009, 06:00 PM   #26
dsprik
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Good Job!
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Old 07-30-2009, 11:35 AM   #27
Tom S.
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Quote:
quote:Originally posted by WorkerB

The shackle kit arrived yesterday. I did the right side yesterday afternoon. It took about 2 1/2 hours and everything went smoothly. I did the left side this morning. The left side took 3 1/2 hours and there was a lot of binding and nothing lined up easily. Thanks all for the info and encouragement.
John
I started mine today. Got the right side done with no issues except the hole on one of the spring mounts is worn enough the serrations don't grab and keep the bolt from turning. I'm probably going to spot weld the bolt head to keep it from turning. I told the wife my side was done and she could borrow my tools for her side. That's probably why I'm eating McDonald's for diner right now.
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Old 07-30-2009, 11:45 AM   #28
Art-n-Marge
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That was funny, Tom S. You are lucky you got McD's. I'd be more worried about what else could be in it! LOL

btw - Love the new truck tires (and the exhaust snorkel). I'll bet the rubber on those don't go flat, because quite frankly, they ARE flat. Now if you could send a picture of the RV with the same track system, THAT would be phenomenal!
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Old 07-30-2009, 12:20 PM   #29
WorkerB
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Brave Man Tom!
Let us know how the left side goes. I spent almost as much time getting everything supported and the wheels off as it took to change the shackles. Be safe,
John
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Old 07-30-2009, 02:12 PM   #30
8.1al
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We installed the EZFlex equalizers and felt they were worth every penny.
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Old 07-30-2009, 04:28 PM   #31
HamRad
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John,

Do you feel safer now that you've got the HD shackles on the rig? Congratulations on getting it done. Sounds as if you had no major problems.

See you on down the road.

Dennis
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Old 07-30-2009, 05:08 PM   #32
WorkerB
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Dennis,
Everything went as expected. By that I mean there is ALWAYS one portion of the job that gives me fits. Situation normal ... When almost done the thunder started booming and it rained really hard for about 5 minutes. Just enough to run me in the house and get scolded for being all dirty and making a mess. The left side was worn 3 times more than the right side. With these new heavy duty shackles I will have to do some serious traveling to wear them out.
Later,
John
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Old 07-31-2009, 08:01 AM   #33
Tom S.
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I want to reiterate what another member posted about the wet bolts: MAKE SURE YOU TEST THEM BEFORE INSTALLING!!!! I had one in my set that the hole was drilled off center and did not meet the other hole. I could have greased that puppy until I was blue in the face and never would have gotten any grease through it. I am blessed in that I have both the tools and knowledge to fix stuff like this, but if I hadn't read here to check them, I never would have known until it came time to grease it and I couldn't get any grease in.

On another topic, the hubs with the center mounted grease fitting work great - but (there's always a but) the factory does not grease the bearings using it. Instead, they grease the bearings only and slap them in. Therefore, before you can get any grease to the front bearings, plan on pumping a whole bunch of grease into it. I took off the bearing cover so I could see what was going on. I pumped each one over 50 times (one was 70 something!) before grease started oozing out from the bearings. But when it did, it came out from between all the bearings, so I know it works as advertised. So if your dealer told you just to add a few pumps, don't believe him!

Lastly, those little rubber caps in the end of the axle are all that stands between your bearing and dirt, so make sure they are in good shape. For some reason, the centers on all of mine cracked.
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Old 07-31-2009, 08:19 AM   #34
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Tom, where exactly does the grease come out of your hub? Between the rear bearing and the seal or in the center of the hub so you have to fill the hub before grease gets to the inner and outer bearings? It's been a year since I hand packed my bearings but I thought the grease came out between the seal and inner bearing. For some reason I was thinking I would leave the void between the inner and outer bearings empty and a couple of slow pumps would lube the rear bearing forcing any excess into the center. I would hand pack the outers and not have to mess with replacing the seal. I think my memory is going! Thanks,
John
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Old 07-31-2009, 04:52 PM   #35
bwney
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We are 2 hours west of Denver (Kremmling) and I need to replace our shackles. I don't have all the tools to replace it here at the CG, so I checked on prices in Denver today.

Pick 1, said they had not replaced any shackles on RVs, but did it all the time on trucks. I asked for an estimate, and he said he couldn't give me one w/o looking at it the RV. That's 2 hrs there, and 2 back. For an estimate.

Pick 2 works on RVs and trucks. Manager said they had replaced plenty of worn shackles, and he would work up a price and call me.

His price:
Parts: $285
4 hrs labor at $85
Alignment: $100 per axle. $200
Total $825 plus tax

He said the alignment is needed because they remove the U-Bolts from the axles to replace the shackles.

Parts appears to be the same kit I see online for $149.99 plus shipping. It's the same part number.

I can go for the 4 hrs labor, but the markup on the kit and the alignment seem over the top. My tires are wearing fine, 3rd season on Michelin Ribs.

My wife says I'm cheap, but I'm going to shop some more prices.

Any opinions?






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Old 07-31-2009, 05:12 PM   #36
sreigle
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This is how the Dexter EZ-Lube is supposed to work. Looks like it should also grease the front bearing if it is working correctly.
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Old 07-31-2009, 05:14 PM   #37
bigmurf
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No need to remove U bolts and align axle just for shackles. Are they broken now? Where are you going next? Drive on someplace else.
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Old 07-31-2009, 05:17 PM   #38
WorkerB
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Brent,
My actual cost for the most expensive HD Shackle kit was $162.00 including tax and shipping was waived because I waited for the kit to come with the weekly shipment. I did not have to touch the U bolts. 4 hours labor seems OK. Nothing special was required to do the job. 4 jack stands, 2 6 ton bottle jacks, 1 #3 Phillips screwdriver to help line up the eye on the leaf spring. 13/16" socket with ratchet. 11/16" socket with breaker bar, hammer about 4-5 hours THAT'S IT. I did have an impact wrench but I could have easily done the job without it. Sorry to hear of your troubles. Best Regards,
John
On Edit I forgot to mention grease gun, grease and rags to clean up.
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Old 07-31-2009, 05:41 PM   #39
HamRad
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Bwney,

When we replaced our shackles we did not touch the U bolts. Don't know why they'd do it that way.

The parts are a little excessive but the labor sounds about as good as you will find now a days.

If your tires are wearing fine you certainly don't need the alignment.

If you can wait until you get somewhere you can do the job yourself that would be the best. Have you actually looked to see how badly the shackles are worn?

Good luck.

HamRad
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Old 08-01-2009, 12:35 AM   #40
Tom S.
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John,

Steve's picture says it all. At least on our trailer, there was grease on the bearings only, which meant to get grease from the rear bearings to the outer ones required a lot of pumping to fill the void between the two. Once this is done, greasing should go as planned with just a couple pumps.


Brant,

That guy is feeding you a line of BS to pad his bill. There is no reason to remove the U bolts, and I would bet dollars to donuts he wouldn't. He's probably going to charge you for greasing the muffler bearings too.
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