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western chasis lowering shackles!

  #1  
Old 11-17-2002, 09:02 PM
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Angry western chasis lowering shackles!

Did a bunch of mods on my buddies truck as you can see and even the western chasis lowerng shackles could suck a big one too.

I had to grind the sleve down cause it was like 3/8+ of an inch wider then a stock shackles and there was no way in hell they where going to fit. I even compared them to my bell techs and they where wider too.

What experiences have you guys had with them? These where the ones from JDM that jeff bought. Just a note to JDM, you might want to get ride of those and buy some bell techs cause they look better and they fit way better too! I had no problems with mine on the install. These western chasis ones took me like 1.5 hours to install! grind, check fit, grind, check fit, grind check fit, grind check fit.

Don't waste your money guys, buy the bell techs if your going to get drop shackles. I got them to work, but it was a pain.



Hopefully all jeff's new mods are going to be easy to do. Look out IL there's going to be a red 02 with some go go fast goodies on her kicking a$$ and taking names.

6lb lower
PSP 2 way chip
PSP fast air and filter kit
Denso IT22's
bassani cat back

and thats just the first stage of this truck thats going to happen pretty soon.
 
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Old 11-17-2002, 09:09 PM
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Angry

Same here!
 
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Old 11-17-2002, 09:14 PM
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Re: western chasis lowering shackles!

I have the Western Chassis shackles and hangers on ther rear of mine. Ordered them from Sport Truck Direct in AZ. They slid right in...were the same width as the stock shackles. Plus the hangers are more "beefy" than the Belltech ones.
 
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Old 11-17-2002, 09:58 PM
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Got my Western Chassis shackles on without a problem also.
 
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Old 11-17-2002, 11:54 PM
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Mine fit great as well, Maybe you didnt get the bushings put in far enough?
 
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Old 11-17-2002, 11:57 PM
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Joe, the EXACT same thing happened to me! Su*ked, but I haven't had any problems with them except for the PIA install..

Chris..
 
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Old 11-18-2002, 02:50 PM
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Yeah, I had to grind mine down too. There was no way they would fit otherwise. I've had them on for over 8 months so far with no problems.

-NGK
 
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Old 11-18-2002, 09:14 PM
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I just installed the western chasis 3/5 drop kit on mine and the only problem i had was removing the rivets in the front hangers. That was a beach.
 
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Old 11-21-2002, 11:19 AM
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I keep hearing about the nightmare removing the hangers.
I'm going to do mine this weekend and have no sophisicated tools.
I was planning on grinding the heads off the rivets and somehow pounding the rivets out.
I don't have an air hammer or anything, should I pull the bed off first to have some room to pound the things out? Or can I rig something using C-clamps or something?

Any help or suggestions will be GREATLY appreciated!
Steve
 
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Old 11-21-2002, 02:39 PM
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Hey Steven C, if you dont have any air tools, just hand tools, I would definitely recommend removing the bed to give you some access. Otherwise you will have no way to get enough clearance to hammer out the rivets. (Big Sledge Hammer needed) Believe me....they are in there...even after you cut the heads off! Just take your time, the hangers are a little tough...not real hard, just takes some time. And watch out for your fuel lines behind the drivers side frame railing...dont want to bend or smash those. A good air hammer with alot of different bits makes this job cake! If you can, I would try to borrow one.

-Mark.
 

Last edited by The Orphaner; 11-21-2002 at 02:42 PM.
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Old 11-22-2002, 10:39 AM
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Thanks for the info!
A friend of mine has most the stuff I'll need except the air hammer. He has the compressor and all the jacks, stands and tools.
I got under the truck and decided I really didn't want to remove the bed if at all possible.
I'm going to a discount tool place at lunch to get an air hammer. How much should I expect to pay for an air hammer strong enough to knock the eight rivets out?
I think I saw an air tool set at Costco, I'm not sure of the quality or if it includes an air hammer.

Steve
 


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