My truck's in for some warranty work on the tranny and i mentioned them look at my rear end for a howl... they wont even touch the rear end b/c of the shackles... no driveshaft no rear diff. no nothing... its shimmed and everything so pinion angle is right on. my dealer is pretty cool about mods too... i just hope they dont try to charge me for labor for whatever they started doing and found the shackles. i will be PISSED.

 

I'd find another dealer.

 

Should've taken them off first.

 

yeah in hindsight that would have been a good idea. i mentioned it and just asked what caused the howl, but knowing my service guy they looked at it anyway, and they started tearing it apart. found the shackles and told me that they wouldnt work on it. U joints were worn and the rear diff was as well. even though it was shimmed they're saying the pinion angle was still off by a couple degrees, enough for them not to cover it. SO, after they tore it apart they said they'd cover me under the warranty for the rear end, but the driveshaft that needed to be replaced was on my dime. so, $560 later, the shackles are coming off. ****.

 

Sorry to hear that man. I think I've made up my mind on the shackles now.

 

yea no shackles for me. =(

 

That sucks

 

Sorry for your pain, but thanks for sharing.

Guess I'll scratch that future mod.

 

I find it hard to believe shackles would have that big of an impact on the wear of your rear-end components, unless there was some sort of noticeable "vibe" after installation. Heck, if you normally carry around any kind of modest load in your bed you'd change the pinion angle by at least that much!

 

so do i. no vibes, no low speed rumbles, just the howl which was there before the shackles. ddellwo i hear ya on the load carrying but i guess its just another one of the many reasons ford dealerships like to void warrantys shackles come off friday. and if it doesnt ride as smooth as silk im gonna be ticked.

 

So, does that mean that a full lowering kit could potentially cause the same problem?

Damn... Has anyone else had this problem with the shackles?

 

I personally think they're blowing smoke up your ***, but that's just me since "Ford dealerships like to void warranties."

I'd want proof if they think that 2" shackles contributed to the failure. If the pinion angle really was off "by a couple degrees," the truck would be unbearable to drive it'd vibrate so bad.

 

Doesnt the dealership have to proof the modification caused the failure and not just speculate?

 

quintin, how would i get proof without sounding like a ****head though? lol i can understand where they are coming from, but i'd think that if there was that much wear to where it had to be replaced within 10,000 miles of the shackles i'd notice a little more than some whining going down the highway. i dont know. but now he's "being a nice guy" and covering my trans and rear end and "making me a deal" by having me pay the $560 for the driveshaft. and according to him the shackles were one of the reasons that my trans was F*ed.

vader, the proof was apparently the u joints on the driveshaft that were worn... but again, i'd think i would have felt SOMETHING if it was wearing that quickly.

to tell you the truth, i really didnt see much of a difference with the shackles on my truck anyways, so what the heck, ill take em off, ride around stock, and next time a problem pops up i'm making the SOB fix it, no questions asked.

 

I have had my 2" shackles on for 16,000 miles now, and no problems. I am getting ready to go with the 3" shackles. I guess I'll just have to remove them before going in If I ever need to. I also think it is a bull**** reason, but, they are the ones with the power!! I would call Ford Program Headquarters and see what they say....