Installed JLP's 4" rear drop shackels today. I followed all the directions, fliped the shims around, etc. When I take off and the weight of the truck shifts back, it sounds like the end of the leafs are hitting the bottom of the bed. I stuck my finger back there to check the clearence and it feel like about a fingers width of clearence. What do I need to do/adjust to stop this?

 

when I got my HD F150, it was already dropped using shackles and I bottomed out a lot. It had a 3-inch adjustable shackle and was at its LOWEST setting. So I raised it and the problem went away.

I also switched the urethane bumpstops to a thinner one.

 

if its touching you will be able to see some kind of wear or scratches where the shackle is touching.. I have the same shackles and no problem I bet its the small seam from the bed that hangs down a little bit and its hitting the bolt/nut from the shackle/leaf

 

It's not touching. There is just always noise involved whenever you start messing with the suspension. You just have to live with it now.

 

maybe you got the bolts to tight on the leaf and the hanger... Your not supposed to tighten the **** out of them

 

I tightened them, but not the **** out of them. It definitely sounds like the leafs hitting the bottom of the bed. I'll mess with the bolts, loosen and tighten again and see if it works.

 

Did the JLP 4" shackle really give you a true 4" drop?

 

i have them too and it's true there's not much clearance between the shackle and the bed. it's NOT hitting there but there's a chance that the bolt IS hitting. mine was very close to a piece of the bed that hangs down so i just bent that piece away from the bolt in case it ever DID hit. with the longer shackles i think there's more chance for movement side-to-side. i think a panhard bar install is a good idea with the long shackles. jmo, any thoughts?

 

I think it's more like a true 3" drop. All I know is it leveled my '04 out perfectly. I measured from the lip of my rims to the wheel well on the front and back. The front measured about 9 1/2" and just under 10" in the back. So that's less than a 1/2" difference in the back. It looks great! Just wish I could figure out what's making the noise. I think I'm going to try loosening the shackel bolts up some.

 

Did you have any sounds with yours? It's only when I step on the gas and I don't hear it all the time. Do you think it could be that my shackel bolts are too tight?

 

I may try hitting that bed piece out of the way. It doesn't clear the bolt on the driver side so I may bang it out of the way to see if that's the problem.

 

gbgary,

Did it feel really wierd to you too when you installed the shackels? I guess I got used to the *** being up in the air. Now it feels Really low in the back. It will take some time getting use to I guess.

It feels like the rear end is a little more solid now. I think it handles a bit better as well.

 

Hey, I have a 04 SuperCrew and with 2" shackles I had the same problem! You do need to "bend"(Beat) over the little 1" "tab" that hangs down from the bottom of your bed. Its that simple. I used a pair of vise-grips and then a small mallet to get the tabs over all the way. BTW, It may be easier with the wheels off the truck! Good luck.

 

Just finished lowering the rear of my 03 L

Rear spring hangers have been on for a year now with no problems.
Just installed Western hangers to the front or rear springs.
Bit bit of a PITA to grind off rivets otherwise easy job.
Installed Metco track-link at same time.

Problem;

Metco link brackets will not bolt into Western brackets.
So a bit of modding and welding has resulted in a one piece
Western - Metco marriage to make a complete unit.

Whole job took no more than 6-7 hours including mods & fast drying paint job too. done with jack and blocks, no 4 point lift.
Truck looks nice and low at back end.
When engine is installed will adjust set up, shim axle for pitch and trim bump stops etc.

 

I'll try it today! I think that may be the possible cause. Thanks guys I'll let you know.