1975 J10 Rear shackles

[RussellS]

Ok im doing a skyjacker 4 inch lift on my 1975 jeep J10 and the rear shackles are not coming off. I have used pickle forks a sledge and a darn crow bar. Is there any way to take the shackles and spring out together with out haveing to cut the whole thing off of the truck? Im pretty sure the bushings have welded to the darn post.

[RussellS]

Ok well i still havent got the rear springs off my truck but i did get the bed off woot woot lol. Any one got any type of suggestion on getting them off ive already tried every thing sept cutting them off which the pas side will def need done since it wont come off at either end.

The driver side on the other hand came off the post which is nice i just got to either drill out the rear shackle mount and mount it back up with grade 8 bolts or weld the sob in and bolt it up. If anyone have any ideas ill listen im just at a stand still really till i can get them off.

[threepiece]

I made a puller attachment for my hydraulic jack unit (portapower). If you don't have a hydraulic unit you could use some threaded rod, I would recomend a 7/8-14 or 1-14 thread.
Dan

[Tad]

Post mount rear suspensions can be a real bear to remove after 30 some years. Mine were so frozen to the posts I had to remove the spring and shackle as a unit.
I did this with two jaw type pullers, one on each post. It probably took the good portion of a day with the driver side bushings finally seperating from the bushing and the inner portion of the bushings still fused to the post. From there I was able to clean off some rubber, find the seam and beat the heck out of it with an air chisel. It involved lots of PB Blaster and chiseling in both directions (clockwise and counterclockwise, back and forth), eventually it started to slip and seperate.

Hope yours come off a bit easier than that.

[cocurtiss]

Spray some lube in there!

[RussellS]

Well i got the front part off of the truck guys but what sucks is i just found out the sky jacker 4" lift kit i bought doesnt fit my truck at all in the rear. So now i have to figure out what will happen if i put my rear springs under the frame or ill have to basicly get a machine shop make the posts smaller.

So now im going to have to either learn how to weld or if any of yall are in the state of washington I'd be willing to compensate the person in food beer and some cash.

Oh and the metal bushing was rusted to the post so bad i had to cut the front part of the rear spring off of the post with a grinder so basicly i cant use the stock springs now lol.

Oh and if i have to mount the rear under the frame what all will i need to complete this project?

[threepiece]

Originally Posted by RussellS

Well i got the front part off of the truck guys but what sucks is i just found out the sky jacker 4" lift kit i bought doesnt fit my truck at all in the rear. So now i have to figure out what will happen if i put my rear springs under the frame or ill have to basicly get a machine shop make the posts smaller.

So now im going to have to either learn how to weld or if any of yall are in the state of washington I'd be willing to compensate the person in food beer and some cash.

Oh and the metal bushing was rusted to the post so bad i had to cut the front part of the rear spring off of the post with a grinder so basicly i cant use the stock springs now lol.

Oh and if i have to mount the rear under the frame what all will i need to complete this project?

Why are you considering putting the rear springs under the frame?

[Tad]

Originally Posted by RussellS

Well i got the front part off of the truck guys but what sucks is i just found out the sky jacker 4" lift kit i bought doesnt fit my truck at all in the rear. So now i have to figure out what will happen if i put my rear springs under the frame or ill have to basicly get a machine shop make the posts smaller....

74-75 are the odd years for rear springs.
Moving the rear springs under the frame is done by folks to match the lift from a front SOA, it's actually a little higher than the 76+ shackle flip, so I'm guessing about 6.5" with stock springs. Use 4" lift springs to do it and you can see where the math is headed.
I also don't think it's wise to have the post made smaller, you would have to take them to 9/16", might not even be able to get them that small and I don't think they will support the rig that way.

If the lift springs match the length of your old springs you should be able to find a spring shop and just have them replace the bushings to match the size of your existing posts.

[HellCreek]

Some lift kit companies won't tell you or don't know that the 1974-75 rear springs are different, since the front springs are the same. We and BJ's are the only ones I know that stock rear springs for those years.

As for removal, Tad's solution is about the only one I know that will work without destroying the posts. Use with lots of PB Blaster and lots of patience.

-Tom

[dajeeps]

i had the same issue on the 73 crewcab.i sprayed it with pb blaster then pounded the shackle up and down with a dead blow hammer.untill it was moving freely.
as for the hellcreek suspension lift it did give at least 4'' s of lift

[RussellS]

Well i know if your carefull with a grinder you can get the front part of the rear springs off that way. Now the rear parts will be a diff story lol.

But do yall know how much it will cost to get the bushings pressed out and new ones pressed in? I'm on a really short budget now that i got most of the parts to restore this rig, and make it a offroad/onroad truck.

[Tad]

Do you have a local spring shop?
Prices vary with location and population. Where I live (GMA =500K) I have several to choose from. I do my own bushings for the most part but IIRC I paid about $6-7 per bushing and $40 labor, that's with me taking apart the spring pack, dropping off and picking them up. Probably 10-11 years ago.

[RussellS]

I dont know if theres one around i never really looked. I guess ill have to get on google and start looking along with useing the yellow pages i guess.

So basicly i have to take the spring pack apart and take the one leaf with the loop to the shop for them to press a new bushing in?

[Tad]

You don't have to take them apart but they are a lot easier to move around that way.

[HellCreek]

Tad,

What bushing did you use for the 1 inch post mount on the 1974-75 rear springs? I am curious because I have not found a rubber bushing that will fit a 1 inch post and the 2 inch spring eye found on the 1976 + rear springs. The 1 inch post mount bushing that we use has a 1-3/4 inch outside diameter.

-Tom

[Tad]

Tom,
I have (well, what used to be) a 1970 wagoneer, 7/8" posts.
Now I think on my '72 J2000 I had a 1" post and a 7/8" post in the rear. I saved the posts and the springs when I trashed that project, but I'll have to double check that when I get home from the shop. If I am remembering that correctly I'll try to get a number off of them, I may even have the reciept for the bushings, they came from Az Spring here in Tucson.

Originally Posted by HellCreek

Tad,

What bushing did you use for the 1 inch post mount on the 1974-75 rear springs? I am curious because I have not found a rubber bushing that will fit a 1 inch post and the 2 inch spring eye found on the 1976 + rear springs. The 1 inch post mount bushing that we use has a 1-3/4 inch outside diameter.

-Tom

[RussellS]

Oh i got another question the driver side shackle finaly came off yesterday but the post now moves when i use something that can move it like a big rubber oil filter wrench. Is that normal or will i have to weld the sob back together?

[HellCreek]

That would make sense, since the 7/8" post mount bushings have a 1-1/2" O.D. Some of the later model rear springs used a RB-145 anchor bushing (the same as a CJ rear anchor bushing), which also has a 1-1/2" O.D. but a 9/16" I.D., so they would be a direct replacement. Most spring manufacturers, like us, don't use the RB-145s on the FSJ rear springs, because the RB-153 bushings (the ones with the 2" O.D.) are softer riding and offer more flex, due to the additional rubber.

-Tom

Originally Posted by Tad

Tom,
I have (well, what used to be) a 1970 wagoneer, 7/8" posts.
Now I think on my '72 J2000 I had a 1" post and a 7/8" post in the rear. I saved the posts and the springs when I trashed that project, but I'll have to double check that when I get home from the shop. If I am remembering that correctly I'll try to get a number off of them, I may even have the reciept for the bushings, they came from Az Spring here in Tucson.

[Tad]

Tom,
You are correct (I think we had this conversation a few years back) it's a 1" ID and 1 3/4" OD, not much rubber there at all. I'm sure you remember this, it's the pic of the bushing when I did that. It's a GM main spring I used for the shackle flip.



RussellS,
No the post moving is not normal, it should be very secure. We've found that in the early years for rear post mount JTrucks some were just riveted to the frame, on my 72 J2000 the post extended through the frame and was welded on the back side.



You can see the welds there and I would think your '75 would be welded like that also. Now, why it's moving is of some concern.
A: Is it moving the entire post and bracket?
B: Or is just the post moving and the bracket stays still?

If it's A, I think you could secure it by replacing the rivets with grade 8 bolts and rewelding the back side.
If it's B, I'd want to be real sure of it's integrity, possibly find a replacement. I'm not sure about welding in that area, there's a lot of stress/force happening there even just sitting, much less bouncing around with weight in it.

[HellCreek]

"Tom,
You are correct (I think we had this conversation a few years back) it's a 1" ID and 1 3/4" OD, not much rubber there at all. I'm sure you remember this, it's the pic of the bushing when I did that. It's a GM main spring I used for the shackle flip."

Tad,

I do remember some of that. The eyes of some 3/4 ton rear Chevy springs use a RB-136 bushing, which is the same dimensions as the RB-117s used in the 1/2 Ton Chevy rear springs, except that the RB-136s are 1-3/4" O.D. The only problem using 3/4 Ton Chevy rear springs is that they are 56" long eye-to-eye, and FSJ rear springs, using a 1" post mount, are either 52" or 57".

-Tom