67-72 Pickup Rear Leaf Springs Questions...

[71biggreenk10]

This past weekend I replaced the rear leaf spring shackle hangers with the ORD Shackle Reverse Kit. Overall it wasn't a very difficult task, however it did take me a few hours to finish. My question is to the guys that have done this kit in the past and how they liked it. I notice that the rear axle is sitting quite a bit farther forward in the wheel well, and it looks a bit awkward. I have the Zero Rate 1" leaf spring block, that will allow me to reposition the axle 1" farther back if I wanted, however I'm not sure this will be far enough back to make it look right. and I am waiting on the actual shackle to arive in the mail before I take the 6" lift blocks out. (basically the whole point in putting in the shackle reverse kit, nobody wants axle wrap). The leaf springs I have on the truck are the 52" springs, and measure 26" from leaf eyelet to centering pin, on both sides. Replacing the springs to the 56" variety won't really solve the problem, as they still measure 26" from the pin to the front eyelet, and 30" to the rear eyelet. but if I replaced the leafs with the ones out of a 95-2000 Tahoe, they measure 27" both infront of and behind the axle, and have a lower load capability, which should soften the ride as well. Has anyone done this? how has it turned out for you??

[drunkbus]

What if you flipped the 56" springs around so the 30" section is towards the front. That would place your axle further back.

[Mike C]

Haven't done the shackle reversal, but I have trimmed the front of my quarters for tire clearance so the wheel well is more "round" than stock, and when I swapped the semi-float 14 bolt in, I redrilled the perches to move the axle back 1". And it made a big difference in centering the tire in the wheelwell. And I actually had to because the CV joint rear driveshaft I had made was too long with the 14 bolt in the "forward" position. It's pinion is longer than the 12 bolt.

[71biggreenk10]

I thought about just flipping around the 56" springs, but I think that would push the axle too far back. It is worth looking into more though.

I was also trying not to trim the wheel well. Maybe the 1" Zero Rate add a leaf's I bought from ORD will work well enough. They have 3 centering holes in them to be able to move the axle forward or back 1 inch. I'll try that and post what my thoughts are after wards.

[Todersauce]

I want to do the same thing to my truck but I have read bout the axle location problem. Do you have any pictures? I would like to know what Im getting into.

[drunkbus]

There would be a lot of options with flipping the springs around and using the zero rates because they can be used to move the axle forward or back. I believe they also provide an option of either 1" or 1.5" in either direction. So a few different ways to arrange everything and fine tune.

[71biggreenk10]

Thank you, I thought the Zero Rate Blocks were only 1", but I just checked the ORD website and it is both 1" or 1.5".

[Berndtc426]

Originally Posted by 71biggreenk10

This past weekend I replaced the rear leaf spring shackle hangers with the ORD Shackle Reverse Kit. Overall it wasn't a very difficult task, however it did take me a few hours to finish. My question is to the guys that have done this kit in the past and how they liked it. I notice that the rear axle is sitting quite a bit farther forward in the wheel well, and it looks a bit awkward. I have the Zero Rate 1" leaf spring block, that will allow me to reposition the axle 1" farther back if I wanted, however I'm not sure this will be far enough back to make it look right. and I am waiting on the actual shackle to arive in the mail before I take the 6" lift blocks out. (basically the whole point in putting in the shackle reverse kit, nobody wants axle wrap). The leaf springs I have on the truck are the 52" springs, and measure 26" from leaf eyelet to centering pin, on both sides. Replacing the springs to the 56" variety won't really solve the problem, as they still measure 26" from the pin to the front eyelet, and 30" to the rear eyelet. but if I replaced the leafs with the ones out of a 95-2000 Tahoe, they measure 27" both infront of and behind the axle, and have a lower load capability, which should soften the ride as well. Has anyone done this? how has it turned out for you??

When doing the shackle flip we have always used the 2" flip for the rear of the spring and then went out and got spring hangers from a newer chevy truck for the front due they drop further off the frame...about 2" further which puts the axle back in the center of the wheel well and gives you a 4" rear lift with just brackets. I think we used spring hangers off an 82 pickup. In any case you have to drop the front hanger the same as the rear to get the axle back in the center of the wheel well, or at least thats how we did it.

[71biggreenk10]

here's the best pic I have right now, I'll take more in a few days.

[Yukon Jack]

Good looking truck. I used the shackle flip on my truck but didn't worry about that issue as I swapped to a flatbed shortly after the flip. Moving the axle 1 1/2" will help considerably.