DansGreyMj Posted April 23, 2006 Share Posted April 23, 2006 what is the legth difference between xj and mj shackles and where can i find some mj specfic shackles Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regger Posted April 23, 2006 Share Posted April 23, 2006 If I remember COrrectly, the difference in length is about 1.5".. Longer for the MJ shackle... Which nets about .75" lift when used on an XJ... And if I really think back to what my stock shackles were, I beleive they were 4.5" long stock, and that makes the XJ;s, about 3" long stock.. HTH Ryan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CWLONGSHOT Posted April 23, 2006 Share Posted April 23, 2006 XJ shackles are 3" long while MJ shackles are 5" long. SO, using MJ shackles on and XJ nets you about 1" of lift, just like REGGER said. As for specfic, MJ shackles, best I could find was .75" lifted XJ shackles. Those will equate to only about a .25 loss of height in your MJ. I also got my hands on a set of chevy shackles that are 5" eye to eye and quite HD . This is a great candidate for the MJ!!! Good luck, CW Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DansGreyMj Posted April 23, 2006 Author Share Posted April 23, 2006 XJ shackles are 3" long while MJ shackles are 5" long. SO, using MJ shackles on and XJ nets you about 1" of lift, just like REGGER said. As for specfic, MJ shackles, best I could find was .75" lifted XJ shackles. Those will equate to only about a .25 loss of height in your MJ. I also got my hands on a set of chevy shackles that are 5" eye to eye and quite HD . This is a great candidate for the MJ!!! Good luck, CW i was also thinking of finding full size truck shackles that are compatible Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ROADLESS Posted April 23, 2006 Share Posted April 23, 2006 My MJ shackles measure 4 1/4 inches eye to eye, stock. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CWLONGSHOT Posted April 23, 2006 Share Posted April 23, 2006 My MJ shackles measure 4 1/4 inches eye to eye, stock. It's likely some one has swapped them out at some point. Have you owned this Jeep from day one? Then again, Jeep DID do some strange things thru the years.....I have measured three different MJ shackles all thought to be stock and all measured 5". I have a set here that I bought off Ebay that where supposed to be factory MJ and they too ate 5" eye to eye. CW Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ROADLESS Posted April 23, 2006 Share Posted April 23, 2006 I am second owner, original owner never touched the suspension (or any other part, aside from routine maint.). Oh, i forgot to mention but it has the good old 35 rear axle! :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regger Posted April 23, 2006 Share Posted April 23, 2006 My stock shackles were 4.5" long... because I built myself a 2" lifted shackle (4" longer) and they are 8.5" long.... I think making them yourself is the only way to get a shackle length you want... This was my first attempt at customizing my truck and fabbing my own parts, and for being a kid at the time. I must say they held up pretty good!!! I'm still running them now, 10years later... Thanks, Ryan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
feerocknok Posted April 23, 2006 Share Posted April 23, 2006 If you are looking shackle-lift your MJ, I think a great way to go is extending your pre-existing shackle. I welded flat bar on the outside of the lower portion of the shackle, and put a washer on the inside to compensate for the width. Looks hardy, and you can get whatever amount of lift you want by taking the amount of inches desired and multiplying it by two for the length of your extension. Quite simple. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jftimbo Posted April 24, 2006 Share Posted April 24, 2006 If you are looking shackle-lift your MJ, I think a great way to go is extending your pre-existing shackle. I welded flat bar on the outside of the lower portion of the shackle, and put a washer on the inside to compensate for the width. Looks hardy, and you can get whatever amount of lift you want by taking the amount of inches desired and multiplying it by two for the length of your extension. Quite simple. I had never though of fabbing my own shackles... is it really safe to weld it all up yourself though? I don't know how strong they need to be, but if that really is safe it would be a whole lot cheaper to do than anything else I could think of. I have also heard that putting longer shackles on will make the springs sag. Is this true to a point that it would make the shackle useless? I would like 1" to 1.5" more room in the back, so the longest I would go is 8" total. Would this height be safe with making my own shackles, and would this make the springs sag badly? Tim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DirtyComanche Posted April 24, 2006 Share Posted April 24, 2006 How much do you trust your fab skills? A failed shackles can lead to lots of nasty things. Yes, you could build your own. You could make them considerable stronger than the stock ones. But do you trust yourself? And they can contribute to spring death. Don't overflex them and they'll probably be okay. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regger Posted April 24, 2006 Share Posted April 24, 2006 is it really safe to weld it all up yourself though? If you are asking this, then I would recommend you don't fab your own... That piece of equipment is what holds your truck to your axles.. if that should fail.. stuff will go BOOM!!!! I have also heard that putting longer shackles on will make the springs sag. I've never heard that before... Springsd are going to sag overtime, its a given... using the full movement of the spring will fatigue them faster than just normal daily driving without a load... So if adding a shackle, is going to get you bigger tires and get you out wheeling and flexing, then they will sag faster.. But I would not say that just adding a longer shackle will sag your srpings... Its all on how you use them. so the longest I would go is 8" total. Would this height be safe with making my own shackles Well, like I said, mine are 8.5" long and I've never had a problem with them in over 10 years... But then, I trusted my welding and fabbing skills... So I had nothing to worry about... If you can't find a set of shackles that will work for you, I would recommend going to a 4wd shop, or a fab shop and get them to make you a set. HTH Ryan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DirtyComanche Posted April 24, 2006 Share Posted April 24, 2006 Oh, a little tidbit. Full size chevy drop shackles (2" drop) are actually almost exactly what you want. They'll be about 1/4" out or so. No biggy. But hey, part of the way I learned to weld was by fabricating the unibody reinforcements that hold my entire front suspension in place. We'll see if I regret that... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pingpong Posted April 24, 2006 Share Posted April 24, 2006 I ran the Chevy drop shackles for over a yr and a half. they worked great. did they contribute to my stock springs having negative arch :? maybe, or was it me stuffing the tires as far as I could that did :twisted: I picked the drop shackles up used for 15 bucks, I am sure they are not to awful expensive new. Sometimes you have to put a price on your time, and materials, and figure out if it is worth making it yourself. Now that the aftermarket is fully supporting the MJ, and XJ parts are coming out of the wood work. I wouldn't be suprised if one of the big lift companies don't start sellng Chevy drop shackles re-packaged as MJ lift shackles :wink: Also keep in mind that lifting your rig by using this method ussually results in SHORTENING your wheel base. this CAN also cause fitment issues with tires if you have all your rear sheetmetal Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
87manche Posted April 24, 2006 Share Posted April 24, 2006 I think people that say shackles kill springs aren't adjusting the bumpstops after they shackle lift. Longer shackles will allow you to invert the springs, and THAT will kill them. Match your bumpstops to your spring travel and I htink it makes little or no difference. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jftimbo Posted April 26, 2006 Share Posted April 26, 2006 Oh, a little tidbit. Full size chevy drop shackles (2" drop) are actually almost exactly what you want. They'll be about 1/4" out or so. No biggy. What exactly do you mean by 1/4" out. I found these on ebay and if these are what I want then Ill just go with them. http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayI ... 4625396387 Thanks, Tim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CWLONGSHOT Posted April 26, 2006 Share Posted April 26, 2006 Send him a note and ask him to measure them. Eye to eye and width. To me they look pretty long! If they come up close to 5" eye to eye and 2.5" in wide, your in!!! Other than that, they would work fine. CW Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DirtyComanche Posted April 26, 2006 Share Posted April 26, 2006 They're a bit longer than you'd want, but not by enough to affect ride height noticably. They are the right width. And he wants 2" of lift! So 5" eye to eye would really not work... Anyways, those shackles look good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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