How to set up a Reverse Shackle Kit
Tools Needed
Corded Drill, as it will put up with the abuse of lots of drilling and a reamer
7/8’’ reamer. Trust me it’s worth it to spend the money on it versus buying a harbor freight step bit.
Air hammer and chisel bit
Plumb bob, in a pinch a piece of string and a nut will work
Drill bits 3/16’’-1/2’’
Possibly a welder
Measure from the axle center to top of wheel well, or from ground to top of wheel well, while centering over axle center on all 4 corners and record.
Bull and bricknose will require welding a backing plate in the frame horns to brace the hanger with.
This is based off a sky's off-road reverse shackle kit for super duty leaf springs. I installed this exact kit dozens of times for Obs Solutions of Albany Oregon for 2 years; 2020-2022. This is the way they install these kits, and how my own personal truck is installed.
Remove the front axle. ttb or d60 doesn't matter. For ttb you will also need to remove the pivot brackets also remove the front shackles and springs. Then remove front bumper.
Next use an air hammer and air chisel bit to remove the rivets, this is the fastest way I have found to remove rivets. You will need to air chisel off the rivets for the rear spring hangers if using super duty leaf springs. At this point you should have a bare frame with shock mounts on it; at this point you will need a corded drill and a 7/8" reamer. Ream all the holes for the rear hangers (6per side).
Install the rear spring hangers starting with the inner frame rail bolts, pointing down towards the ground, then install the other 4 bolts pointing into the frame. If the bolts don't want to fit perfectly, that is where your reamer comes in. Torque the bolts to spec. Install the bushings into the shackle, making sure to use some kind of lubricant to grease the bushings with. Install the bolts hand tight. When you do end up tightening them, make sure to leave the bolt that goes through the spring just loose enough you can turn it with a wrench. Leaving the spring bolt just loose enough to turn with the wrench, but still tight prevents the spring bushings from binding and tearing. The bolt has a lock nut for this reason.
Next mount the front hanger on the frame horns. If it does not fit, either use a bumper jack to spread the frame horns wider, or a ratchet strap/come-a-long to squeeze them together. The frame horns are surprisingly moveable. Mount the front spring hanger via the bolt hole the original spring shackle utilized ONLY! DO NOT TIGHTEN THE BOLT AT THIS TIME. At this point install the springs and shackles, but let all spring mounting bolts be loose. Install the axle at this time, lightly run up the u bolts at this time.
CRUTIAL POINT!
Lower the truck down, it is much easier when the truck is on a lift, but jack stands and jacks work as well. Lower the truck slowly, because the front spring hanger is meant to be rotated to adjust the REAR shackle angle. I used metal shims in between the top wrap of the spring and the frame rail horn to set the truck on. These shims are so you can set the full weight of the truck on the springs. (Because of this I have no suggestions on how to set up a rsk properly without an engine in the vehicle.) I generally found between ½’’ to 7/8’’ is where I needed for shims, but every truck is different. Don’t be afraid to play with it until you are happy. The way you determine if you are happy is based off 3 different metrics in descending order of importance.
1st Most important is shackle angle. Anything kicked rearward of 90* (straight up and down) is acceptable but best ride will be had around 65-75* kicked rearward. This allows the shackle to absorb the light bumps in the road rather than actuating the spring.
2nd Most important is shock angle. Make sure you shock is straight up and down in between the frame mounted shock mount and the leaf spring mounted shock bracket. Use the plum bob for this
3rd Most important is make sure the tire is centered in the wheel well, but if the shackle angle is good, the shock angle typically falls into place, and if the shock angle is good, I have always found the wheel centered in the wheel well.
Adjusting the hangar in a rotation forwards/upwards will bring the rear shackle angle further forward (closer to 90*) and make the truck sit taller (more lift) and slightly stiffer although negligible ride.
Past 90* shackle angle (shackle pushed toward the front bumper) will make for a stiff and harsh ride, as this is the same as the oe design, where the spring is fighting the shackle over every bump.
The farther back/downward you rotate the front hanger the more it will kick the axle rearward (slightly) and the shackle rearward for a slightly better ride.
On my own personal brick I had to rotate the hanger down/rearward enough that I had to redrill and add metal to remake the top mount hole that is also used for bumper alignment/bolt holes.
NOTE: lift springs will make this incredibly more difficult to adjust shackle angle as most lift springs eyelet to eyelet are narrower/shorter than stock springs. This draws the shackle closer to the front bumper and makes getting a proper angle much more difficult as you may max out the rear/down adjustment of the front mount and still not reach optimal shackle angle. You can also use this time to measure the front to see how much lift you have gained from the rsk to adjust for leveling the truck. REMINDER the front springs will settle some. I suggest bouncing the suspension some before drilling holes in the front hanger to help settle the springs SOME. They will settle over time some regardless.
Once you have finalized the angle when looking at the passenger side of the frame rail it should look about like / that. I will include pictures for reference as well. It is now time to tighten down the bolt currently in the front hanger, and using a ½’ drill bit drill slightly to center the hole on the frame rail. Then use 3/16’’ bit to drill both those holes, then step up to 3/8’’, then ½’’ and possibly ream if needed. Tighten these bolts to spec as well. Now you can remove the shims and drill all other 8 holes in the front hanger without worrying about the front hanger moving on you. Install and torque all bolts.
Next install and tighten spring and shackle bolts, install shocks and torque. Finalize torque on axle u bolts. Install steering if need be, install track bar. If using an adjustable track bar, it should not be bound up, and should slide into the bolt holes easily at ride height. If using a skys heim track bar it should turn by hand at ride height. YOU DO NOT WANT YOU TRACK BAR BOUND AT RIDE HEIGHT. Yes a track bar is necessary for proper road manners.
Install front bumper and anything else removed during the process. Take it for a drive, enjoy the smoother ride, and then retorque everything.
I highly recommend a front sway bar, as on my truck without it when hitting bumps especially on roads with cement blocks or lots of breaks in the road it caused the front end to bounce/feel marshmallow-ey. I had brand new bilstein 5100s on it as well. Also hauling with a trailer caused this. I added a front sway bar and brackets to the frame rail and it made the front end far more stable, planted and way less bounce. It forced the springs and shocks to work together and man is it enjoyable now.
I made my own sway bar frame brackets from some 1.5x 1.5 angle iron and used rear 4x4 sway bar end links with my skys 2.25’’ rsk and v code springs
Feel free to ask me to elaborate on anything that is fuzzy, or anything you have questions.
