Shackle Reversal

Has anybody done the shackle reversal on their jeep or know of anyone that has? Was there any problems afterwards with the steering or possible drive train?

Thinking about doing this and was curious if it was worth while.

 

I'm not sure if this counts, but I had to completely take off the previous owner's reverse shackles (including frame mounts) and put in new stuff. You will need to cut the old brackets off with a cutoff disc, and you will need access to a welder. Other than that, just measure twice with a tape measure to make sure everything is parrallel/perpendicular as applicable.

I have a few inches of lift on mine. I am running stock driveshafts with stock drivetrain, and I haven't had any problems yet with driveshafts, but I think the front is probably maxed out enough that I will probably get a new one made at some point. The rear seems fine.

As far as steering goes, you will have to do two things.

First, your toe-in is going to be screwed up, so you will need an alignment. I know this probably sounds blatantly obvious, but when I say you'll need an alignment, I mean that the toe-in may possibly be so bad that you'll have to do some rough alignment yourself just to get it driveable, depending on how much lift is gained. It is not that hard to adjust the tie rods to get it close enough to get to the alignment shop.

Second, your castor (or caster) may tilt slightly in the positive direction, resulting in a tendency for the steering to wander. You will want to install a wedge between the leafs and the axle to bring the angle back the other direction. I used 6deg shims on mine, and it drives very straight.

As an added note, if you are adding lift at the same time you are doing the reverse shackle, you will have to do the above plus you may want to seriously consider changing the tie rod setup. The stock setup when lifted will result in some crazy angles between the bell crank and the passenger steering knuckle. Check this article here:

http://www.earlycj5.com/tech/steering/bumpSteer_files/bump_steer.shtml

 

I did the very last 4Plus Off-Road shackle reversal kit on my Jeep and it's turned out to be one of the best modifications (other than FI ) I have made to my Jeep. It tracks straighter, seems to stop straighter and rides and steers a lot smoother than before. I don't want to get into all the technical stuff because there is tons of that out there on shackle reversals already but once you get those front springs moving the same direction as the rears it really makes your Jeep's ride a lot more stable. I would definately recommend it.

 

As far as front driveshaft length goes, a reversed setup will shorten the DS length when flexing so make sure it will not bottom out and damage the transfer case.

 

I'm with willysnut here on this one.
It's been a few years since I have done anything "hardcore" but my last project was a 84 cherokee XJ, I totally reworked the front end and the rear end.
Up front, I removed all of the coil setup and welded in mounts and brackets for a leafspring setup. I tried the shackles up front on one month, then performed a reversal for the next month.
I liked the reversal, but I had to get a long travel driveshaft, I had so much flex all around I had to install limiting straps and taller bump stops.
I am currently playing with the idea of a shackle reversal on my older model CJ5.

 

I did a shackle reversal with a set of 1" lift springs. piece of cake, hardest thing to do was removing the factory rivits from the front spring mounts. I went to a one piece tie rod setup but did not need to. the front driveshaft had to be lengthened about an inch if I recall correctly. definately made the jeep ride better in spite of the stiffer new springs. the kit and the springs were bought together from the same ebay seller, said he had installed on a project jeep but never left the shop.