Front Shackle Brackets

I noticed the front shackle brackets are welded on about 1.5 inches narrower than the pivot brackets for the same springs. This makes my front leaf springs not parallel with the frame or each other. I'm planning on a 2.5" lift. Will this not make a big difference, or do I need to go through the effort of putting them in the right place? 100% of its time will be spent on rough, ranch roads. Thanks

 

pictures? the front shackles should not be welded, ie they allow the spring to flex. front shackle should look like a pair of flat rectangles of metal stampings or a "U" if it is an earlier version.

 

to clarify: the shackles themselves are fine...it's the brackets that connect the shackle to the frame that are the problem. Thanks for the quick response though

 

Can you post a picture, your springs should be 1 3/4" wide, don't know how someone would do what you mentioned with the stock width springs.

 

Never posted a picture before so I'm crossing my fingers.
As pictured, there is almost no weight on the springs, so I guess from the position of the shackle, the bracket must have been welded on too close to the rear spring pivot as well.
(best picture I can get for awhile)

 

The shackle is on wrong or it is the wrong shackle all together.
For a 61 model you should have a shackle that looks like a 'C". Your factory shackle should have looked like this.

 

Even so, the shackle bolts "should" be mounted in the end holes, not the end and middle like the one in the picture. O---O not o-O-O.
That should help shackle angle, too.

 

This is the later factory shackle style.



The longer the shackle, the more it will affect the suspension stability and geometry. If it were mine, I'd get out the hack saw and cut off the extra (so it looks like the above pic), or go to one of the stock-style shackles.

 

The upper bolt is in the wrong hole. As stated above.

 

Aside from the bolt being through the middle hole instead of the top. It looks like your springs are old and flattened out, making them "longer". I may be looking at it wrong but that's what I'm seeing.

It may be something you could live with tho.

 

That looks like a pass side shackle to me. $10 says it was done that way to hide the driver's side Jeep Lean.