Rear leaf spring Shakle question

[Princess Valiant]

i want to put rear leaf spring shakles to raise the car up but i need bolts ....so question is ....is a grade 8 bolt enough for this job or do i need a stronger bolt .......hopefully i can get the right bolts locally today ....but i was not sure if grade 8 is good to go

 

[pettybludart]

Grade 8 should be fine Rani.I keep a bolt bucket from previous stripped cars as I feel that the older steel bolts are made of a stronger steel.JMO

 

[ir3333]

grade 8 is very strong hi carbon steel.
here's the rub,it is so hard it is brittle and may break when it fails.
grade 5 is not as strong and somewhat softer so if it fails it will likely bend instead of breaking.
most suspension parts are grade 5 for this reason and sized appropriately.

 

[72bluNblu]

grade 8 is very strong hi carbon steel.
here's the rub,it is so hard it is brittle and may break when it fails.
grade 5 is not as strong and somewhat softer so if it fails it will likely bend instead of breaking.
most suspension parts are grade 5 for this reason and sized appropriately.

Exactly so. I've broken a grade 8 bolt I used as a spring eye bolt. Grade 8 bolts are very strong in tension/compression, but their shear strength is not as good as "softer" bolts.

I would use grade 5 hardware myself.

 

[cudajim]

I assume you want to lengthen the shackles, the question is why? It's a bad way to raise the rear end. You end up ruining the leaf springs, throwing off all the front end geometries and making the car dangerous to drive. Am I missing something?

 

[gtmopar]

Cuda Jim is absolutely right and it also looks hoakie as hell!!! If the springs are sagging, replace the springs with a set that are not sprung or install a set of coilovers that can be adjusted to increase the ride height but don't just put longer shackles.

 

[66340SEDAN]

I think you are fine, it should drive good. As long as you are not going with shackles like this, you should have no issues :glasses7:

 

[OwdKasd]

I assume you want to lengthen the shackles, the question is why? It's a bad way to raise the rear end. You end up ruining the leaf springs, throwing off all the front end geometries and making the car dangerous to drive. Am I missing something?

I have to agree with this. I am currently saving up for some better springs. Then I'll ditch the Shackles and Air shocks. The *** end of my dart is all over the place. It looks like Crap too IMO. The Coil Overs are frowned upon by a lot of people unless you reinforce the top mount.

 

[Leadfoot]

With a Mopar you'll find that shackles will do nothing except flatten out the back of the spring without raising the car any noticeable amount. In a Brand X car with the rear axle centered 50/50 there will be some considerable raising of the back of the car. In a Mopar the rear axle is 70/30 roughly and there's not enough spring behind the axle.

 

[memike]

A pair of new springs would be great Rani
I need to up grade to new ones myself one day
air shocks and a good soft radial help's Victoria and me for now.
I would take off to Ca. with no worries.
And yes it will stop and move out of it's own way , This comes first
just stay off of bad roads, buppy gravel and don't over load it (5 peaple)
and yes :glasses7: I would use a grade 8 Bolt and the 5 would be fine on a very lite A Body :burnout:

 

[gtmopar]

I've had coilovers on my car for the past 30 years and have never had any issues whatsoever and have not babied it at all. Just a thought and option

 

[Jim Lusk]

With a Mopar you'll find that shackles will do nothing except flatten out the back of the spring without raising the car any noticeable amount. In a Brand X car with the rear axle centered 50/50 there will be some considerable raising of the back of the car. In a Mopar the rear axle is 70/30 roughly and there's not enough spring behind the axle.

This is ABSOLUTE FACT. I have used the cheap coil-over conversions from the parts store (about $30), BUT I have also found that those kits work best if you weld the upper mount to the shock.

 

[Snake]

I have to agree with this. I am currently saving up for some better springs. Then I'll ditch the Shackles and Air shocks. The *** end of my dart is all over the place. It looks like Crap too IMO. The Coil Overs are frowned upon by a lot of people unless you reinforce the top mount.

Ya know if you were to cut thoes they would not look as bad.