Is there a reverse shackle kit for the ttb axles?

 

There was a recent thread where someone installed one.Dieselbrad chimed in that they didnt used to advertize them to work on a ttb, but they now say it would work. From where the thread went I got the idea it did not work out well. Maybe someone else can add or link that thread.

 

No TTB RSK. SKY said for YEARS you could not do it. NOW they say you can. I guess they saw all the lost revenue.

The designee of the TTB necessitates the shackle in the front.THAT is why ford left rear the shackle design in 1980(first year for TTB) and then when back to the rear shackle in 1999(1st year back to solid axle)

 

Why can't a TTB have a rear shackle? I see no downside to a rear shackle TTB that isn't also present in a rear shackle solid axle.

 

I am Not an engineer or pretend to be one..

 

I am an engineer (but not an automotive suspension engineer). I don't see anything that's inherently worse with a rear shackle in a TTB compared to a solid axle. But I definitely see that they are completely separate problems and that a solution to one might not work in the other.

I can't really understand how a leaf sprung TTB can work at all. As the wheel moves up and down the "traction beam" makes it move in and out while resisting movement fore and aft. But at the same time the leaf spring makes it move fore and aft while resisting in and out. The only way it can work in this over-constrained condition is if there is some flex in the mounting points. If an aftermarket suspension kit (like an RSK) tightened things up it could make it bind up and work significantly worse than stock.

Meanwhile, a leaf sprung solid axle with no track bar isn't over-constrained, so an aftermarket suspension kit could work fine with stiffer mounting points.

Of course, F-350s of this vintage have solid axles, leaf springs and track bars, so they are over-constrained too and need some flex in the mounting points to let them work. And any kit made for them would need to take that into account or it would be too stiff.

Bottom line, I'd guess that SKY designed their kit with enough flex in the mounting points for the solid axle but didn't test it with the TTB, so they didn't know how it would work there. Therefore they didn't recommend it. But eventually either they tried it out, or else listened to others who said they had, and found it worked acceptably, so now they say it's OK. But that's just a guess.