Hey i want to do a reverse shackle flip and i have a few questions before i do it.first off do i just flip the rear?...of each leaf spring shackle and not the fronts of them?..will i need to have my pitmen arm fabed to make it longer cause of the flip?will i need to extend brake hoses?or get longer shocks too?..I notice some guys buy a shackle flip kit and others just use whats on the truck what way is better?Also how much lift can i get from doing this?..I see one guy on this board did it and got 6" of lift FROM USING a spring hanger (holds the front of the rear leaf spring) ... thats what id like to do.But if not ill settle for 3"....seems like if he got 6" of lift from a shackle flip he'd have to extend something?..anyway any info will help...


P.S. I JUST FOUND THE LINK TO THE GALLERY OF the guy WHO DID THIS CHECK IT OUT.Dude if this is your gallery help me out..thanks..later
https://www.ford-trucks.com/user_gal...reat+work+man.

 

Wow thats a lot of questions. First of all (I could be mistaken but I dont think I am) the shackle flip is done in the rear so your pitman arm is safe. As to how much lift I would say you wouldnt want to go more than six inches. In theory I guess you could go more but I wouldnt suggest it due to the amount of stress it would give the frame. new shocks probly, new brake lines probly not. If you only do the trhee inches you might not need shocks, but any more than that and Id replace them. Hope I could be of a little help. Good Luck with it.

 

ok call me dumb but when you say a shackle flip is done in the rear do you mean just the rear springs are done?or do mean the rear of both springs front and back are done?if you just did the rear how would you make the truck sit level?hmm

 

What kind of truck? Year, style, details...

It is often done in the rear because the rear carries no load. The front has got to have 70% of the truck's weightover it....and with heavy loads shackle flips are bad. The shackle will buckle when overloaded in the compression position.

 

well i was pretty sure that a shackle flip wouldnt be to good if you wanna load the bed of the truck up with stuff.the truck is a 94 f 250 4x4 a heavy duty one.its got 9 inches of lift three inch body lift and a 6" suspension lift and 39" tsl's.I thought a shackle flip was easy to do but now im thinking its not.

 

I made mine pictures are in my gallery.

 

ok lets get something straight.

a shackle flip is done to the rear shackles and all you do is locate the leaf spring under the mount instead of on top like they come factory.

a shackle reversal is done to the front of 80-96 leaf sprung trucks with the shackle in the very front. you hard mount the front of the front leaf spring and put the shackle on the back.

you dont wanna put a lot of weight on a shackle flip b/c the design is such that physics will mangle and bend shackles. now if you built them with 1/2 inch plate and have 0 lateral play then it would be fine for hauling with.

you are asking about doing the shackle reversal on the front and you might need a pitman arm and longer shocks. i made my shackle reversal to my truck and i didnt need either. but it all depends on if you make yours or if you buy a kit.

thats ivans gallery btw

-cutts-

 

just to further elaborate...If you want 6 inches out of the rear, you better do something to the front or your truck will look RETARDED!!!.

I did about 5 only did rear of rear springs with the flip. I had to drill new holes in the frame and move the shackle forward to give me the shackle angle I desired.

For the front of the front leaf spring, I did the same as Ivan but I have seen others who have used some 3x6 tubing laid frame to frame, like a crossmember, and then the original mounts reused, with some adjustment to mount.

For the rear of the front spring, I made extended shackles out of 2" x 1/2" flat bar in the H bar fashion for stability.

For the extras: you will either need longer shocks or like me, alter the mounts that you have to fit your shocks (I took 3 inches out of front mount). You may need longer brake lines depending on how much slack you have now. Again, you may be able to alter where they mount if you want to save some $$$. The steering will need to be changed for sure but what better time than to install crossover steering. You may have some problems with your driveline angles (mine wouldn't move initially). You will need to cut your perches, rotate your axle and reweld them on or may have to turn C's (very intensive). After doing this you may encounter some nasty bump steer and then you need a trak bar (you can make or buy depending on your resources). All of this depends on how much lift you want.

As for how to make level, Ivan did the front first then the back. I did the back first because it was my limiting factor and could adjust the front to where I wanted it when I fabbed up my mounts. The key to doing this is you are going to need somebody who is a good welder as well as access to tools, jacks, welders, drill presses, grinders, sledgehammers as well as some space cause this will take more than a day.

I'll try to post some pics in my gallery cause the ones I have are from before.

P.S. all of the alterations depend on how much lift you do. The higher you go the more you will have to change. Course, my theroy is if you're gonna lift it.....lift it BIG!

 

Up to 4" you basically just need to change shock mounts....but don't even NEED to do that. 6" you reroute brake lines and pitman arm definately, 7"+ you run into new brake lines, driveline lengthening/angularity issues, definately new shocks, crossover steering preferred, etc. Higher you go as mentioned, more you have to do. But...its cheaper to go from stock to 10" all at once.

 

yeah, but he already has a 6" lift, add 4+ more inches and then you have more issues. If he was going from stock, different story. I was in his same boat 2 months ago.

 

On the issue of strength, becuase I have been contemplating this for my '78, could I use the front shackle off an 86-97 (or newer) F-350? They carry the front end of a 1 ton truck, and are compression, right? Could I box, laminate, or otherwise beef up the rear shackle to handle some extra weight? I don't plan on towing anything, but would it be possible to toss 800+ pounds of my wonderful junk into the back with a "beefed" shackle flip?

 

Already answered on hauling with a shackle flip. Lateral forces are what get you. A beefed up fabricated shackle can stand the force, and not having your stuff shimmying back and forth.

 

Ok, I guess I can nix using front shackles then. . . How far can one go with the beefing of the shackle before the hangers themselves become the weak link?

 

I need to know if I can remove a lift block from the rear of my 79 F 150 by reversing and flipping the rear leaf spring perches and approximately how much lift I gain by doing so ???? any help would be greatly appreciated thank you

 

anxiously awaiting Ivan signing in to answer questions



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nope, doubtful, but hey Im here so you never know.

Build your own or buy these.
Full Sized Shackle Flip Kit [FORDFLIP] - $185.00

Bolt on and go. Pretty much fool proof.