The passenger side shackle, at the rear of the spring, not the one at the bumper, broke (cracked and bent actually). I have to replace it tonight. A buddy is going to help me, I have never done it before, not real sure he has either. We have jack stands and the Ford supplied Jack. Question, how do you take tension OFF the springs? (2003 so they are leaf). My friend says jack the frame and leave the wheels on the ground, I am thinking jack and put stands under the front axle. BTW, I am changing both. Dealer sold them in a pair ant the right one did twist a bit also.

The guy at the parts caounter said jack one side of axle up only, put a stand under it (axle) and do one side at a time, repeat process for other side. If anyone could give some guidance here, I would greatly appreciate it. Thanks!!

 

What you want to do is jack up the truck from the frame until the tires are about an inch off the ground then put the jack stands on the frame behind the leaf springs. This takes the weight off the axle.
Then put your jack under the axle and jack it up to take the pressure off the bolts on the rear shackle.
Remove the shackle replace with the new one and use the jack to help line the bolt holes up.
Tighten up the bolts remove the jack stands and you are finished

 

I don't think the parts guy has ever changed-out a shackle on one of these trucks. If you just jack-up one side and leave the other on the ground you're twisting the springs, which makes it difficult to get things on/off without a fight. Try and keep everything level while removing the shackle. Beyond that, do what USMC Diesel said, making sure that you just tighten the bolts enough to keep them on, put the truck back on the ground and then use a little Loctite and re-torque the spring to shackle and shackle to frame bolts to 75lb/ft.

 

Thanks for the help. Didn't get it done yet. Only had one wrench that fit the nut, have to go buy another, or a socket tomorrow. I bet those don't come off easy either.

Another question. Will I have to do any aligning of these shackles, or just bolt them on and thats it? I mean, is it possible that I could screw this up and have one side higher/lower than the other?

 

The bolts align everything for you. Just do the side that's broke first, using the "good" side as reference, and then vice-versa.

 

Having just done a bunch of suspension work on my truck with nothing but hand tools, here are some tips. You need a 1/2" drive breaker bar, and a peice of pipe to put on the handle (cheater bar). the bolts used in the suspension are a bear without power tools.

Jack up the axle (because it is the lowest point on the vehicle) and place your jack stands under the frame behind the front springs. It is important to jack up and support both sides of the vehicle, or you get twisting in the suspension and things are harder to line up. Lower the jack so the tires are just touching the ground. When you are trying to get the bolt out of the spring eye just raise and lower the axle until you reach a nuetral spot and the bolt will come out. I use a mechanics pry bar that has a point on one end to drive the bolt out.

Unbolt the broken shackle from the spring and then the frame. Put in the new shackle frame then springs. I used a ratchet style tie down strap to help pull the shackle foreward and line up with the spring eye. Move on to the next side.

you wont have any alignment issues doing this. the shackle moves with suspension travel anyways. Shouldnt be to hard to get done.

One last note on the driver side of the vehicle you have to drop the front drive shaft out of the way to remove the spring bolt. It is important to reinstall the drive shaft in the same position. I scratched a line on one of the ujoint cups and on the yolk, reinstall in the same position and make sure you dont rotate the drive line.