I have a 97 XLT 4wd, on my way to work yesterday I hear this thud all of the sudden. Get to work and see the passenger side shackle broke in half! So I've got a project for the weekend, lol. Is this a very hard job? Anybody have any advice/suggestions??

 

Replace both rear shackles.

 

Any advice on how? It's slammed up against the bottom of the bed. Do I jack up the body to get the spring down to the mount??

 

Use the hitch as it is firmly mounted to the frame. You will need alot of penetrating oil and a large breaker bar and a pipe, you will not be able to get a impact to to remove the nuts.

 

spray alot of penetrating oil the night before you do it and you should have no problem getting them off with a breaker bar, like he said jack it up on the hitch, you need the suspension to hang completely free and have no weight on it, other than that its pretty straight forward. Make sure you grease up the new bushings

 

Okay, thanks guys! Picking up the new shackle tmw (wait till Saturday to pick up the beer, lol)...changing it out Sat.

 

super easy! WD-40 helps a ton. breaker bar will come in real handy if you got one, if not a good 3/8 or 1/2 ratchet works and a pipe big enough to go over the ratchet handle for extra torque. crazy how 25lbs on just the handle can turn into a couple hundred lbs on a 5ft or so pipe.

 

Good. Hopin it goes smooth. Soaked with PB Blaster a little bit ago, and will again tmw evening before starting on it Sat. morning.