How To Build Dodge Front Shackles
THE RIGHT WAY!
*Disclaimer* This is provided as a free service and for information purposes only. There is no warranty, promise or responsibility given by us to you that if you try this all will go perfectly. It all has to be EXACT!!! Not close, not pretty good. EXACT! Also, I didn’t go into cleaning the metal before welding, grinding down edges for full penetration, stepping up hole sizes in the drill press or the like. If you need us to tell you that stuff DON’T TRY THIS AT HOME! Best to take the drawings to a welder and have them make these for you. Now that you are thoroughly paranoid about screwing it up lets proceed.
It doesn’t get any easier than this folks. No welding or special tools required. You can cut eh steel with a hacksaw if need be and hand drill the holes. The perfect starter project!
Here’s what it takes to do this job.
What materials you’ll need
- 4 6″ x 2″ 3/8″ thick cold rolled steel bars
- 4 4 1/2″ long x 1/2″ Bolts, washers and locknuts
The steel we got from IMS in Irvine, CA. All our bolts and such came from McMaster-Carr Supply in Sante Fe Springs, CA.
What tools you’ll need
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1/2″ drill bit and drill
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Some way to cut the steel bars to the right size
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Some way to round off the ends a bit (we used a chop saw to clip the corners and a 12″ disk sander to round them)
Additional Parts Needed
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Bushings: Energy Suspension part # 2-2102G
This is an easy one. Cut the steel bars to 6″ long. Lay the template over top and punch your holes. It’s pretty important that you get them all exact. No drill them to 1/2″. that’s it.
Shaggy’s liked things to look nice and be a good working part. Rounding the corners did that. You can clip them at a 45° angle if you like. Just something to make them look a bit better than just straight. This is optional though and you can just leave them straight cut if you don’t have the tools to shape them.
The bushings will fit all aftermarket springs and the stock frame shackle hole on all but Cummins powered trucks. The black bushings have the highest durameter rating and should be used instead of red, yellow or blue bushings. Those don’t hold up as well in a full-size truck. Make sure you sure you use a lot of lube when you assemble the whole thing. You don’t want squeaks!
That’s it! A piece of cake, huh? If you are wanting to get started working with steel and fabricating parts this is a good place to start.
