For those of you that have done it or know how to do it......is there anything that will make my install of a set of Calmini Shackles go smoother? I am looking for any and all suggestions in lew of another mod day being scheduled....looks like I am on my own for this one.

I also got some extended travel Bilsteins with a stiffer valving to compensate for the lack of a sway bar.....hopefully the setup will keep my rear wheels on the ground a little longer in articulated situations.

Thanks!

Ryan

Remove the spare tire before you start jacking up the truck. It can get in the way of removing the upper bolt on the right shackle.

It seems the easiest way we've done this before is to jack up the truck under the rear diff, then place jack stands under the spring hangers. Remove the tires so that there's enough room for the rear suspension to fully unload when you lower the floor jack. You might want to first remove the shocks when you've got the .

Then, the rest is simply wrenching on nuts and bolts, with some persuasion from a hammer if needed.

1 tire at a time...George & i had an adventure trying to get the shackles on with both tires off.

So basically to do this I just need two Jackstands...and the nissan jack?

Robert....did you buy the extended travel shocks to get the full articulation? If so how much of a difference do you notice?

Thanks

to be totally honest with you ... i have no clue about the shock question. i don't know if this matters but my shocks are still stock. as far as noticing a difference in the articulation... not really. but i'm still a 4X4 noob and am not used to noticing diferences like that. all i know is that i am aprox. 1.5 inches higher than i was and that was enough to make me happy. felt like i was driving a monster for the following couple of days. were you planning to crank the t bars buring this process??

You basically need to fully unload the rear suspension. However you manage to get that accomplished is up to you.

I highly recommend using two jackstands (one on each side of the truck under the spring hangers) and a floor jack under the pumpkin. The Nissan OEM bottle jack cannot be placed under the pumpkin and is too unstable to use for this type of work. It's for emergency use only.

When are you planning on doing this?
It sounds like you need to take the pressure off the leafs to remove the shackle bolts. Then you can start removing the remaining hardware and replace with the new hardware.. Let me know if you want some help...

Yeah.....I had seen an install on this where they used the nissan jack to first lift one rear tire off the ground about 2"....then supported it with a jackstand. Then used took the nissan jack and placed it under the rear leaf spring hanger on the the side that was lifted and moved the rear axle about 1" up to take pressure off. The rest was just wrenching on the bolts like Dean mentioned.

To answer your question Robert ........ no I am not planning on lifting the front at all. I haven't touched the front in the 6 years I have had the X and I can barely fit my index finger between the UCA and the bump stop.....which is supposed to be the test for not going any higher in the front. If I did do the front it would only be a couple turns at most. Did you lift yours in front?

Dave.........yeah I am planning on doing this as soon as my extended travel Bilsteins come in should be a week or so. I had to special order them because I wanted 20% stiffer valving to accomodate my lack of a sway bar...and something stiffer to pull my camper with to help resist bottoming out. But yes.....by all means I would love to have your help if you would like to come over? I will keep you updated when I hope to do this and will let you know.

You guys should have seen us swapping shackles on Geoff's 84 toyota truck. The back of the frame is almost 4 feet above the ground...my 2 foot HF jackstands looked tiny. We ended up putting the jackstands under the axle just barely lifting the tires off the ground (not sure if that helped or not) and using a saw horse, some 4x4 wood, and a bottle jack to lift up one side of the frame at a time. It was surprizingly stable.

We jacked up the frame to unload the springs and it turned out we could move the ends of the leaf springs around with our hands to get the shackle bolts lined up.

first hit all 4 shackle bolts, teh swaybar endlinks, and lower shock mount nuts with wd40, then remove both swaybar endlinks, then the lower shock mounts, lower the spare 3-5" & block both sides of the front tires. Measure from ground to top center of wheel well opening, save measurements. If you are in a hurry, put your jack under the spring hanger on one side, and lift the truck untill the tire is JUST on the ground, the shackle should be pointing right at the spring eye. Measure from ground to top center of wheel well opening, save measurements. This is max droop. Remove both shackle nuts (A 2' breaker bar helps). remove the outside shackle, and reinstall the nuts a few turns. start tapping the nuts with a hammer to shove the shackle out. One of the bushings usually comes with the shackle, that is fine at this point. once the bolts are able to be moved without a hammer, remove the nuts. move the spare out of the way if needed to get the shackle out. reinstall the bushing into the spring / shackle hamger if it came out. install any sleaves that are with the kit. Put a little extra grease into the inside of the sleves/bushings without sleaves & install the top of the new shackle. jack the truck up until the bottom of the new shackle lines up with the spring, and install the bolt. Measure from ground to top center of wheel well opening, save measurements. This is new max droop. Torque both bolts to spec, and lower truck. bounce suspension to make sure everything is ok. take a moment to eyeball truck, and be happy it is getting taller. repete on other side. Measure from ground to top center of wheel well opening & compare to old measurements. Change / reattach rear shocks, and remove / reattach swaybar. Take truck on a test drive, remeasure from ground to top center of wheel well opening, post all measurements, so others can drool over changes.

THEEPOLARBEAR:
Remove bottom of both rear swaybar endlinks.
Jack one side of your truck at the spring hanger, till the tire is just touching the ground, measure frame to ground clearence. Remove bottom of shock. Jack again till the tire is just touching & measure again. Post difference. Your stock shocks may be limiting your downtravel.

Hey Ryan keep me posted, I have a 3 ton hyd. jack I can bring if needed.

DAve,

Yeah thanks it will most definately be needed. I also may be doing a "slight" PML in the front so I could use it for that as well.

Thats cool, I can load it up the day before and then cruise over. I actually have 2 jacks, if that help?

P.M. me a couple days before you want to do the work...

Thanks...will do.

slam.. you asked if i cranked my t bars... yes i did. i think we only turned them 5 or 6 complete rotations tho... don't know if it did a WHOLE lot...
thanks for the suggestion chris...i'll look into that
i'm smelling a mod day at slamsons house...huey bring the bearing packer. j/k i'd like to hang out & lend a hand if thats cool slam...
i'm not gonna be free wed thru fri, july 27th - 29th (going camping ) near ice house reservior (sp). anyone is welcome to join us if you're free. might try to find a little trail, maybe a fire road to terrorize. sorry not tryin to hijack your thread slam... p.m. me if you're interested tho

No anyone is welcome to come buy and watch lend a hand......do the same mod themselves. Only problem is I have next to no tools at my place......but I should have enough to do this mod. Anything else and I may not have the tools.

I will keep you posted on when I attempt this. I had to special order my shocks so it may be a couple weeks before they are here.

Regarding your trip to Icehouse on the 27th to 29th Polarbear....I may be willing to come up for a quick little day trip on Friday. Not sure how long you are going to be around though. Thought I might take my daighter on an easy trail (the pony express trail) and we can explore some others. Also though I might let her get here feet wet in the reservoir.