Basslicks

You should also check and see if the inner diameter of the shackle bushing sleeve matches the outter diameter of the shackle bolt.... same with the leaf spring bushing sleeve and bolt. If the sleeve is noticeably larger and the bolt, it there will be a lot of play that will cause that clunk sound.

Martlor13

That is what I'm going to check next because it is from that area. Everything came from dorman. The bolts, shackles, and leaf springs and they had bushings. It clunks whenever the suspension shifts and differrent direction

DirtyKurty

check your exhaust it might be rubbing on leaf spring

Basslicks

Yup. That too.

Martlor13

Can you guys tell me if my shackles are backwards? that's what I'm leaning towards and when I get my tools back I think I'm flipping them around

Basslicks

There's no curve to the factory shackles, they are straight. So it doesn't matter which way you mount them. Normally though, the closed side goes in back as to eliminate possibility of the shackle contacting the spring, but it will contact the rear of the shackle mounting bracket before that happens anyway.

Martlor13

Ok. Only reason I ask is because they are marked with a white dash on one side. They are dorman shackles and on their site under "special notes" it says "rear rearward" whatever that means. It just makes me feel these went a certain way.

Basslicks

Yeah... just to make sure it doesn't contact the leaf spring though.

Martlor13

I flipped them and it is better. Only pops when flexing. How tight should the bolt that connects the shackle and leaf springs be? Maybe I have them too tight?

TFitzPat87

80 ft/lbs.

115 ft/lbs. for the upper shackle bolt and front leaf spring bolt.

Martlor13

I think I finally got it!! Tool the shackle off and I was looking at it and the leaf springs bushing. I got the dorman shackles and leaf springs. The shackles came with new bolts and a leaf springs bushing but the leaf springs already had one. Well when I was looking at it is saw that the bolt didn't fit perfectly in the bushing. It wiggled. So I put one that fit perfectly and now so far so good!! I only did it on the driver side since the passenger side stopped popping. Hopefully everything is good

Basslicks

I would still replace it with the bolt that came with it. You're re-using hardware that's already been stretched at least once, when you have brand new hardware sitting there. I'm no saint in that arena, because I've re-used hardware, but only in a pinch when I don't have new bolts on hand and/or can't get them right away.

If you have new bolts, use them.

Martlor13

The new bolts were the ones wobbling though. The bolts I put in are new I got at lowes

Basslicks

OH! I thought you were saying you re-used the old bolts. The ones you got at Lowes are fine as long as they're high grade bolts - grade 8 is recommended.

Mkeelingortega

Hi all,
I recently purchased a 96 Cherokee Country from a previous owner who had installed a 3" RC lift. Basically, the ride has been awful. I can feel every bump on the road, which isn't so great. I already purchased Bilstein 5100 series shocks for her, but this changed nothing. I'm looking into purchasing new OME coils to replace the ones from RC. Can someone please provide some insight on ALL the parts I will need to swap out the springs on my jeep, and any other info on what to swap out to alleviate this rough ride. I was hoping to get specifics, as I'm really new to suspensions in general. I don't know a whole lot.

Best,
Matt