Rear leaf spring shackles

[68plymouth383]

So I'm usually the guy out in the garage every weekend, building. And fixing things these past few weekend have had me standing on my head... today's project was replacing my rear shackle bushings on my 1968 Plymouth fury. The moog ones I installed in 2012 were already falling apart. I knew what I was up against... I was wrong. I started on the passenger side, and it fought me. I lifted the body, lowered the rear end, and finally pulled the shock. That got it done. I went over to the driver's side, did all the same things, and no matter what I did the strap that goes to the shackle was 1/2" off from 1 of the studs. What am I missing here guys ?...

 

[Davea Lux]

The shackle could be bent, the center pin on one of the springs might be broken, one or the other of the front bushings might be bad. Need more information, is the misalignment from top to bottom or side to side?

Dave

 

[68plymouth383]

Top to bottom. Pins, and bar are both straight

 

[Davea Lux]

Top to bottom. Pins, and bar are both straight

Probably has some weight distorting it then, if you have a bottle jack handy, try sticking it under the rear spring and jack it up to see if the pins will close. If the pins are already too narrow, stick the bottle jack between the spring and the frame rail to see if you can spread the pins enough to get the plate to fit.

Dave

 

[68plymouth383]

Ok, I'll give that a try. Thanks