Shackles tight in hanger

[NotStock]

Hey everyone,

My extended shackles seem very tight in the hangers. Like dead-blow-hammer-to-install tight. I don't think the brand matters for the discussion. Don't want to call anyone's quality into question until I understand the problem better. Maybe this is the way they all are?

I'm concerned that they will limit travel if installed like this. The whole shackle hanger/shackle design seems ****** to me to begin with. The bolt tightens down against the shackle and deflects the hanger to lock down against the bushing/sleeve... just seems designed to bind, not swing like its supposed to. Wouldn't a shoulder bolt make way more sense?

Maybe I'm missing something? Should the inner sleeve be proud of the bushing, allowing the hanger to tighten against it, and not the bushing face? Does the bushing rotate on the sleeve and not the sleeve on the bolt? Or should I just tighten the whole mess down and not overthink it? Will it somehow magically move freely?

I saw a thread on another forum talking about turning down the bushing face so that the sleeve stuck out by a few thou. That way the bolt tightens the hanger against the sleeve, leaving the bushing face with some clearance. Not sure I want to press the bushings out to cut down the face, but I'll do it if its the best option.

Interested to hear other people's experience with installing aftermarket shackles.

 

[B E N]

Its normal. Did you grease the bushings and faces before install? That tightness means nothing when you start talking about the forces involved in suspension travel. You want them tight, movement at the shackle out of plane is undesireable.

 

[NotStock]

Perfect. Glad to hear it. In the meantime I did a little work on the press to make sure everything was seated correctly on the shackles. There was a little room to get the bushings flush with the sleeve. At the end of the day, the sleeves and bushings are flush and the whole mess is 0.050 wider than stock. Glad to know that this all seems on track.