I had to cut a notch out of my hitch to get the bolts out, they pull out from the inside. You could also just unbolt the hitch and lower it out of the way to put the new bolts on, but my exhaust pipes were right under the hitch so I couldn't remove or lower it. I can get pics of how I cut my hitch, but it is the factory one. If you have an aftermarket hitch you may have room to get the bolts out. Other than that, no cutting, no grinding, no nothing. They just bolt right on where your factory ones did. A good word of advice though, make sure all of the pressure is out of your leaf spring by lifting the body with a jack or similar.

 

I'm sure those shackles on e-bay will work fine, but I personally would rather buy from a well known company to make sure that they are strong enough and the metal won't bend or break. Just my $.02, if you want to save some money they will probably work fine and you may never see a difference.

 

Sounds like belltech is the better way to go. Does anyone have any pics of their shackles installed? Pics from the underside so I can see what exactly is going on underneath there?

 

I don't have any on hand but I can go snap a few pics real quick if you need them.

 

If you don't mind, I would like to know what's going on underneath there before I get myself into it

 

Ok, I'll post some up in a few mins.

 

BTW, yes I know the date on my cam is a little off .
Here is a pic of the shackle on my truck(turn it clockwise 90*)

Here are pics from the inside of the hitch to show the cut I made to get the bolt out.



Here are pics of the spring clamps I installed on the front part of the leaf spring. They drop it slightly more to make the drop more level and help out with traction and help out a little with handling and ride quality.



Hope this helps!

 

Wow that looks like a fairly easy install. you're right, it shouldn't take more than 30 minutes. I just put my hitch on before I parked my truck for the winter so it should come off fairly easy. That way I don't have to notch it out. Other than that, the drop shackles looks like an easy install. That should make my truck sit a little nicer in the back and not look so damn high in the back. Especially since I'm going to be running those 31 inch mammoth SS rims/tires. Nightmarechev, I really appreciate you taking the time to go outside and take those pics for me. I've never seen anyone do something like that for me in any other forum. This place is the best


Joe

 

No prob man, just glad I could help. The install is very easy, one of the easiest things to do to your truck. It took me about 30 mins to cut and install everything, but I had a friend without the hitch and it took us like 10 mins to install. Took even longer to get the tools out than the actual install. Yeah, this forum is great, I haven't found anything like it anywhere else. I can always find what I need here.

 

I tried last week to install Belltech shackles and I was not able to get the top bolt out. I had the nut off but after 90 minutes of worrying with it, I just put it back together. I was working on the drivers side first and never did get to the other side. What can I do? I'm almost 60 years old and I don't have the strength that I used to have.