lowering question

[ken81c10]

I have an '81 C10 that I am going to lower 2" in the front and 2" in the rear.  I bought a set of lowering shackles for the back.  My question is, do I need the angled spacers between the springs and axle to re-align my driveshaft?  It would seem to be common sense that I would, I just haven't seen it mentioned much in discussions about installing shackles.

Would I be better off relocating the front hanger by 1" and drilling new holes in the lowering shackles to make them a 1" drop.  Seems if I did this, I wouldn't need any shims and I would maintain the factory geometry of the rear springs.  Just thinking out loud.

Thanks In Advance

Edited by: ken81c10 at: 8/10/06 6:10 pm

[autonuerotic]

It never hurts to be prepared and besides, if you dont use the shims now you can either return them or save them for later.  Absolutely nothing is worse than not having everything needed for a job or having to find the time to fix it later.  Best way to determine if your going to need the shims is by using a magnetic angle finder, if I remember correctly your pinon angle should be nose down by about two degrees from your driveline angle, reason being that when you take off especially hard your leafs flex better known as axle wrap and your pinon rises.  If the pinon rises too much you cause a bit of bind, +/- two degrees is acceptable, but idealy two degrees down on the pinon.  Hope this helps, Good luck!

[roundedline]

With shackles I would verify the angle and shim if necessary.  It possibly isn't going to need them, but be prepared.

Chris Lucas
www.73-87chevytrucks.com
www.captkaoscustoms.com
Project Su
Jimmy 2WD Project