Hey all. I just bought a 1974 Scout 2. I don't know anything about scouts and I have very limited knowledge when it comes to suspension work. At any rate. This thing has obvious after market 10" shackles on it. There's 3 holes in the bottom 3 inches of the shackles. The po said the springs were mounted in the top holes when he bought it but, he mounted them in the bottom holes for the lift. I didn't notice when I went to buy it but, when I got it home I noticed that it leans or is lower on the driver side. I took some measurements and it looks like it's sitting 1.5 inches lower. I mounted the springs back in the top holes on the shackles tonight to help with road handling and hoping it would level it out some. No go! I think the lean is even more noticeable now. I've checked all the spring and shock mounts. They seem to all be in the right place and nothing is broken. I checked all the body mounts and they all have equal compression which leaves me at a loss. Only things I can think of were possibly a flattened spring but, when I remounted them, they still arched up about the same. So I don't know. Shocks couldn't cause this could they? I also noticed that the shackles seem to be bending towards the driver's side in the front so something is out of alignment. I got couple of day pics before I lowered it and a couple night shots after to help. Thanks in advance for any help on this.
The 74 lean.....
- Thread starter DocBon
- Start date
Bitterwinds
New member
I would check my body mounts for rust or breakage
jim
jim
Scooter
Active member
Might also wanna check the spring perches on the front axle. There has been talk of this subject somewhere here in the forum, and elsewhere. I had the same exact body lean on my 74. Turns out that the driver side perch was lower than the passenger side. I added 1/2" rectangle plate(with a drilled hole for spring centerpin) between the leaf spring and axle perch. Which leveled out the body.
Making sure that the front axle is parallel to the ground. Measure top of spring perch on the axle down to the ground. And compare both measurements between the two perches on the front axle, and ya just might find the same thing I ran into.
It could be the body mount wedge and channel that could be compltely rotted out. Chech the body mount bushing right below where you place your feet when driving. The sheet metal that sits on top of the bushing is the wedge. Very common for those to corrode to nothing over time.
**edit**
I just peaked at your first photo again.
those shackles appear to be different lengths. Driver side looks to be shorter than the passenger side. But it could be just the angle of the photo shot. Not only that, they look to be very long, roughly 7-8". And very thin material for that length. I bet it handles like crap on the road at speed.
Making sure that the front axle is parallel to the ground. Measure top of spring perch on the axle down to the ground. And compare both measurements between the two perches on the front axle, and ya just might find the same thing I ran into.
It could be the body mount wedge and channel that could be compltely rotted out. Chech the body mount bushing right below where you place your feet when driving. The sheet metal that sits on top of the bushing is the wedge. Very common for those to corrode to nothing over time.
**edit**
I just peaked at your first photo again.
those shackles appear to be different lengths. Driver side looks to be shorter than the passenger side. But it could be just the angle of the photo shot. Not only that, they look to be very long, roughly 7-8". And very thin material for that length. I bet it handles like crap on the road at speed.
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I just peaked at your first photo again.
Hey scooter. Yeah, those shackles are crappy thin junk. They're actually 10" from end to end. I don't know if they're homemade or what but, the angle of the pic makes them look uneven. I May mount the shackles from the 72 on it but, there's a piece of flat stock welded across the front shackles (?). That body wedge May be my issue, I'll check it tonight. Only thing about that is, the body looks to be even across the frame. I'll take some measurements. I'm just trying to make the 74 a road worthy rig at minimal expense and time/work for now. The 72 will be my tear down and restore up build.
Scooter
Active member
Wow!!!! 10". they be waaaay long and a po virus home made jury rig, trying to do a minor lift on the extremely cheap. Here's a photo op of what I had on my 73 beast before I did the shackle reversal.
They measure 7" total length. My rear shackles in my beast still have a pair of these same shackles in the photo. The ones you currently have are scary thin and long for my own taste, and would be one of the first things I would replace.
they be waaaay long and a po virus home made jury rig, trying to do a minor lift on the extremely cheap. Here's a photo op of what I had on my 73 beast before I did the shackle reversal.
They measure 7" total length. My rear shackles in my beast still have a pair of these same shackles in the photo. The ones you currently have are scary thin and long for my own taste, and would be one of the first things I would replace.
Scooter
Active member
By getting a tech manual for the year you're working on
haha. Sorry for the sarcastic reply. Other than the manuals, I have done a booble.... (oooops - I meant google) search for some of the torque specs
Scooter
Active member
I'm over here on the west coast. Across the bay from fairy land. Since I'm all into women, I rarely ever cross the bay to sf.
Tahoedonner
Member
The passenger spring mounts in my '79, front and back, had a "spacer" that went in between the spring pack and the axle mount. I took mine out and it seemed to level my truck. Now that the suspension has had time to settle it dips lower on the drivers side. I will most likely be putting the spacers back in. You should check to see if these spacers are present. That and those shackles just don't look like they're helping keep anything level whatsoever.
I don't know the thickness of the spacers but I would guess they are approximately 1/2" or smaller. If I can find them I will take a pic and measure for you.
I don't know the thickness of the spacers but I would guess they are approximately 1/2" or smaller. If I can find them I will take a pic and measure for you.
Tahoedonner
Member
Looking at the last picture in the thread they are not there. Didn't see this picture earlier.
Thanks for the reply tahoedonner. I didn't see any spacers on the 72 or 74. The springs on both are bolted straight to the mounts or chunk on the front passenger side as it goes. I don't like the shackles at all on either rig. Hoping to get some help with that though. Gonna put shorter ones on. Btw, I edited that last pic post. Forgot to mention that's the front end on my 72. The 74 has the lean and thin scary shackles.
Update: I can't for the life of me figure out what the heck is causing this thing to lean so bad. It's worse at times and not so much other times. Wife willing, I plan to order bew body mounts soon. Every one of them on both rigs is pancacked. I checked the wedges mentioned in an earlier post but they're solid. One thing I can say for the frame on my 74 is it's not a rust bucket. At any rate, I went for a spin around the block and managed to get some shots of the extreme lean, then around the block again and snapped a couple of the lesser lean. Is there anything else I need to check? I really appreciate the help guys!
Extreme lean rear:
Extreme lean rear:
