Just picked up shackles today and I must say they are heavy duty! I was going to order new bushings from dealer and I remember reading somewhere on here you need to cut the bushings or make holes larger? If someone could chime in that would be great.

Don't order bushings from Mitsubishi. Get them from Toyota parts. Ask for bushings for the front shackles of an '83-'85 Toyota 4x4 pickup. There are two sizes (lengths) listed in their parts listing.....one's longer and one's shorter. You'll need 6 of the shorter bushings and two of the longer bushings. I picked up 4 of each, but ended up shortening two of the longer bushings. You'll need these bushings (rather than the Mitsu bushings) because of the size of the shackle bolts. The ID of the Mitsu bushings is way too small and you'll screw 'em up trying to make the ID bigger (don't ask me how I know this <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" />). The ID of the Toyota bushings are just right.

But that's not all.

Once you have the Toyota bushings you'll still need to trim down the OD on all of them slightly so that they fit into the springs and the shackle mounts. I very carefully used an X-Acto knife, replacing numerous blades during the process, to trim them down to fit.

Lastly, be aware that your pinion angle may not be correct when all is said and done. Mine was angled up too high and I ended up blowing the pinion seal. I had my pinion angle adjusted down with angled shims and now it's just right. Your mileage may vary, however. As I understand it, most folks here who have installed these shackles have not reported issues with their pinion angle.

Thanks for the reply. I have done tons of searching on here and i just couldnt find out what to do with the bushings?

i used the mitsu bushings and just bought new grade 8 bolts the right size.

I have read that you can use diffrent bolts, but I am confused about using smaller bolts through the shackles? Won't they fit real loose?

I got poly bushings for a ram pu from autozone then used a drill press to carefully enlarge the holes. I bored a large hole in a 2x4 to hold the bushing and you have to go really slow or you'll mess them up.

also i had to cut the flange off the lower bushings as the shackle i got just fit over the spring.

Got the shackles installed! I used the bolts that came with the shackles and went with the Toyota bushings. I did have to trim the bushings to fit but nothing to difficult. Thanks for the helpful tips

<img src="/forums/images/graemlins/cheers.gif" alt="" />

How's your pinion angle? If it's off you may notice sort of a vibration or buzzing sound when you're going at high speed (60+) and you take your foot off the gas. If this is the case, get that angle corrected with shims before you blow a seal or damage a U-joint.

I will check the pinion angle out. You were right about the toyota bushings that was the way to do it. I had to do the same triming as you said thanks for the help

My pleasure. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />