How to replace shackle in Sierra / Silverado 1500 1999-2007 | Hard bolt extraction

We show you step by step on how to remove the most difficulty bolts when removing shackles on a pickup truck. This is real and I don't skip anything, I show you exactly how the experts remove these hard bolts.
How to remove and replace shackles on a wide variety of shackles on pickup trucks including Ford, Chevy, GMC, Dodge Rams, Toyota, Nissan and Mazda. They are all fundamentally the same process, so follow along for the tips and tricks we use to remove those stubborn shackles.
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The shackle part number is 330-175 and can be purchased at:
simcoespring.com/products/330...
Music by: Bensound.com

[@JDirks2]

The new shackles have new bolts and bushings on the lower part. A much faster alternative for the stubborn bottom bolt is a sawzall with a hack saw blade. Just cut downward in between the frame bracket and bushing right through the bolt shank on each side. With a strong saw and a good blade it’s about 2 minutes and you’re done.

[@RawSauce338]

Yup, Sawzall. I recommend NOT using an angle grinder because when I did I got molten/hot rubber dust spattered over my gloves, faceshield, tools.

[@animus13racer]

I was going to say that too, but i wasn't sure if that was possible

[@americanmaniac8861]

dude thank you for puting this down here you just saved me from whole day of usless work

[@AndrewReuter]

For the record, this was great! Perfect solutions here for getting out of the predicaments of shackle replacement, a job that looks so simple on paper but is anything but in practice. Thanks for sharing!

[@simcoespring]

Are there any other suspension related projects that you are going to do on that 'ole Chevy? Just let me know

[@oldschoolcars3318]

@@simcoespring Yes! Discussing the replacement of springs on the silverado classic is needed with the typical driver side lean thing happening to them. Also a piece on the pros and cons of choosing a whole lower control arm replacement over installing just lower ball joints. AND, a how to check for leaf spring breakage in the 1500

[@oldschoolcars3318]

Good video showing lots of strategies for dealing with the Silverado Leaf. As an owner of several of these with over 300K, I would say that upper bolt was something we have never seen here in South Central PA: Even with conscientious wintertime undercarriage washing, they are all rusty and we have never therefore replaced a shackle alone: its always bracket, spring bushing, and shackle together as with towing and large bed loads over most of the miles driven, we see bolt and bushing eye wear along with the rust. Your danger here is your customer can get duped into thinking its just a half hour job cause the video only lasted 1/2 hour. Even without the editing its clear to anyone who has done work, this job took longer than the video. Thank you for sharing tips!

[@simcoespring]

I would hope that people would understand that I have changed hundreds of shackles over the years. The amount of practice I have removing these bolts would be hard to match. However with the correct techniques even with less experience these shackles are do-able. I however wouldn't even want to try one of these without my shop setup...and most people should bring these to a professional to install.

[@johnjohannemann1220]

This was one of the most realistic true to life videos I have seen in a while. Good job, and thank you.

[@simcoespring]

thanks. These things are TOUGH to do and some are coated in oil and undercoating or rust and dirt. we do it all.

[@williamstubbs9737]

I think if my hangers looked like that, I would just replace both hanger and shackle..However, this is a good video for those that choose just to do the shackle. Your experience demonstrated that!👍👍

[@andrewyoungvlogs564]

This video just saved my whole afternoon. Thank you hitting that bottoms back and forth really got it loosened up

[@simcoespring]

awesome! some times people get excited because it move a little so it will come out....but then it jams even worse than before. you then drive it in like a wedge and it won't come out.

[@johnmills837]

Love the your labor charge is more than the truck is worth.

[@ryanh.2049]

It would be good for some of your customers to watch this video to see how much work really goes into these jobs. Nice work! I like videos like these👍

[@simcoespring]

thanks I appreciate it. Nobody knows how hard mechanics (and other trades) people work.

[@baysideautorepair8616]

Thanks Scott. Excellent tips/tricks. Worked incredible. It definitly made the job so much easier than it has in the past for me. Thanks for sharing!!

[@DaveJ-zt8lf]

You sir, know what needs to be done and do so efficiently. Great tips, thanks. DJ the weekend mechanic.

[@carlweitzel1753]

Fantastic video. Great narration and terrific camera work. Thank you

[@simcoespring]

Glad you enjoyed it

[@tyrantlocator]

YES!!! Finally, a mechanic who admitted that "he wants a professional to do it" so he can screw you on price. Gotta love fake mechanics like the dude doing the work

[@PaintfullGovernor]

Youre the best this helped a lot. Kinda dont have to deal with the bottom bolt when you’re replacing the bracket too and you can just cut the shackle

[@simcoespring]

I'm actually editing a video on replacing a hanger/shackle combo on a ford F150. It should be out later this week. It also has a better breakdown on how to remove really bad bolts that are stuck in the spring so you can save the bushing.

[@Dmenbiker]

HEY!!!!! found you a few days ago... You are a keeper.... Dave

[@bowhunter10167]

Great video thanks for sharing some of you trade tips.

[@stevenrobinson9610]

Wow this video should be put into Medical Journals; I never would have believed that this would be this complicated or the need for very skillful step by steps procedures to get it apart... excellent training video

[@davidmull1540]

just did my 2002 2500HD. passenger side had a couple holes in rear shackle. used your methods and it took me more than 15min, but i have a rear receiver hitch that is in the way of bottom bolts sliding out. air hammer made a huge differance!

[@simcoespring]

Each truck has its own complications. Some go good and some are a complete nightmare

[@raylaux8295]

Just cut the bolt out and replace the spring pack. These year trucks had defective springs only rated for 1,500lbs.

[@chrisbrown7428]

Hear me out… Little trick I use. Start like you did with taking the nut off but once you have it off use the torch to cut the head off the bolt completely then put 3-4 washers on the bolt and put the nut back on and tighten it then take the nut off and add a couple more washers and tighten again. Repeat this till it pulls all the way out. Every washer will let you pull the bolt out a little more till it’s out.

[@simcoespring]

funny thing is, I made this video about 5-6 months ago and have developed a new trick that is even faster. I'll have to shoot a video on it later when i get some time.

[@paulvansant4015]

Tried this trick and metal sleeve in the middle came out with the bolt

[@jimmyschmidt14]

wow. makes the bolt it's own press. cool.

[@johnnero6074]

That's the way I've been doing it foe years!

[@jamesonfb]

Thanks so much man, helped a ton

[@simcoespring]

Glad it helped. I just released another video with more explanations on how to remove the bolts if you need more detail. kzbin.info/www/bejne/raDFeJWJepl-hZI

[@1959rossco]

Great work given the pile of rust this vehicle is

[@jimmyschmidt14]

that frame needs paint or it's going to be gone soon.

[@joecurmaci5880]

Thank you so very much it took a while but I got it thank you

[@dougbourdo2589]

Nice job. I too was going to suggest a Sawzall but I also remember how frequently they can be a real bear to deal with.

[@simcoespring]

sick of burning out blades on gr 10.9 bolts. plus it ruins the bushings so then you gotta replace them too.

[@tubedejay]

I tried a few with traditional techniques, I'd gotten good enough after a few jobs, to split the small end of the shackle and bushing with the torch, then cut the sleeve and bolt without wrecking the hanger. The hangers were only good for about 6-8 years on a plow-unit. I cannot imagine anyone tackling this in a driveway without wrecking their hairline.

[@simcoespring]

3 cheers for Mr Wiggles - always gets me out of a bind 24:24

[@hairycat6095]

well, you made that look easy

[@Gunbudder]

if trucks had an option to dip the assembly bolts like that in never seize, the world would be a better place

[@markbenyoun1476]

Had to change one today and I tell you that I never want to do it again. I sprayed my bolts down for 2 days and the came out easily but the only thing that gave me trouble was the inner sleeve and the bushing. Now the outer sleeve I just used a die grinder on the joint where the leaf spring has the opening and I peeled it up with a large screwdriver.

[@simcoespring]

they are extremely difficult to get out.

[@SuperBeastin247]

Honestly it’s a lot easier to just remove the hitch bar since that’s what blocks the bolt from coming out.. not need to cut it out bit by bit

[@trophyhunter2]

what brand air chisel are you using that has 1inch stroke

[@johnmills837]

Heating the bolt just expands it into the sleeve. Water will flash the bolt to constrict it.

[@johnasosajr]

What kind of air hammer were you using?

[@lafrancois6323]

Me thinking about doing this in my driveway. "Get a bolt this tuff in your driveway it's gnna be a bad day" 😅😅

[@simcoespring]

I always wanted to pull out a lawn chair and a beer and watch someone do these in their driveway. Purely for educational purposes of course.

[@lafrancois6323]

@@simcoespring hahaha may do it in my garage instead and make sure I have my Sawzall and Torch.

[@Povertycab]

@@simcoespring im currently doing mine in my driveway. im installing drop shackles so i can just cut mine. bottom bolts came out smooth both top bolts are stuck, gonna borrow a good sawzall monday and just cut through the bushings and bolt and replace them. the $20 bolts are worth the hundreds in tools id need to heat it

[@scoutydoggers6998]

Great video but I don't understand why you're not using some kind of spray lubricant on that to help things along quite a bit, doing everything dry like that just makes it tougher

[@209Stretch]

How do you deal with a hanger that is to tight to fit the shackle in to place?

[@cgmakery9650]

I wonder if a person could use one of those automotive ball joint presses that looks like a big c clamp for replacing the ball joints on the car with out a press. I find a use for those for the strangest of puzzles to struggle through with my febel mind . I enjoy your channel

[@ANDthe3]

The ball joint press worked for me.

[@sonnyc3826]

how much does it cost to replace these? roughly i need both my bakc ones done

[@91rss]

a chemist friend said n bolts in sleeves and you have time, the best they saw to loosen up the rust if Oil of wintergreen , you drip some on and let it do its thing,,

[@hayzersolar]

jeep xj did the same issue remove the fuel tank or cut it off

[@Neo-tn1mc]

The orginal bottom bolt head was on inboard side. Probably to have the shear neutral axis close to bolt shank and not the threaded section of the bolt. Best not to have threads in bearing.

[@lancelacour6717]

I noticed that you never use any sort of spray lubricant on the stuck bolts. Is it a no-no? I'm getting ready to swap my springs and already sprayed everything in advance. Did I make it worse?

[@simcoespring]

I find that spray lubricants only make the torch burn brighter. I never had any luck getting the spray to penetrate. Others have had better luck than I

[@CALVINLNIKONT]

On that bolt that you were moving back and forth, do you think that some penetrating fluid would have made the job easier?

[@simcoespring]

Usually penetrating fluid makes the bolts wet. Makes the fire bigger. That's it.

[@BillySBC]

Why not reach between the shackle and the bracket with a sawzall and cut the lower bolts in half and remove the shackle?

[@mytubeviewerjeff]

I'm curious why you reversed the lower bolt insertion. The nuts and washers were on the tire side. The head of both bolts were on the frame side. The lower bolt just covered the hole. I'm thinking that if the nut were on the tire side, the washer would have done a better job of covering the lower shackle hole than the bare nut. But, the lighting was not that good so I really could not tell if there was a washer on the tire side under the bolt. Was there?

[@crazzywolfie]

did you watch the whole video? if so you would have likely noticed he took that same bolt out in 2 pieces. i really can't blame him for installing it that way. doubt it makes a noticeable difference.

[@thecarnut9899]

I cut the bottom bolt with an angle grinder, I wasn’t going to lose to it

[@animus13racer]

Just curious after you cut the head of the bolt off why didn't you just push it out the other way?

[@simcoespring]

if we can get it to move, we do that now.

[@stevevincent1355]

why don't you use any spray to loosen the rusty bolts ie.. pb blaster ?

[@simcoespring]

because it doesn't work on this style of bushing. I've had many customer just hose them down in some sort of penetrating snot goop. didn't change a thing

[@ditherdather]

I hope this isn't a dumb question, but why wouldn't it be ok to just cut off and stall new brackets as well? Like drill out the bolts through the frame rail and back out the bolt on the bottom and replace the whole thing? I'm trying to learn something here, as I suspect you probably thought of that and have good reason for not doing it.

[@simcoespring]

Yes you can. We where commissioned to replace the shackles so that is what we do.

[@ditherdather]

@@simcoespring Hmm. I'd think the labor for backing out that bolt probably ran as much as a set of brackets, and the new ones wouldn't be as degraded. Customer's always right I guess, even if they're not. lol

[@brianwood876]

Working on mine for the last couple days laying on my back, head downhill, in the driveway, lower bolt came out with my fingers, upper bolt is giving me issues... My shackle broke and the spring slammed into the bottom of the floor, denting it and crushing a coolant line for the rear ac.... (savana van)... Air hammer just vibrates the entire leaf and can't get much heat in there because the a/c system has too much rubber and plastic 2 inches from the siezed bolt. Also, my new shackle came with both new bushings but in this video he leaves the upper one in. Should that really be replaced?

[@simcoespring]

if you can pump a lot of heat into the head of the upper bolt and do about 2 heat cycles but do it quickly so you don't melt everything....you might be able to get the rust to break free. try the tricks in this video instead kzbin.info/www/bejne/raDFeJWJepl-hZI it might help, not sure. each vehicle is different and require different techniques. Hope this helps.

[@brianwood876]

@@simcoespring thanks, I'll give it a try

[@donaldmccullough7315]

What is the torque for the shackle bolts ? cant seem to find them

[@simcoespring]

You can actually just look up the Torque specs on your 14mm bolt. Google recommends 214 FT lbs but check your bolt, size, grade before you tighten them. Each vehicle will be different and some lock nuts can mess with the readings when you torque too.

[@ophirb25]

So the one who installed the shakel put the bolts the wrong way?

[@gavinsharpe4746]

thats the first vtime i,ve seen you use nevaseeze.....

[@johnjohannemann1220]

In an industry where Time is of the essence, I would have just cut the shackle and replaced it as I have done many times before.

[@simcoespring]

Yup, I used to cut them out with a grinder until a disk exploded in my face (thankfully was wearing a face shield), after that I use this technique. Check out my other video where I explain more why I use this technique to save time. kzbin.info/www/bejne/iWKqmWNtZpmWkKM

[@jimmyschmidt14]

grind a point on that hammer bit and won't wander requiring a nut to be put on. at least in normal conditions.

[@mikethompson9745]

You really don't need that music most techs like to hear what you are doing.

[@thepoopsoup]

Heat both ends and use your impact on the inside hex nut to get it loose,

[@simcoespring]

then the sleeve of the bushing turns and you are back at it with a saw or grinder.

[@jimmyschmidt14]

better to drive the bolt out then spin it out. won't strip the bolt head or spin the bushing.

[@jasonoheir488]

Um. Drop the side of the hitch and put the bottom bolt in the other way. I can't imagine why it really matters which way the bolt faces, but if you're going to reassemble, may as well do it right. Great learning video all the same.

[@simcoespring]

I wouldn't worry about which way the bolt goes in. Rather that it is tightened correctly. Manufactures switch bolt directions every few years so it can't matter too much

[@tomgun5637]

cut the bolt head off with the torch weld the nut on the opposite end impact on the nut end and walla its out

[@ArthursYoutubeChannel]

I gave up...1992 f250.…...I am gonna just take the spring off..I was changing the mount...Hopefully just drag all that stuff out I hope.

[@simcoespring]

some of these bolt removals are the hardest things we do.

[@swampjoe1985]

That seems like a good idea until you realize on most rigs the front spring is obstructed by the fuel tank. Just a heads up if you haven't yet

[@milesff7]

Pb blaster is your friend here…..

[@UcantBeSerious03]

The nightmares are coming back already. I'm going to need therapy after watching this.

[@simcoespring]

you think that is bad, you should se the 10 minute challenge one....I think i needed a nap after that one.

[@UcantBeSerious03]

@@simcoespring I just watched it..... amazing work and determination. I just fought my rear springs in the driveway for the past 2 days. 77 k20 chassis getting 4" lift. Your tips helped. The nut on the bolt trick saved my fingers!! thanks

[@paulb7334]

This is the exact reason why you should take your car to a garage and have somebody knows what they're doing do it

[@ericneering6357]

Get a couple of brand new Salazar blades in a hammer and a chisel take the nut off and split it apart and cut the book way easier than this method is the way I do it every time

[@loyeantleyjr.8646]

🤩🤭🤩

[@johnblecker4206]

You get around the tube

[@anthonymohammed5014]

Man you need to let the customer under wash their vehicle before bringing into the shop or open a wash station on site to get the job done after spray shock oil to the under carriage and let them go

[@Mrsportzfan]

Swivel works

[@Mjc103]

Astro mini air gun best $100 youll spend

[@colelider5480]

I keep trying to understand which direction you jack it up? Every video I see does a horrible job explaining which direction to (and which areas) to lift it. The most important part of the process that could determine if i get hurt/damaged is barely explained...

[@simcoespring]

jack it up on the frame, we sometimes jack up on the back hitch where it is bolted to the frame.

[@Zt3v3]

Chevy, in their infinite wisdom....lol. Nothing I find more impressive from manufacturers than clearance and holes created for vehicle service. GM rarely impresses me in this category.

[@ASEWorldClassTech]

That shackle hanger is thin and weak. Just making an observation. She is rusty.... lol... We have the same type of crap in Maine.

[@simcoespring]

I think you just described every 10 year old truck in the rust belt.

[@alexisorellano2135]

Have you ever heard of PB blast should try using it someday works miracles

[@daveschroedersworkshop4479]

Glad I watched this. Now I know how not to try it myself. Who has all these tools at home? Sorry.

[@simcoespring]

I still have no clue how people do these in their driveway at home. They can be extremely difficult even with the right tools and experience

[@bmak7874]

Cut that crap off. You can tell you don’t do many light trucks.

[@sleepwalker8600]

Why do you not use WD40?

[@TheBigRed.]

Seriously??? Just spray with lube hit one side then the other back and forth! 🥴

[@jamesjordan7460]

Is that the gas tank you’re putting all that heat on with the torch? Gasoline has a very low flash point.

[@drummer57]

The hanger looks a little thin