shackles at the front?

[golana]

What do you guys think about shackles at the front of the leaf pack on the front diff?

i was reading up a bit on pirate, and cant manage to find a whole lot on the subject. i did however find this:


Advantages:

Driveshaft slip travel is less, so you don't need as long travel of a front DS
On a vehicle with Arched springs, the wheels move forward instead of into the firewall

Disadvantages:

Possibly bending a spring (Never seen this ever in Michigan, but I guess we don't ram into rocks all day)
Worse Handling, as the slop is in front rather than behind, so more unstable

im mainly thinking of maybe doing shackles up front to keep the driveshaft angle proper when i lift the crap out of it, but then i guess you run into the problem of your steering angle being off...

what are your guys' opinions on this? im pretty sure Nathan will have something to say about it :)

-=EDIT=-
if i need a longer driveshaft, i plan to make a sqtube one. i wont be using 4x4 unless im on the trails, and i dont plan on going 100km/h on the trails haha

-=EDIT 2=-
i plan on going with like 6 or 7" of spring lift, and thats all i want for lift. would i have to mess with the front driveshaft and front axle angle at all?

[freeze]

You'd benefit from doing a drop hanger off the front cross member to cure your pinion angle. Would also be easier as you'd have to lockout the rear shackles somehow.

Front shackles allow for the front tires to bump up over obstacles easier and smoother. The easier path is just drop hanger the front.

The Toyota axle has caster/camber built into them so if you did go front shackle that would get pretty messed up.

[golana]

yea, i was thinking about building a drop spring hanger too, might end up doing that, then making some boomerang shackles. i dont know if im ready for rears up front because you have to move the steering box forward to compensate for the axle moving forward 2" due to the rear leaf springs being offset.

i might just build a custom pack out of a few leafs i have kicking around. add a few to the front and rear, and see where i sit after.

i want to keep my 35's and be able to flex good with them

[canadian bum]

Land Cruisers Run with the shackles at the front don't notice any problems unless you put huge shackles on then they become rock hunters.