Since my original plan was to pay someone to do the job (which I decided against because I am often not happy with the quality of shop work) I felt it was okay to spend a bit of extra cash on the Team Grand Wagoneer Shacks.
https://teamgrandwagoneer.com/heavy-dut ... 1974-1991/
They are not inexpensive. $224.95 for a set of 4. About twice what you pay for stock type replacements. But I saved more than this on labor costs, so it was easy to justify.
The packaging is first rate. Each shackle is wrapped in bubble wrap and then taped up and placed into a box with its counterpart. Two boxes of shackles are then placed inside another box for shipping and that is also well protected. One set is marked 'front' and the other 'rear'.
Physically the set is identical but they laser cut "TGW" into the shackles and so to read it correctly there is a front and rear. Since I did a shackle flip my rears still read upside down.
They seem well made with good welds. The bushing sleeve mates well with the bolt. No slop.
They are powder coated and that caused the holes for the spring bolt to be a bit tight but with a few test fittings of the bolt they opened up a bit.
They are also just a bit taller than the stock shackles. Since I am shackle flipped in the back this added a little bit of height to my ride overall.
This is a comparison of the rear shackle:
You can see in the picture the dimple on the stock shackle. I didn't realize it was there and tried pressing it out with a hydraulic press.
And the front:
See how the TGW laser cut is flipped for the front.
Here is my old bushings
That was all that was left of the rubber on the driver side and the passenger side (on the right) fell right out. So this should cure my 'clunking' in the front end...
Overall I am happy with the upgraded shackles. Good quality work, finish, shipping and the price isn't too crazy. I would do it again.
