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1-3” shackle lift

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Offline Catalinaislandliving

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1-3” shackle lift
« on: April 28, 2019, 08:18:09 PM »
I live on Catalina Island. Top speed possible on the island is 30MPH. But mainly 15-20MPH. The city only allows on road DMV registered vehicles that are 120” or less in length. My Samurai is chopped down to meet the 120” requirement. I have put on 3,000 miles on my samurai in the last 3-4 years. I want to convert my samurai to an OM 616 (240D) Mercedes Diesel engine. I am familiar with these engines. I know that the VW engine is more common for these conversions, however, I have a running Mercedes engine sitting around. This engine is in the ball park of 425 pounds. I am keeping the Mercedes engine and 4 speed manual transmission stock and mating it to the samurai transfer case. I have read that the few that have done this conversion in the past say that this motor will fit  but require modification and fabrication. The oil pan of this motor is “close” to the axle and steering components. I have a fully equipped shop at my disposal.
I would like to do a cheap shackle lift to give the engine a little more clearance. I have read a lot of posts that state that the shackle lift is not a good option. I’m wondering if that is because of highway speed suspension issues? Are shackle lifts ok for low speed operation? Also, will removing the torsion bar removal effect the suspension at low speed? Thanks

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Re: 1-3” shackle lift
« Reply #1 on: April 29, 2019, 04:45:03 AM »
A 3" shackle lift requires a 6" shackle extension, and when I say extension, I mean the shackle needs to be 6" longer than whatever is there now - the problem with long shackles is that they flex "side-to-side", reducing the "lateral location" normally provided by leaf springs, making for a very unstable vehicle, and one in which you could possibly find yourself with no steering, as when you turn the wheel, instead of the drag link pulling/pushing on the knuckle and turning it, the entire axle moves sideways and the vehicle continues to travel in the same direction.

You also need to recognize that the engine you're about to drop in weighs close to four times the weight of what you're taking out - you're going to need more than a shackle lift to compensate for that.
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