willysmjeeps.com

Hello,

New member here, and this is my first post. I'm working on a recently purchased 1952 M38A-1 brake system and realized that the Leaf Spring assemblies should be replaced. I noticed that I can get an entire overhaul kit for non-greasable shackles, but am not sure how to tell which type I have? Are there visual cues (please don't say one has grease and the other does not - this thing is so old there's grease, oil, and dirt everywhere ) )

Thanks in advance,

J

(Moved to correct forum board by moderator)

Greaseable shackles have a zerk fitting in the hex end.


Front M38 spring item "Z" & "U" both have grease zerks.


Rear M38 spring item "Q" & "Q" both have grease zerks.


Do not buy shackle kits that do not have these zerk grease fittings in the hex end.


For those of you with later M38A1 and the M170's their more modern closed end shackles still have grease zerks in the hex ends.

If mine need replacing, I will replace them. If not, no. How can I tell if the shackles or Pivot Bolts need to be replaced? They pass the visual inspection set out in Par.35 of TM9-8015-2. Par. 275 of that manual requires disassembly to determine if there is excessive wear. Is there an empirical test that does not require disassembly? Thanks. David

The spring must be unloaded to check for looseness in the shackle and pivot bushings. That means disconnected from the axle with no weight on them. Ideally you would check each end of the spring while the other end is disconnected from the frame as well. In extreme wear cases the slop can be detected by simply raising the body/frame until there's no load on the shackle.

Holy crap, Wes, that is awesome! So much better than I could have hoped for. Thank you!