Front leaf conversion...

R

recycledxj

NAXJA Forum User
Location
baltimore
Okay here is a question.. how long has anyone run leafs in the front, cause im worried about the front of the unibody flexing more are less with leafs compared to coils, Im not to sure. Also I have seen it once here but I cant seem to find it now but to acheive 6 inchs of lift would size YJ spring would I need to get that...
 
recycledxj said:
Okay here is a question.. how long has anyone run leafs in the front, cause im worried about the front of the unibody flexing more are less with leafs compared to coils, Im not to sure. Also I have seen it once here but I cant seem to find it now but to acheive 6 inchs of lift would size YJ spring would I need to get that...
Click to expand...

Since a coil and link suspension is much superior to a leaf suspension, and it is very well known how to make the front suspension of an XJ work well, and the coil suspension is already on there.............what is the motivation for converting to leaf springs in the front?

:dunno:
 
I'm running yj 3.5 BDS leafs up front and i had to put a 2" block in the rear to level it out. I had RE's 4.5leaf pack w/ the shackle for 5-1/2-6" lift. Now i'm higher than 6"...probably closer to 8". So to answer your question i'd stick with anything less than 3.5 if you want to stay around 6"

For me the reason to switch to leafs up front was a money thing. I swapped in a set of 3/4 axles and didn't have the funds to spend money on brackets, links, and fabbing everything up. It was just for simplicity and cost is the reason I put leafs up there. I wouldn't say leafs are the "best" but for what I wanted they are perfect. Of course they may not have the flex as a coil or air shock susp. but I knew that going in. I'd do it again if I got the chance...I'm happy w/ the leafs up front. Hope this helps ya...
 
Alright now what about the front chassis flexing... would a well built fornt cross member for the front shackles help to pervent the front form failing..
 
When you build something like this you have to ask yourself at what cost. There is a trade off in everything. Is this a dd or a trail rig or somewhere in the middle? Yes your unibody is going to flex some, is it going to make your whole frontend fall off....doubt it. But how hard are you going to wheel it? Are you going to bash is every weekend and abuse it. They yes over time i'm sure an unprotected subframe will start to give. But now if you had bumpers, sleeve the frame, cage it, etc....will it help it be stronger. It's good you are asking these questions because it shows you are concerned about the intregity of the subframe. But at the sametime if you put larger tires, axles, redo the front susp. there is a trade off.... So keep asking questions, try things, see what works and doesn't and learn from them. You will get all kinds of answers on the board about what you should or shouldn't do...what one kind of susp will do verses another. My advise would be to do a ton of research on your ideas( <---what you are doing here :) ) and see what other people do and what works, listen to the people that have actually done it. But this is a great resource for you so keep it up and i'm sure plenty of people will be able to help you in whatever you do.
 
Thankyou, Iam glad somebody see's my point.The Jeep is a daily driver and once a month wheeler(due to the trails being 2 plus hours away), plus when I do wheel I do wheel pretty hard. That is another reason why I want to go to leafs, because it just seems less things to go wrong and fail. For 2 years now I have rebuilt my front end many times and the rear, the most I have ever done was boken a shaft. And when I say rebuild the front end Iam talking about bushings, many of them have failed...and also the cost of the conversion is defently a good reason for me because the fab doesnt seem that hard...
 
recycledxj said:
Thankyou, Iam glad somebody see's my point.The Jeep is a daily driver and once a month wheeler(due to the trails being 2 plus hours away), plus when I do wheel I do wheel pretty hard. That is another reason why I want to go to leafs, because it just seems less things to go wrong and fail. For 2 years now I have rebuilt my front end many times and the rear, the most I have ever done was boken a shaft. And when I say rebuild the front end Iam talking about bushings, many of them have failed...and also the cost of the conversion is defently a good reason for me because the fab doesnt seem that hard...
Click to expand...

then bushings are your problem...

replace some of them with RE joints or buy good control arms like JKS arms that rotate and dont wear out bushings...
 
mmmkay325 said:
I'm running yj 3.5 BDS leafs up front and i had to put a 2" block in the rear to level it out. I had RE's 4.5leaf pack w/ the shackle for 5-1/2-6" lift. Now i'm higher than 6"...probably closer to 8". So to answer your question i'd stick with anything less than 3.5 if you want to stay around 6"

For me the reason to switch to leafs up front was a money thing. I swapped in a set of 3/4 axles and didn't have the funds to spend money on brackets, links, and fabbing everything up. It was just for simplicity and cost is the reason I put leafs up there. I wouldn't say leafs are the "best" but for what I wanted they are perfect. Of course they may not have the flex as a coil or air shock susp. but I knew that going in. I'd do it again if I got the chance...I'm happy w/ the leafs up front. Hope this helps ya...
Click to expand...

I am running the BDS 3.5" springs in the front as well. It is a daily driver and trail rig. I run over 700 miles a week on mine. I am still working out a few bugs (pitman arm hits the hydro assist ram at full compression etc..) I have run Tomken 6", stuperlift 4.5", and a RE 4.5" lift in the past. Yes coils give more travel, balanced travel is nice. Side hilling is much more stable now. If I can ever save up enough cash to buy new shocks I'll probably be able to balance the system out a bit more.

What I am trying to say is this, leaf springs work. People can say what ever they want about them, but they work. They will not match performance with a good long arm kit, but don't cost that much either.
 
95Steel-

What is your setup in the rear. Size leafpack, shackle, block? Are you sitting leave w/ the 3.5 in the front. Got any pics. Not trying to hijack thread, but this may help recycledxj out too.
 
Mine is a MJ so it is a little different. I did a spring over and added a bit longer shackle (2wd chevy lowering shackle). I have a ford 9" in the back with anti wrap perches that add about a half inch as well.

I sit a tad high in the rear. I actually want to lower mine a bout an inch or two front and rear but do not want to have to re do all of my steering or make new driveshafts again.
 
run long arms! leafs contradict the format of the xj: i guess it is cheaper though i just dont know - get a yj if you want leafs - it seems that all the spring hangers i have seen would limit aproach angles and would get in the way on a lot of trails... but it can be done. articulation and ride quality imo favors the stock 4 link or long arm set up with the coil/ sock combo. plus it looks better:rof:
 
jeeppic.jpg


I don't have any approach angle problems? I moved my axle forward a couple inches as well.

build3.jpg


build5.jpg
 
Ride quality.... Leaf springs kick the crap out of short arms, on and off road.

Long arm kits are the best, not argueing that. Build your own long arms or buy a kit, either way it takes a ton of time and money. Leaf springs take more time, but the cost is very low.

I DD mine, have for several months with ZERO issues (over 10,000 miles) I run it on trails with ZERO issues. Now would I like to have coils up front, sure... if you pay for them :) :) :)
 
This should answer all of your questions and give you a ton of ideas on how to properly execute front leafs:
The front leaf spring thread. who's doing it now? what have you learned?

I have done front leafs... and certaintly you can do it "cheap cheap cheap". But be careful or it will turn out like ass ass ass. Of course there are many folks out there who just seem to score awesome deals on good parts... but if you are purchasing new like I did, you could run upwards of almost $500. I estimate thats how much my suspension alone ran me. Not so cheap anymore when you compare that against buying some coils, johnny joints, and tube.

Good springs, 14" travel shocks, u-bolts, spring plates, perches, bushings, metal, wire & gas for the welder, assortment of grade 8 bolts, another assortment of grade 8 bolts because you bought the wrong ones the first time, shackles, blah blah blah.

Good luck, post up how it turns out.

-jm
 
HTeK said:
This should answer all of your questions and give you a ton of ideas on how to properly execute front leafs:
The front leaf spring thread. who's doing it now? what have you learned?

I have done front leafs... and certaintly you can do it "cheap cheap cheap". But be careful or it will turn out like ass ass ass. Of course there are many folks out there who just seem to score awesome deals on good parts... but if you are purchasing new like I did, you could run upwards of almost $500. I estimate thats how much my suspension alone ran me. Not so cheap anymore when you compare that against buying some coils, johnny joints, and tube.

Good springs, 14" travel shocks, u-bolts, spring plates, perches, bushings, metal, wire & gas for the welder, assortment of grade 8 bolts, another assortment of grade 8 bolts because you bought the wrong ones the first time, shackles, blah blah blah.

Good luck, post up how it turns out.

-jm
Click to expand...

Second that on the bolts etc... I was pricing rod ends to do a long arm kit much like the clayton system when I came accross a screaming deal for a set of BDS 3.5 " springs. I had allready purchased the ORGS frame plates, happened to have a bucket full of u-bolts and some metal plate. The rest was history. I am very happy with my set up, but this is not my first spin on the merrygowheeling a POS around. If you don't know what you are doing, buy a kit. The best part of a kit is that all the wierd stuff is already worked out. You don't have to re-work everything...
 
To answer your original question, you will need to reinforce the unibody where the front "crossmember" is. On my old mj, the welds for the stock sheetmetal crossmember broke from the added forces the leafs and fullwidth axle put on the unibody rails. The front bumper was the only thing that tied the rails together. Build a decent crossmember. Plate everything.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

B
4.5 Betts rear leaf
Replies
2
Views
536
Tim_MN
Tim_MN
R
XJ Shackle and Leaf Spring Options
Replies
8
Views
655
Tim_MN
Tim_MN
Bilskirnir3124
Looking for recommendations on replacement rear leaf springs
Replies
18
Views
667
Bilskirnir3124
Bilskirnir3124
N
  • Locked
Lowering An XJ
Replies
0
Views
400
NAXJA_Archives
N
jrienzo4
Direction/Feedback Needed
2
Replies
21
Views
569
Evan03
E
Back
Top