Lowering XJ

[muddypunk]

Ford springs are pre scissir axles 78 and early I have a set out of a 3/4 ton 2 wd that I used for about 3 1/5 lift and were way stiff 1/2 ton are like 2 coils shorter and maybe softer not sure

 

[bigdaddyjlove]

No US distributor, huh...? That sucks. Then yeah, I would imagine shipping would be a little pricey. What did they quote you for the kit?? Both price and shipping??

Prices for the parts are on the site in Euros

The response I got:

Thank you very much for your mail. We have some lowering springs and kits Chrysler Jeep in stock. In attachment you will receive one offer about the springs and one offer about the complete kits we have for Chrysler Jeep (Grand Cherokee ZJ and Cherokee XJ).
The shipping costs to USA are 64€ up to 180€ depending on the weight.
If you have any further questions, please don't hesitate to contact me.
Best regards,
Steffi
maas group GmbH & Co. KG
Robert-Bosch-Straße 5 - 9
47475 Kamp-Lintfort
Fon +49(0) 28 42 82 71
Fax +49(0) 28 42 6 07 05
www.maas-group.de

 

[gradon]

Here's a pic of the adjustable trackbar I had Andy make for my setup:

Amazing piece of work.

 

[racerized]

Very nice. Is that a stocked item, or a custom build??

 

[88JeepXJ]

When you think about it, it is not really anything crazy, just a round bar welded to a bushing, and one end threaded with a tie rod. It sure does look peeerty though

I dropped the bracket on the axle end and used the stock bar...not as elegant as this but works. If you need a new tie rod end anyway this would be a good way to go.

 

[gradon]

This was a custom piece. The first shorter one he sent had the s-bend in it that started earlier on the axle end compared to stock, which has the s more towards the frame end, and it hit the oil pan. On my setup, the axle end is about 2-3" lower than the frame end, so I told him to make a straight bar 31"+/-1"(even though it can probably go to +2"). I told him to keep notes cause other people w/ lowered XJs/Mjs might come askin. Andy is the man.

 

[Dr.Watson]

Could rear lowering also be accomplished by simply removing the shackle on the rear most part of the leaf spring? I just thought of this and will get pictures tomorrow if needed.

 

[DanMan2k06]

Good lord no. The shackle is what makes your spring, well, a spring. Otherwise you're essentially turning it into a rigid pack of bars.

 

[88JeepXJ]

Yeah it seems like a doable thing in your head, but these aren't coil springs so as the leaf pack compresses the arch becomes flatter and thus the spring gets longer. If you take out the shackle the top leaf pack will have nowhere to move under compression and will likely snap.

 

[Dr.Watson]

Well dang, thought i had just struck lowering gold hahaha.

 

[bjoehandley]

Well, instead of removing it, can a shorter than stock one be made to work? I've kinda wondered that, but never bothered to research it.

 

[Dr.Watson]

Well, instead of removing it, can a shorter than stock one be made to work? I've kinda wondered that, but never bothered to research it.

Yeah, upon second look i realized it wouldn't be possible to completely eliminate it, but as you stated, began to wonder if i could just fab. a shorter one. :dunno:

 

[dave92cherokee]

The XJ shackle is already about as short as it can get as people with MJ's use the XJ shackle for 1" drop in the back. Our XJ's can't be lowered to much in the rear with the leafs as alot of the stock leafs are already flat. To really lower the rear of an XJ it would have to be converted to a coil spring rear then everyone knows the problems and needs after that. I think best option would be to find some factory sagging leaves and put them in as that's going to give the best option to get the rear lower a couple of inches.

 

[techno1154]

The XJ shackle is already about as short as it can get as people with MJ's use the XJ shackle for 1" drop in the back. Our XJ's can't be lowered to much in the rear with the leafs as alot of the stock leafs are already flat. To really lower the rear of an XJ it would have to be converted to a coil spring rear then everyone knows the problems and needs after that. I think best option would be to find some factory sagging leaves and put them in as that's going to give the best option to get the rear lower a couple of inches.

People who lower their XJ go the spring under route,... like the MJ, then vary the length of the shackle to give the ride height they are looking for. Just by going spring under the XJ will be 3+ inches lower depending on the thickness of the axle tube.

 

[Dr.Watson]

yeah, I knew all of that already, I was just looking into a quicker alternaive. But thank you.

 

[ZachsXJ]

yeah, I knew all of that already, I was just looking into a quicker alternaive. But thank you.

The only other option is a shackle flip, where instead of hanging below the mounting point, the shackle sits above it.

It could be done on an XJ but it'd be a royal PITA.

 

[88JeepXJ]

It could be done on an XJ but it'd be a royal PITA.

How? Isn't it part of the "frame rail"?

 

[WAM174]

Just out of curiosity, what does a stock used rear spring look like when taken apart? I'm wondering if you can rearrange the pieces into a lower package.

 

[Dr.Watson]

How? Isn't it part of the "frame rail"?

THe front one for sure is.....so idk what he is talking about?:dunno:

 

[dave92cherokee]

People who lower their XJ go the spring under route,... like the MJ, then vary the length of the shackle to give the ride height they are looking for. Just by going spring under the XJ will be 3+ inches lower depending on the thickness of the axle tube.

I think this is really the only real way to lower the rear of an xj. Doing a spring under would act like the spring over in an mj and would likely give 5.5-6" of drop. So if you had some 3" lift leafs with it then you would end up at about 3" lower.