need a mental giant for this one

[deepwater]

Passenger leaf on my 98 XJ just gave up the ghost at 60,000 miles , and now the Jeep leans a few inches toward the passenger side.
I've got the Upcountry package and a rocky road budget boost (shackles, .5 inch block, coil spacers so I'm at about 3-3.5 inches)
So I apparently need to get aftermarket or junkyard leaf packs and coils, (no add-a-leafs) and all full packs I've seen provide at least 3 inches of lift.
(No re-arching shops anywhere remotely nearby too).
Now, for the questions.
1. Should I scrap the shackles, buy a 3 inch kit, and hope for minimal vibes? (Most 3 inch kits=about 5 inches so I think I'd have lots of vibe problems.) This was what a 4x4 shop recomended along with a 2 inch t-case drop "Don't need SYE, and those 1.5 inch shackles are dangerous with lift kits."

2. Should I live with the lean, save up some $, and get a SYE (probably hack 'n tap), and then get the 3 inch kit and sell the BB? (This solution seems expensive, especially because I will need new tires soon too.)

3. Or do option 2, but reuse the BB and buy the other parts I'd need (brakeline, control arms, other stuff)?

I (obviously) need advice. What say you? Thanks.

 

[tony597fitter]

check the junkyards, you could probably get one for pretty cheap, or at least some new leafs and rebuild the original one.

 

[Eagle]

Your experience confirms what I keep saying -- trying to lift with blocks and/or shackles is a quick way to kill an otherwise decent set of springs. LOSE THE SHACKLES

Try a junk yard. JC Whitney sells replacement springs for a reasonable price, and actually the factory's price for spring packs isn't all that bad.

Do you have a broken leaf on the bad side? It's difficult to envision one spring sagging that much unless something broke, or got literally bent.

 

[Eagle]

BTW -- OME has leaf packs that will give you 2", and another that will give you 3" (not 5" and then sag). Check some of the OME distributors for part numbers and prices.

 

[red87cherokee]

Your experience confirms what I keep saying -- trying to lift with blocks and/or shackles is a quick way to kill an otherwise decent set of springs. LOSE THE SHACKLES

I've heard about problems with blocks, but I can't figure out how the leaf spring "knows" how long the shackle is.

I'm not trying to be a smart-alec, but how does an extended shackle (say 1", or even the 1-1/2" that deepwater has) cause more strain on the leaf spring than stock springs (unless you are talking about the spring bending backward because the bumpstop is incorrect for the lift - and to me that's a bumpstop issue, not a shackle issue)? In fact, due to clearance issues on the stock shackle, everything I've read recommends using extended shackles to improve articulation and reduce strain on the leafs (by allowing the shackle to swing more freely throughout its entire arc without body/frame interference). Your enlightenment would be greatly appreciated.

 

[PNWXJ]

I would definatly lose the block! They are what kills the leafs. Blocks are proven to cause axle wrap and that is what wears out a leaf spring. If I were you I would get the OME leafs as Eagle said or go to junk yard and get a DRIVERS SIDE leaf spring. The pass side gets the torque load so IMExperiance the pass side wears out faster.

Tim

 

[2xtreme]

The shop that provided your recommendations should not touch your truck!! You do not want anything more than a 1" transfer case. and 1.5" lift shackles are very important on lift springs that are tall enought to need longer shackles to work properly through their designed movement.

I agree with eagles ideas, OME would be a great place to get a nice set of rear springs equivilent to your lift without extended shackles or blocks (you shouldnt need any other breaklines or mods as long as everything is checked and installed properly including checking driveline angles and such).

Shackles come in different lengths in order to provide the leaf spring with the correct amount of movement. Some springs need longer shackles and some need shorter. If you take the same leaf spring and provide it with a longer shackle it is alowed to flex more, which in turn puts more "work" into the leaf pack and will eventually wear it out. If you provide it with a short shackle then it will not be able to flex enough and is more likely to last a longer period of time.

Again, some leaf packs (generally longer ones or lifted ones) should have longer shackles.

Hope that helps,
Michael

 

[steveVA]

so I have Rusty's 6.5 rear spring,, Im planning on a heavy rear bumper so I just installed the boomerrang shackles,, it seems to ride a lot stiffer,, is this bad or is it normal???

 

[Eagle]

I've heard about problems with blocks, but I can't figure out how the leaf spring "knows" how long the shackle is.

I'm not trying to be a smart-alec, but how does an extended shackle (say 1", or even the 1-1/2" that deepwater has) cause more strain on the leaf spring than stock springs (unless you are talking about the spring bending backward because the bumpstop is incorrect for the lift - and to me that's a bumpstop issue, not a shackle issue)? In fact, due to clearance issues on the stock shackle, everything I've read recommends using extended shackles to improve articulation and reduce strain on the leafs (by allowing the shackle to swing more freely throughout its entire arc without body/frame interference). Your enlightenment would be greatly appreciated.

As already mentioned in this thread, replacement springs with a higher arch (and thus inherently longer than stock springs) need longer shckles to allow a wider range of movement. The problem in this case is that it's a stock spring with a block and a longer shackle, but no AAL or other reinforcement. The longer shackle thus allows the stock spring to move beyond the range for which it was designed.

Longer shackles do, indeed, increase articulation, but they do not decrease strain on the spring. There's no increase in strain (actually, "stress" is the correct term) from droop, but there is when you increase the range of movement in compression. Compression is stress, so anything that increases the amount of compression travel has to increase the stress.

Y'all gotta do what ya gotta do, but for my money the only "right" way to do a budget boost is with a full-length AAL. At least that reinforces the spring a bit.

 

[red87cherokee]

Y'all gotta do what ya gotta do, but for my money the only "right" way to do a budget boost is with a full-length AAL. At least that reinforces the spring a bit.

Well, since all I have is a full-length AAL, I guess I'm okay. Thanks for the information.

(actually, "stress" is the correct term)

Thanks for the info . . . learn something new everyday. Just to get a little more info, I looked up the definitions for strain in several dictionaries:

5. Physics. To alter (the relations between the parts of a structure or shape) by applying an external force; deform.

2. To be or become wrenched or twisted.

4. Physics. A deformation produced by stress.

3. To be subjected to great stress.

2. (Mech.) To act upon, in any way, so as to cause change of form or volume, as forces on a beam to bend it.

1: (physics) deformation of a physical body under the action of applied forces

Thanks again. I wasn't aware that in automotive terms the correct word was stress.

 

[Eagle]

Thanks again. I wasn't aware that in automotive terms the correct word was stress.

Actually, that's from structural engineering. Look at your definition #4 -- in structural engineering, the load on a beam is the stress (actually, the load on a beam puts the elements of the beam under stress, which is further broken down into tensile stress and compressive stress). The deflection (bending) of the beam is the strain. As long as the beam can go back to its original shape when the load (stress) is removed, this is "recoverable" strain and the beam is said to be loaded within its elastic limit.

If the beam bends far enough that some or all of the bend remains after the load is removed, the steel has exceeded its yield strength and we now have "irrecoverable strain."

If this sounds overly pedantic and/or irrelevent, remember that a leaf spring is nothing more or less than a flexible steel beam.

 

[rockwerks]

You know guys that I ran a 2" block on 9 leaf nationals for 4 years without any problems with axle wrap....the revolvers did cause some problems....I did break 2 main leafs @ the rear eye exactly where the revolver touches during articlulation...I know that I could have prevented it with taller bumpstops but I was willing to give up a spring every two years to giving up the uptravel on the rear