Snow Plow? Suspension Fixes? Other Questions..

[SnowyXJ]

Hi there.. I've got a 1989 Jeep Cherokee that I've done quite a bit too.. I've never seen this site before, but I think I'm glad that I've found it.

So far.. I've swapped it from a 2wd to a 4wd.. Not having known about the crappy peugot trannys, I stuck with the 5 spd that was the same as what was initially in it. I converted it to 4x4 with a donor jeep that had 3.07's front and rear...
While doing the swap I installed a 3" Rough Country Suspension Lift. After doing that came a SYE kit that I put in and figuring out how much I'd put into it, I bought some rancho 5000s shocks and some tubular front and rear bumpers, a reese receiver hitch, a surgo safari roof rack, and various other little things..

My father has been using the jeep mainly to tow a 2,500# landscape trailer, and so far we've been semi o.k.

3 weeks ago.. the rear end blew out, and while diagnosing that problem noticed the rear leaf springs. I redid the rear leaf springs with another set of XJ springs I had lying around, and decided to put in Polyurethane bushings. I ran into a few problems here.

1.) The top shackle bolt wouldn't budge on either side.. Finally when I got one to budge, I coudln't get it to come out of the bushing.. Is there an easy way to fix this or get around it.. I've got the bushings and don't want them to just sit here.. I'd like to replace them.

2.) What is the easiest way to remove the front spring shackle bolt if you broke the welded nut off on the inside of the pocket thingy..

3.) What would be the best setup as far as rear leaf springs to continue to haul this trailer.. This trailer has a 200-300# toungue weight and I know it's probably exceeding the towing capacity, but.. I've never been one to let numbers stand in my way..

4.)While swapping the rear axle over from the other jeep, I gained a few gears I think.. I went from 3.07 to a 3.55.. This was a noticable difference and I was very excited when I found this out.. Now the only problem is I've got to swap the front one.. Oh well.. win some and lose some..

But since I'm going to be pulling down the front axle anyway.. Is there any way to beef up the front suspension to handle a 6' or 6'6" steel snow plow.. I've had plastic blade plows before and I didn't like them.. So.. I'm wondering.. is there any way to make the jeep handle all this extra weight on the front???

I don't really want to put a plow on my jeep, but.. I got ride of my pickup this past summer, and didn't really think about winter time in Buffalo NY, except for having 4 wheel drive, and I don't really want to shovel a triple wide driveway that's 110ft long and a sidewalk that's almost 80 ft long..

Has anyone tried putting a plow on their XJ and what kind of results did it yeild.. I know it's not a heavy vehichle or anything like that, but I'm really looking forward to making this jeep a real sport UTILITY vehicle.. I figure why not.. She's got 348,000 miles on the body and probably 100,000 miles on the rebuilt engine and drivetrain, so she's already paid for herself over and over again, so.. might as well go all out and build her back up and have her make some money so I can paint her come spring..

Also .. Has anyone ever thought about redesigning the front rear leaf spring mount, or possibly the upper shackle mount???? I'm interested in any ideas you guys may have..

Thanks in Advance.. Bill

 

[Eagle]

Welcome to . We (modestly, of course) think we have the best group of Cherokee experts anywhere, so we hope you'll stick around and put your oar in the water when it seems appropriate. It sounds like you know your way around the XJ already.

1.) The top shackle bolt wouldn't budge on either side.. Finally when I got one to budge, I coudln't get it to come out of the bushing.. Is there an easy way to fix this or get around it.. I've got the bushings and don't want them to just sit here.. I'd like to replace them.

PB Blaster. Lots of it, every day for about a week.

2.) What is the easiest way to remove the front spring shackle bolt if you broke the welded nut off on the inside of the pocket thingy..

If you run a search you'll find this gets discussed periodically. You are not the first. Basically, you have to cut into the frame rail so you can put a wrench on the offending weldnut. Some people use a hole saw and cut the side of the frame rail opposite the nut so they can get on it with a socket. Others go inside the passenger compartment and cut the floor pan into the top of the frame. I've not encountered this problem -- yet -- but I expect to when I swap out my rear springs on an '88. If I break a weldnut loose, I'll probably go through the floor because (1) it's inside and I don't have to be as careful to make a weathertight repair, and (2) the floor pan is big, so my repair doesn't have to be as structurally sound.

3.) What would be the best setup as far as rear leaf springs to continue to haul this trailer.. This trailer has a 200-300# toungue weight and I know it's probably exceeding the towing capacity, but.. I've never been one to let numbers stand in my way..

With a Class 3 hitch, the XJ is rated to tow 5000 pounds with a 750 pound tongue weight. But that's with automatic and a tow package with heavy-duty springs. I don't know what the rate is on your Rough Country springs, but I think I would look for a set of junkyard springs with a similar free (unweighted) arch, and take a long leaf from that pack to reinforce yours.

But since I'm going to be pulling down the front axle anyway.. Is there any way to beef up the front suspension to handle a 6' or 6'6" steel snow plow.. I've had plastic blade plows before and I didn't like them.. So.. I'm wondering.. is there any way to make the jeep handle all this extra weight on the front???

When yours was new Jeep offered a Meyers plow from the factory. Back then, they also had an optional heavy duty spring package that didn't increase the ride height. Again, who knows what the rate is for your Rough Country lift. How much plowing do you do? If this is just for your own driveway and you don't drive long distances with the plow on, you should be okay. If you do commercial plowing, that's another story entirely.

Has anyone tried putting a plow on their XJ and what kind of results did it yeild.. I know it's not a heavy vehichle or anything like that, but I'm really looking forward to making this jeep a real sport UTILITY vehicle..

One of my high school classmates (mind you, we're not in HS now -- that was many years ago) does commercial plowing. Last year he sold his old full-size Bronco and bought a slightly used '97 or '98 XJ with a plow. He used that for his route all last year and when I asked him how it was doing he seemed pleased with it.

 

[Vug]

I plowed with mine '87 (with the Peugot trans) a couple winters back and it did well. I hung a 6' Meyers on it and only did a few driveways. I had 4" lift Trailmaster coils which were really stiff. It didn't sag much with the plow weight on it. The XJ is quite a bit more manueverable than a FS pickup. I think you will like plowing with it especially because of the short drive you have.

There is a good chance I will be plowing with my '93 next winter unless I can score a cheap pickup or Bronco before then. Don't get me wrong, the XJ is a good light duty plow truck (spread the load along the frame rails well when mounting it) but it don't hold a candle to a short box pickup or half cabbed Bronco.

Good luck and welcome to !