Stock leaf spring arch

[Townie]

I'm currently replacing the leaf springs on my 97 stock xj; purchased the Heavy Duty leafs from Crown. I've got the 7" arch, and post purchase have seen Heavy Duty leafs with 6-5/8", 6-3/8", 5-1/8" etc. arches. I want to maintain stock height-- will a 7" arch vs. lesser arches affect my ride? Any replies are appreciated...

 

[Tim_MN]

See this posting from the FAQ section: http://www.naxja.org/forum/showthread.php?t=1013847

HD 7"' leafs are equivalent to the optional +1" taller than stock UpCountry off-road package.

The ride quality will be slightly stiffer than stock springs, which IMO are too soft.

 

[Townie]

Thanks for the reply. I'm guessing I should swap out the front coils too? I understand some swap 'em out w/ ZJ coils...

 

[Tim_MN]

Swap or add some .75" coil spacers.

 

[Townie]

Well, I had the 7" arch HD leafs & JKS shackles installed (stock shackle had broken, wanted a better replacement)-- it was lifted considerably in the rear & driving home had terrible vibrations at 30-40 mph. Now my shocks in the rear have little travel & bang over any small bumps.

Would a .75" spacer & heavy duty coils even the rear out? I had bilsteins for stock height and I'm guessing I have to replace these... Never wanted a lift because I carry a canoe on top & stock height is perfect for loading & unloading. No lift kit installed & I'm dealing with driveline vibrations?

Any ideas would be appreciated.

 

[souske]

Are your leaves broken in?

 

[8Mud]

You can try putting the weight of the Jeep on the springs , loosening and retightening the bolts. Worked for my 88 when I replaced all the bushings and added a full length add a leaf. After tightening all the bolts down with the weight off the axle and tires it was way higher than my expectations.

Also a good idea to grease the bushings, I used a high temp silicon grease. I had some nasty squeaks until I greased everything up.

Could be you have a bad driveshaft U-joint and the new angle is making it act up. The same thing can happen with a severely rusted driveshaft, the driveshaft may be out of balance and the new angle changes the balance even more. A quick test is to put five people in the car (which changes the driveshaft angle) and see what happens with the vibration.

 

[Ronbo]

Well, I had the 7" arch HD leafs & JKS shackles installed (stock shackle had broken, wanted a better replacement)-- it was lifted considerably in the rear & driving home had terrible vibrations at 30-40 mph. Now my shocks in the rear have little travel & bang over any small bumps.

Would a .75" spacer & heavy duty coils even the rear out? I had bilsteins for stock height and I'm guessing I have to replace these... Never wanted a lift because I carry a canoe on top & stock height is perfect for loading & unloading. No lift kit installed & I'm dealing with driveline vibrations?

Any ideas would be appreciated.

The JKS shackles provide one inch of lift by themselves. Going back to stock length shackles will help drop it back down. Then load in some weight and break-in the new springs.
Or lift the front a little, get proper shocks and deal with the drive line vibe fix.

 

[Townie]

Before I'm into a new set of Bilstein 5100's (2-3" lift), OME front coils (pair suitable for for both XJ & ZJ) and .75 poly spacers to even this 2" unintentional lift out-- I'm looking at the JKS shackle instructions & they call for mounting them w/ the decal facing front of vehicle-- did my mechanic mount them backwards? I've read of this mistake in the XJ forums... I noticed he reversed the mounting bolt too...

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Original shackle & Leaf; it was rusted and broken away from shackle to frame mount. Drove for a couple months on it. Ugh.

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Thanking all for the responses. Dumped much cake into this DD this year, 190,000+ miles on it now. Rather be fishing! :laugh:

 

[Townie]

Rear lifted after 7" arch leafs & jks shackles installed on stock 15x7's. A bit high without lift kit, no?

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[Ronbo]

Yes, the shackles are backwards. The noise you mentioned going over bumps could be the shackle hitting the rear of the mount. The mounting bolt could be hitting the exhaust pipe too.
It may sit high but the shackles are part of the problem, because they are longer than stock.

 

[souske]

Yes they are backwards. The bend its to prevent them from hitting the rear off the shackle box

 

[Townie]

Thanks so much for the replies guys; I couldn't find a good pic of the shackles installed.

They're going in proper saturday, along w/ Bilsteins for 2-3" lift as the blue & yellow HD's for 0" lift are def. over-extended.

I'll tackle front springs/spacer next paycheck...

 

[Townie]

Coil choices:

OME's for XJ HD provide 1.5" lift up front

Rusty's 2" XJ coils are less costly-- any preference out there?

No need for poly spacers w/ new coils?

Gotta balance this rig