Any suspension gurus out there????

[BigDsCJ7]

I have a 86' CJ7 with a Skyjacker 4" lift. It rides very rough for two reasons I think: A fiberglass tub and a LT1 so it's a lot lighter than norm. I was told by a local offroad shop that a good fix would be to go back to stock springs and do a SOA kit. I would rather not have to sell my lift kit and start over.

So my question is can I pull a leaf or two from the packs and do the SOA? If not, are there any other alternatives? Thank you in advance for any input.

 

[Ithoughtitwasagoodidea]

I ended up switching the front and rear springs. CJs have a 2.5" in the rear and 2" in the front. I figured the stronger springs should be in the front, due to engine weight. It worked out well. I`m not pulling trailers or hauling heavy loads. I like it.

 

[BigDsCJ7]

Did you do an SOA or just switched a set of reg lift springs?

 

[coldair]

You dont want to do a SOA lift if your jeep is going to be a street rig. You could just pull a spring out of the pack it woudnt hirt but you prob would lose a little of your lift.

 

[Ithoughtitwasagoodidea]

I did a SOA and 4" springs. It was way to high. So i installed 2.5" lift springs. There`s no ride differance, with the SOA. It`s a cheap 4" of lift. I`m also running a small block Chevy.

 

[Old Dog]

I did a SOA and 4" springs. It was way to high. So i installed 2.5" lift springs. There`s no ride differance, with the SOA. It`s a cheap 4" of lift. I`m also running a small block Chevy.

I have to disagree with the cheap part. There's nothing cheap about SOA when done correctly. The high streer set-up will cost more than a new set of springs.
I'd try pulling a leaf and see how it rides.

 

[Ithoughtitwasagoodidea]

I`m not running a high steering set up. It works well with the drop pitman arm.

 

[73CJ]

The only way a 4" lift can remain stable on the road is to increase the spring rate. Then they ride likes tank. I cracked my frame at 3 spring mounts with Trail (Master) 4" lift. They were 550#/inch. Stock are around 230#/inch. 2-1/2" lift kits are somewhere in between.

If you really need the lift, consider 2-1/2" and a body lift.

Also depends on what you are using it for.

 

[BigDsCJ7]

I'm not doing any "crazy" off-roading, but would like to be able to go out with the local Jeep club. At the same time they require that the rig is hwy worthy. My lift is ok but just looking for a little more ride comfort.

 

[IOPort51]

A friend just installed a 2.5 lift and was not happy with the ride, last time I saw him he said he had the shackle bolts too tight. he gave them a little slip and it was doing much better.
Try to increase your weight?? winch and bumper maybe or spare tire carrier?? you could pick up a couple hundred pounds pretty easy. Not my first choice but a SOA would be way way down on that list.

I'm not doing any "crazy" off-roading, but would like to be able to go out with the local Jeep club. At the same time they require that the rig is hwy worthy. My lift is ok but just looking for a little more ride comfort.

 

[CJim7]

I'm not doing any "crazy" off-roading, but would like to be able to go out with the local Jeep club. At the same time they require that the rig is hwy worthy. My lift is ok but just looking for a little more ride comfort.

Try opening up the spring clamps some. also, you can purchase inserts to place between the leaves....I believe they are graphite or Teflon. Some of the high dollar spring packs have them already inserted.

Check to make sure your bushings aren't too tight at the spring ends.

I run 4" Superlift springs and they are soft as silk and flex beautifully. You can tune a leafsprung suspension.

 

[BigDsCJ7]

So I think I might try "tunning" my current spring suspension. So from what I understand....I can do two things.
1.) Add spacers, some composite ones.
2.) Change out my shackles to some heavy duty ones that are greaseable and have the bar in the middle so I can keep them a little more loose.

Please let me know what you guys think....Thank you again

 

[BigDsCJ7]

Also, I'm doing some digging and can't find spacers in composite....any ideas?

 

[CJ007]

As mentioned, make sure you loosen the shackles a little and I suggest going out with the club and few times and run that bad boy, flex it out . Springs will break in some too, so if you haven't had them long or used much they will soften up as long as they are not like 8 leaf heavy duty.

 

[CJim7]

Also, I'm doing some digging and can't find spacers in composite....any ideas?

Jeep Leaf Springs
Check out the 6th product down...leaf spring inserts.

Also google 'jeep leaf spring inserts' and there a ton of options.

 

[BigDsCJ7]

Thanks CJ007, they are newer. Only about 3k miles on them. Only been off-road twice. Even then nothing crazy. So maybe shackles and off-roading...see what happens.

 

[CJim7]

Thanks CJ007, they are newer. Only about 3k miles on them. Only been off-road twice. Even then nothing crazy. So maybe shackles and off-roading...see what happens.

An age-old trick is to find a nice ditch and cycle your suspension at different angles. Over and over....

 

[BajaEdition]

An age-old trick is to find a nice ditch and cycle your suspension at different angles. Over and over....

we use fork lifts around here, we drive out of the shop, pick up a tire and drive back in when we see what we need, much faster and much closer to the tools.

 

[CJim7]

we use fork lifts around here, we drive out of the shop, pick up a tire and drive back in when we see what we need, much faster and much closer to the tools.

Yep. I meant for breaking in new springs though. It softens them up some to excercise the suspension aggressively