help? yj springs wont fit my cj

[buzzinhalfdoz]

i have a 1970 CJ5 in frame off process now. just got frame painted , ordered my rc 2 1/2" yj kit and it came in. when i saw it in the floor of my parts store i said it would not work, he said it would. the springs are marked 8009, 8012. they have a huge arch (about 10-11")(i thought yj springs were mostly flat) and are only 41" eye to eye. i set up my spring hangers at 45", my neighbor has a yj and this is what i measured off his jeep. i had to move the shackle hanger in 1 1/2-2"(for mock up only) to fit the new spring. with axel on jackstands i put about 600lbs(3 guys) on rear of frame and it only droped about 3/4". this cant be right. the axel is also too far toward the front of the rear wheel opening. i wanted more flex and a softer ride...not this...
what the blank is up???
did i order the wrong spring? or did they send me the wrong spring???
help, please, this is frustrating, i thought i done my homework before i ordered the springs, now i have new parts in the floor i cant enjoy!!!

 

[thescot]

I did a "8009 YJ spring" search and it comes up as a front RC 2.5" lift spring, the other the rears. From what Ive heard the name is somewhat indicative of the ride quality.

 

[hole]

The different part #'s are throwing me off, are the springs different in length and arch when stacked on top of each other? When doing mine, all 4 springs were the same length and arch, and I had to move the front hanger forward one inch. Just went and measured, and mine are 45"s center to center on the vehicle, front and rear. Mine is an 83, so I'm not sure if all is the same on your 70, but YJ springs are YJ springs right :dunno:

 

[buzzinhalfdoz]

the 8009,8012 springs are all the samearch and length 41" eye to eye. they have a huge arch, 10-12". the rear springs cane with a pinion angle wedge, the front did not, i imagen the front are slightly stiffer. 45" is where i welded my hangers. just like the measurement i took off a neighbors jeep.
ps so their is no other yj different length, all are same 45"?
pss if you measure around the spring it comes out 45-46" , so they would work if they were flat, but the huge arch closes them up too much i think.(about 41")
what brand did u use (hole)?

 

[Old Dog]

I did a "8009 YJ spring" search and it comes up as a front RC 2.5" lift spring, the other the rears. From what Ive heard the name is somewhat indicative of the ride quality.

If this is right and they are RC springs, they are known to make there springs as you describe (the right length before the arch which makes them to short ) I would take them back and get some springs that are made right.

 

[thescot]

If im following you right I can add this. The last CJ5 I owned got a 4" Procomp lift installed by me. The front springs arched as expected and when installed made the front shackles in line with the leaf springs, like they were to short. This result was any wheel drop from off roading frequently caused the shackle when the spring was compressed to actually go past center, or towards the rear of the vehicle wedging the shackle up against the frame loaded by the leaf pack. This made basically rigid suspension now and the only way to undo this was to pry the shackle back over that point so it could move again. It sucked and Ive read numerous complaints from purchasers of Procomps stuff. Their take is it perfectly fine and run it. It sounds like your may have the same thing going on here.

 

[hole]

the 8009,8012 springs are all the samearch and length 41" eye to eye. they have a huge arch, 10-12". the rear springs cane with a pinion angle wedge, the front did not, i imagen the front are slightly stiffer. 45" is where i welded my hangers. just like the measurement i took off a neighbors jeep.
ps so their is no other yj different length, all are same 45"?
pss if you measure around the spring it comes out 45-46" , so they would work if they were flat, but the huge arch closes them up too much i think.(about 41")
what brand did u use (hole)?

I'm using OME heavy springs front and rear. IMO,worth every penny but 3" is the tallest lift they offer.

 

[buzzinhalfdoz]

ok i dedided to try some hillybilly enginering. last night,
i took one apart, i am going to leave the short spring out when i reassemble.
i have the long one and the second one(it is long as the top one but no eyes), under each front tire of my cummins pickup flat on floor.today i jacked the truck off the springs and ,they had grown (eye to eye) about 1" and were easier to collasp by hand.next i am going to set the eyes on some 2x4 blocks and put the werght of the truck back on them for about a hour. i may beat on the flat ends exposed in front of the tire with a shop hammer to stress relieve them somewhat. i will post results later. thanks

 

[buzzinhalfdoz]

i put the weight of the truck on them on 2 x 4 for over an hour, then i added a 1x4 to the stack for more downward pressure, after i removed them they had grown from 41" to 42 1/2" , and went down in arch from about 10" to 8 1/4".
i installed the rear ones and the shackel is still pointed inward but just a little, and when i put my weight on the rear the suspensoin it moves freely with the shackle moving rearward with travel.
guess i will leave it alone for now and start building the frame up and c where it settles.

 

[jdarg]

i put the weight of the truck on them on 2 x 4 for over an hour, then i added a 1x4 to the stack for more downward pressure, after i removed them they had grown from 41" to 42 1/2" , and went down in arch from about 10" to 8 1/4".
i installed the rear ones and the shackel is still pointed inward but just a little, and when i put my weight on the rear the suspensoin it moves freely with the shackle moving rearward with travel.
guess i will leave it alone for now and start building the frame up and c where it settles.

WTF?

Seriously, just move the hangers or get different springs if you don't think they are right. That shackle is going to want to invert on you at the drop of a hat. No amount of fiddling is going to correct this much mismatch.

All this stuff you are doing to them is just ruining the springs and they won't take 'em back.

 

[buzzinhalfdoz]

ok i should move the hangers for proper shackle alignment.
should i redrill the spring pin bolt holes to move the rear axel rearward(and the front axel forward) where it should be?
(about 1" rearward)
ps got it all back together last night and now it flexes when i put some weight on it.
pss should i wait untill i get all the weight back on the frame to realighn my shackle mounts?
thanks (i will never use RC again)

 

[jdarg]

Do not drill new centering holes. Unless you have a good drill press than can go *real* slow you'll find out why right away.

You must have the weight on the truck to place the main eye mounts. Anything else is a guess.

I wouldn't move the shackle mounts unless you have to. Move the main eye mounts (or both if its gonna end up off center too much.) But again, that just reinforces that you have the wrong springs and now your hacking up your Jeep and any future springs you buy are guaranteed NOT to fit either after you move the perches. Good luck.

 

[73CJ]

Well I had a similar issue with my YJ OMEs. QI used 4 front springs to avoid the longer spring issue.

Bottom line You want to keep the axles in the same place. I used YJ frame mounts in solid location for the rear and moved the shackle back in the rear. The front I did a SR and ended up moving the shackle mount back using one stock hole in the frame.

 

[buzzinhalfdoz]

got the tub and roll bar on the frame and the rear shackles are almost straight up and down now. still got at least another 200-300lb to add so i think it may be ok.
had a couple of buddies (about 500lbs) sit on the front frame and it came down shackle straight up and down.