If the Jeep is Rockin...??

[ddhand]

I had a question about how do you know if your leaf springs are shot?

1977 CJ5 - recent resto, no lift, original springs, all new bushings, tie rod ends and shocks, 32" tires.

The jeep handles / steers much better with the new rod ends but seems to be very "soft". (I adjusted out an almost 2" toe in issue... but thats another story..)

If I push down on the end of the bumper i can rock it or bounce it up and down by a couple of inches very easily. If i hang off the side of the Jeep or stand on the door jamb, the body will tilt about 1" ( I weigh about 170)

Driving at slow speed and spinning the steering wheel back and forth i can get a pretty big rocking motion going.

It just feels a little loose or springy... I was wondering if new springs would help with tightening up the last little bit of steering play. I think I'm getting some body roll contributing to what feels like steering play.

Thanks for any insight.

PS: Thanks to TDHoffsteader for the GREAT steering thread !!

 

[thescot]

What shocks are you running? also a soft ride can absorb road irregularities and articulate so soft taint all bad really. Generally speaking Jeeps are squirrely ya know, however considering how old these have become Im sure new springs would beef things up some.

 

[jdarg]

Most people complain about riding too stiff because they have worn out parts and crappy springs. What you have sounds healthy to me.

New springs may be better or worse than what you have. Depends what you have now, its condition, and what you replace it with. Some shocks are stiffer than others but they don't really significantly prevent sway unless you get some real stiff shocks.

Do you have any sway bars? I don't recall when AMC starting putting them on CJs, I know my 75 didn't have them from the factory. Those will make it feel more "car-like" on the street around corners and such.

 

[Sasquach]

Sounds like some new shocks would help with the bouncing issue. As far as soft goes that may not be a bad thing as mentioned, does it sit at the height your after? Does it bottom out or rub on anything?

 

[ddhand]

Sorry for the delay in responding.. The jeep has new shocks Skyjacker 8000's (I think).

I like the softer ride (as if a jeep could even remotely be termed a soft ride), it just seems to "sway" or rock a bit too much. It doesnt "bounce" and the sway dampens out pretty quickly so my thought is the shocks are working but it just doesnt have enough total support.

No bottoming out or rubbing, and the springs still have some arch to them, shackles are vertical.

For a few hundred bucks i am tempted to just swap them out for new, but I dont want to over stiffen the ride and still have the same amount of roll when driving.

Thanks for the input.

 

[BlackOmega]

Is the sway bar still in it?

You may want to replace the bar and link bushings with some poly urethane ones. Like this kit here: 2.5101 Energy Suspension Front Sway Bar Bushings - 15/16 Inch

When you replaced the other bushings, did you use rubber or poly bushings? Poly would help stiffen the ride some and wouldn't feel so squishy.

 

[hdgapeach]

Wow, a CJ that rides soft! It's obvious the Jeep Gods have rained down on you, oh worthy one !

Seriously, look into the advantages of installing a front sway bar. May be all you need to settle down the excessive body roll. My '77 didn't come with one either, and still doesn't have one. BUT, I don't seem to have the body roll characteristics you "suffer" from................wish I did, though!

 

[gert]

You can tell when your springs are bad when you have a reverse arch/ leaning to one side/one corner lower than the other 3/shackles are facing aft instead of nearly vertical. if you want the sway out of the Jeep you need some good sway bars that will help alot. to me it dosent sound like your springs are bad and you could possibly buy new leave springs that could be much stiffer and ride worse then the ones you have already

 

[ddhand]

I may try the sway bar route.. It doesnt have them as oem equipment, so I'll do some searching on what all that entails.

Springs still have arch, shackles are essentailly vertical... and the ride is pretty soft.... which is the main reason i didnt want to just go ahead and replace them.

All bushings are new poly.

Thanks everyone!

 

[Mick]

ddhand... I just bought front and rear sway bars for my 74 CJ5 ... I have not installed them yet... However, Summit Racing has Addco front and rear sway bars with all the necessary hardware to install them...

Like I said, I just bought mine and they are sitting in my garage calling my name... LOL...

 

[cavie98]

I know this has been mentioned previously, but it sounds like you are having body roll. I just recently put YJ springs on my CJ5 and it began to have serious body roll that wasn't there before. I stayed with the same size lift just softer YJ springs. Made a world of difference in ride quality but body roll was SCARY, so I looked into getting a swaybar setup.

IIRC the CJ5 's didn't come factory with a sway bar so I had to get the brackets and swaybar setup from a CJ7 . It made a huge difference. Your CJ5 frame should already have holes for the brackets, mine did. I don't quite get why they didn't put them on the 5's when they did the on the 7's of the same years.:dunno:

The ride is a lot better with the softer springs, so you may want to keep the springs you have and look into getting a swaybar setup. I paid just a bit over $100 for the brackets, bushings and swaybar.

Hope this helps.


Dan

 

[tarry99]

I may try the sway bar route.. It doesnt have them as oem equipment, so I'll do some searching on what all that entails.

Springs still have arch, shackles are essentailly vertical... and the ride is pretty soft.... which is the main reason i didnt want to just go ahead and replace them.

All bushings are new poly.

Thanks everyone!

1980 CJ5 through 1981 with a stock narrow track front end "Sway Bar" will go right on the front of yours with a few new holes drilled...........E-Bay used $50-$75 bucks plus the ride or wrecking yard , make sure its got the frame brackets with it. You will need new bushings and probably some form of quick disconnects.......also the bottom spring clamping plates will have to be replaced or modified.............Installed many on older Jeeps!

 

[jdulmer]

Having a sway bar is great for tooling around town, and highway driving. But, if you traverse any uneven terrain, you will notice a major difference in front-end suspension articulation. The sway bar limiting the springs from flexing, acts like a VW bug torsion bar suspension. It also forces the rear springs to compensate for the lack of motion in the front. (see photos)

Notice that the front axle is almost parallel to the bumper. Yet the back suspension is flexed considerably.

If you're gonna do serious off-roading, you may want to get some sway bar quick disconnects.

Just my 2¢...



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[Tinman22]

I put an antirock setup on the big jeep. It went through the frame rails behind the bumper. On its softest setting it controls just enough roll to feel better on road with no loss of articulation off road. The little jeep dosent have any. I like it better.