Second rear shock mount?

[DrDoc]

Nothing I have found, at least not on the east side of South Dakota

 

[Lumpy Grits]

Call these folks-
https://www.willysworks.com/

LG

 

[tarry99]

That would explain the rough ride.

I was looking at new leafs but have no idea which to get (how many leafs). I have a fiberglass tub and a hard top, otherwise I believe it's mostly stock. I will measure the distance between the leaf mounts today to see how it compares to others.

Without going off and buying springs you know nothing about I would first try to find a way to scale your axles both front and back...........If you have a set of axle scales available to you or know someone in the community that races cars......you might ask if they would scale your vehicle.........or at the very least take your Jeep to a public scale and weigh each axle independently by just putting one axle on the scale at a time.........also make sure you have all the normal weight in the vehicle...........

Armed with that weight info........you can talk with someone like Bill at Alcan Springs in Colorado or Jeff Deaver at Deaver Springs in California who will help you sort out what you need to properly suspend the vehicle while also getting a decent ride.

 

[DrDoc]

I would suggest packing a tape measure and camera to compare with other CJs that you would see in your area. Comparing to my CJ, I get 44.5" from the spring pivot hole to the top spring shackle hole. The spring shackle does seem to be mounted a bit forward from what I see. Thanks for sending in that picture, something is not right somewhere.

Finally got it measured, I get 42.5". Wonder if po put them on backwards? The right side rear mount is a bit different, only had mounting flange rear of the mount, nothing on the front. Anyone know if I could just unbolt and flip them? Are the nuts in the frame welded or would I have to cut off the rear cross member to get to nuts?

 

[DrDoc]

Anyone care to share pictures of their rear hanger? Which way is it oriented? Looking on rock Auto it appears that the one in the picture above is incorrect.

 

[DrDoc]

Guessing that one should be flipped?

 

[Lumpy Grits]

The swinging shackles mount to the front and rear as you show.
What do the front axle shackles look like?
LG

 

[Torxhead]

Finally got it measured, I get 42.5". Wonder if po put them on backwards? The right side rear mount is a bit different, only had mounting flange rear of the mount, nothing on the front. Anyone know if I could just unbolt and flip them? Are the nuts in the frame welded or would I have to cut off the rear cross member to get to nuts?

Looking at the pics you have sent in, it does appear the springs are of a military wrap design meaning it is an aftermarket type. With that shackle angle, you might have a spring that is too long too compress correctly. Although they do appear to be somewhat usable. You might find some pics online to compare with.

 

[mtnwhlr]

This is what mine looks like

 

[Lumpy Grits]

That is what the should look like, front and rear.
LG

 

[Hedgehog]

I don't want to be too blunt about this, but from your pictures there is very little that is stock about the rear end of your frame. Honestly the odd sized tubing, the cranky angles of the welded parts, the position of your shackles and your issues with the shock tower locations adds up to trouble. At least from the seat in front of the computer I'm sitting in. I would be looking for a replacement frame or at least a back half to splice on the old one.

 

[DrDoc]

Yeah, been looking at frames the past couple days.

This is likely a dumb question, but could I flip the mounts to improve things while I work out something more permanent? What would be the risk in something like that?

 

[Torxhead]

If you were to reverse the spring shackle mounts it does not appear there would be much support from up above. Like it might try to bend the mount upwards. At least that is the way I see it. You could try it though to see what it looks like.

 

[DrDoc]

Question for all, What is your "resting" height of the rear shocks? To my factory posts, I have about 17.25", and full extension of the factory shocks spec at about 19.75". Would factory shocks on the factory mounts work, or do my unknown aftermarket springs add enough lift that I need to find different shocks?

 

[Torxhead]

Doc, the way I see it, you need a shock that will have enough for maximum and minimum leaf spring travel. This can be done with a tape measure and a bottle jack so you will have the correct numbers. Looking at a shock absorber website, you should be able to find the right size shock for your application. Make sure you find the correct mounting also. You could use an oem length shock with a minimal lift, but with a larger lift you could run into problems at full extension. I always get the expensive off-road shocks, since I have tried standard duty shocks on the dirt and rocks.

 

[CJ]

If you end up needing custom shocks I recommend QA1. Custom shocks at good prices, they are whp I purchased from for my 5.

https://www.qa1.net/

 

[Bjasper]

He,s right about your shackle angle I was trying to figure what might have caused that angle .What caught my eye is the frame over the axle area looks to be repaired to me their is two sections that look to be straight pices that were welded in as a repair someone may have not measured it out correctly and the shackle mount may be in the wrong spot that section of your frame don't look factory to me

 

[Bjasper]

It looks to me that someone repaired the frame over the axle area I see two straight pieces of metal in it that don't look factory to me they could have miss measured and ended up with the shackle mount moved forward

 

[Hedgehog]

The cobbled up rear section has already been part of the conversation. The condition of the whole frame would make me nervous.