Re: Need softer springs...

ARGH! Nick

Does it again.

-- Bruce

99 White WJ 4x4 Select Trac 89 YJ 03 Liberty Ltd L.O.S.T #000256 90 XJ6 Sovereign

Nick,

I have learned with most new springs that they take a while to break in and soften up. Put some miles on them, also when you take your jeep on trails you may not perform so well since the flex (or lack of) you have will have a tendency to pick up you tires, a locker may need to be in the future for you so you just don't sit there on the trails spinning tires.

-- Bruce

99 White WJ 4x4 Select Trac 89 YJ 03 Liberty Ltd L.O.S.T #000256 90 XJ6 Sovereign

Well, Bill's suggestion will help break in the springs...

Dave Milne, Scotland '99 TJ 4.0 Sahara

: >

: > > > I just installed a lift on my 93 4cy, no hardtop wrangler about a : month : > ago. : > > > The springs are 4" custom made and I also have about an inch and half : > lift : > > > shackles. Finally got to ramp it today and got maybe a 600... These : > > > springs are DAMN stiff and not providing much flex. I don't : anticipate : > > > these things sagging and keeping that in mind, I'd like to know what : > ya'll : > > > out there have done or come up with to help your springs soften up. : I'm : > > > running with the r9000's and think I'll set those softer to put more : > work on : > > > the springs but other than that I don't have any ideas. Maybe park it : > every : > > > night ramped????!!!! : > > > Please don't bash my rig, if that's your first thought don't bother : F'N : > > > responding. I'm tired of seeing that crap on here. : > > > Nick : >

: >

: :

As far as your lack of flex goes, question: are you using sway bar disconnects? If not, you'll never get very good flex in the front no matter what springs you have. To maximize flex/droop, I'd also recommend an adjustable track bar in the front and no track bar in the rear of your YJ (no track bar in the YJ rear is a debatable topic here).

Your springs may eventually soften up some with miles, maybe not. I've gone thru several different brands of springs on my 92 YJ over the years, but I like the Rubicon Express extreme-duty 4" springs the most so far. Great flex and not too stiff. Around town I run the r9000s on setting 3-4, offroad I usually drop them to 1-2.

Good luck.

Terry.

Yes, I am disconnecting my sway bars and I am running NO track bars front or rear. Also I have an OX in the front, thank god, since with these stiff spring I can' seem to keep tires on the ground. Unfortunatly I am open in the back and the rear spring are really stiff, espessialy with no weight back there. Nick

Nick,

The most common cause of stiffness (and therefore low ramp scores, not that ramp scores are really correlated to ability on the trail) are the shackles.

the shackle bolts should be very loose, relatively, like 15-20 ft/lbs or less.....if you tightened them even "by hand" with a wrench, or god forbid an impact, then they're way too tight......loosen them up so the bolt barely draws in on the shackle, maybe 15 ft/lbs, and either use locktite and double nut, or use ny-lock nuts to keep them from coming loose......

secondly, lift springs need longer shackles.....stock shackles are setup for springs that are almost flat, so they dont need to move much. 4" lift springs have a big arch, and get considerably longer as they stuff (flatten) so the shackle has to be able to travel, without hitting the frame rail or being extended all the way horizontal before the spring is flat.....a good rule is a 1/2" to 1" longer than stock for a 4" lift.....maybe closer to 1"....the shackle should be oriented pretty much vertical when the Jeep is sitting flat on level ground.

Lastly....the bushings.....good rubber bushings will not give you the "tight feel" of urethane, but urethane is so hard and stiff, you'll never get any flex....you want rubber bushings in the frame end, and both shackle bushings.

I don't really reccommend it, but you could also remove the clamps that hold the ends of the leaf packs together....in worst case, that can allow the leaves to move out of place.

if you really want to go all out, do all three things above, bolt torque, longer shackles and rubber bushings.....and also, pull the leaf packs out split them up, and interleave the spring leafs with strips of thin teflon sheet.....I don't know where to get in in your area, but I've seen in at a few places with adhesive backing......stick a strip on one side of each leaf.....it will allow the leaves to slip against each other, permitting easier flex.

if all of the above fails, start removing leafs........I know you already have the springs, but if you get another "custom" set, get thin leaves.....for optimum flex, a bunch of very thin, flexible leafs would probably flex much better than a few thick stiff ones.......

Hope this helps.

Cheers, Paul

Paul, Thank you for the good info. That's what I like to read. My Shackles are inch and half lift shackles so they are plenty long, but, like you said they are bolted TIGHT! That is the first thing I will do is loosen them some. They are urethane bushings also. I will also loosen the spring clamps some. They already have a teflon liner in between. If it is still real bad after awhile I think I will remove a leaf in each pack.There are 5 leafs in front and four in back. Nick

I have the same problem, if you get a workable solution, please post it!! I posted the same thing a while back, was told to take it offroad and bounce it around to break the springs in. I don't think I would survive if I tried that!!! I bought my YJ used, previous owner installed new 4" lift, almost feels like there is no spring at all. I can jump up and down on bumper, moves maybe 1". Tried disconnecting a shock, it's definitely the springs.(Took off the swaybar too) I am considering removing all 4 shocks, then going offroad, to really give the springs a workout, but I think my best bet is going to be to take out a leaf on each corner. But first, I will try loosening up the shackles a little. They don't look like they are overtightened, but with Poly bushings, might be hard to tell just by looks. Good luck on yours, if I get a solution, I'll post it. Tookie

If you don't want to exchange the springs, or can't, then you can remove one leaf from the spring pack, but this is kind of labor intensive.

They are some custom springs that were made down in Tucson Az... I don't think they are a brand. I had the shocks set soft but about get motionsick every time I drive! I set 3 in front and 4 in back. The 3 takes some kerthump off the front cause the weight of the engine and the 4's in back keep my Jeep settled down after bumps instead of dolphining down the road. I might end up having to pull the whole thing apart again and remove some leafs...not something I look forward to! Nick

I said the shocks don't have much effect on ramping, but the truth is that if the shocks are too short, then ramping will suck.

Set the shocks to the softest setting, and the bouncing will go down a little bit. The stiff shocks cause the Jeep to ride very harsh, but softer shocks will let the springs take up some of the uneven road surface conditions, if they are gong to. I have ProComp springs, and if I had it to do over again, I wouldn't do ProComps; they are very stiff. My Jeep doesn't bounce at all, and my 9000s are set to 1.

Before you do anything drastic, try backing off the bolts on the shackles like another poster suggested. I might need to try that because I think I probably cranked them up pretty tight thinking this would help to keep them from falling off.

HHhhhmmm, Well, can't explain that one. They are very springy and stiff, both... It may depend on um, well you know how a shock will push back only as hard as pushed, or how a bullet proff vest has the same principle, you can slide a knife into one but can't get a bullet to penetrate. Maybe the same with my springs. Slow pressure they stay stiff and hitting them hard they sping alot...or some crap like that...it's to late to be getting theorieticle... Nick

You are or could be describing shackle bushings that need some lube or are 'way' too tight.

You also might just need to take it out and give it a real good bounce or 20.

Steve Seppala put a 4.5" trailmaster (I think) set on his YJ and found it a bit stiff.

He then came on one of our bush runs....

After the first day, Steve was freaked out figuring something had let loose, his steering wheel had even clocked 1/4 turn off on him.

Nothing loose. The spring packs just loosened up and settled in place. This caused the drag link to be set too long moving his steering wheel a

1/4 turn.

Mike

Nick N wrote:

Let me guess - Rough Country.

I'm not sure what brand my lift is, springs are painted black over any kind of I.D. labels that might be present