Cherokee rear springs invert-able?

I know that inverting your rear springs isn't such a good thing to do but is it normal on cherokees? The reason I ask is cuz the factory springs are rather flat and any flex whatsoever tends to invert them as the tire gets shoved into the fender. Now this is how it comes from the factory.

Yesterday I was building bumpstop extensions and tested my rear flex to determine how long I need them. It seems that I need 7" of bumpstop extension just to keep the springs from inverting. That only leaves me with about 2-3" of uptravel and 5" of space between the tire and fender. I know there are no bumpstop extensions for 7" so I'm building my own. I want to have uptravel to about 1" from my fender but it's not possible if the springs can't be inverted. I don't want to risk wearing out this good riding old man emu springs.

My question is it ok to invert the rear springs a little? When inverted, they look like a "W" but it's not completely inverted as in an upside down smile.

what kind of springs? adda leaf? full spring pack? blocks? shackles? all this makes a difference

it shouldn't hurt them, as long as they are going back to the right position on flat ground. are you lifted? are you on blocks? how old are the springs? stock springs on a cherokee are almost flat from the factory, so it only makes sense that they would invert on full stuff. if you're on blocks, it will multiply this effect, and could damage your springs. any leaf spring that will actually flex will gradually wear out anyway. if i were you i wouldn't worry about it until the rear of the jeep looks saggy, and then you might be risking breakage or bending of the springs. on the full size jeep forum, lots of people have done spring over axle conversions with stock springs on their grand wagoneers and such. many of them invert their springs on a daily basis, and they usually are ok.

I have 5" of lift in the rear. It's the 2" old man emu leaf pack with two old man emu AAL's and 2" shackles. So basically I have a 6-leaf spring pack and 2" shackles.

I would bump-stop them so that they don't invert. Lift springs are supposed to hold their arch for years, if you put them into negative arch they will sag. Same with factory springs. If you wheel your XJ on the stock springs, they sag rather quickly. Mine did, anyhow.

Bump-stop the springs so that they stuff almost but not quite flat. You'll be fine with only 2-3" of uptravel, that's what I currently have on my 6.5" springs.

fubar XJ said:

I would bump-stop them so that they don't invert. Lift springs are supposed to hold their arch for years, if you put them into negative arch they will sag. Same with factory springs. If you wheel your XJ on the stock springs, they sag rather quickly. Mine did, anyhow.

Bump-stop the springs so that they stuff almost but not quite flat. You'll be fine with only 2-3" of uptravel, that's what I currently have on my 6.5" springs.

Click to expand...

What kind of bumpstops do you use back there? I am using 1" square tubing to lower the factory bumpstop. So far I have two tubes for a total of 2" drop but I need more. I'm not sure how many square tubes I can use to drop it before it becomes weak and just breaks. I don't want to shell out 80 bucks for a u-bolt bumpstop plate, and I don't have any way of welding anything so is there a cheap way to bumpstop the rear?

Well, I went with 2" x 2" square tubing in 4" lengths, stacked them on top of one another, welded the bottom one to the inner half of the u-bolt plate, and supported the hanging inner end with another length of square tube welded to the bottom of the other tube and radiused around the axle tube so that it nests down snug when it's all bolted on. It's the perfect distance for 6"-ish springs with the factory bumpstops installed on the uni-frame above.

Unless someone makes an aftermarket set-up similar to this, you may have to find a buddy to help you fab/weld one up. I've seen several very similar to mine, they were all home-brew.

fubar XJ said:

Well, I went with 2" x 2" square tubing in 4" lengths, stacked them on top of one another, welded the bottom one to the inner half of the u-bolt plate, and supported the hanging inner end with another length of square tube welded to the bottom of the other tube and radiused around the axle tube so that it nests down snug when it's all bolted on. It's the perfect distance for 6"-ish springs with the factory bumpstops installed on the uni-frame above.

Unless someone makes an aftermarket set-up similar to this, you may have to find a buddy to help you fab/weld one up. I've seen several very similar to mine, they were all home-brew.

Click to expand...

This is the bumpstop plate I was eyeballing but $80 seems too steep for that. I know it can be easily fabbed up but I have no one to do it around here.

http://www.4wd.com/productdetails.aspx?partID=43753
(# JKSOGS971)

If I had a plate like that then I could just install it with my 2" extended upper bumpstops and it'll be perfect.

muddeprived said:

I have 5" of lift in the rear. It's the 2" old man emu leaf pack with two old man emu AAL's and 2" shackles. So basically I have a 6-leaf spring pack and 2" shackles.

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I assume you went with the full length OME AAL's.
I've been inverting my OME leafs (2" with 1 full length AAL) for over 6 years now... still going strong.

Mike H. said:

I assume you went with the full length OME AAL's.
I've been inverting my OME leafs (2" with 1 full length AAL) for over 6 years now... still going strong.

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Yup, two of them. Rides very nice too.

Do you have any extended bumpstops at all?

Why not kill two Birds with a Stone? Fab a Rear Truss or order one that incorporates 2.5"s of Raised Bump Stop Pads and Strengthens the Axle Assembly like those of Iron Rock 4x4?

http://www.ironrockoffroad.com/Merc...en=PROD&Store_Code=IROR&Product_Code=IR-XD44T

muddeprived said:

Yup, two of them. Rides very nice too.

Do you have any extended bumpstops at all?

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Yep, OME leafs are dandy outfits.
Just the factory bumpstops in the rear.
I run 33x10.5's on stock wheels and they tuck up inside the wheel well just fine... link is to picture of tire stuff. I do not have a picture of the leafs inverted, but, trust me, that's what they do on my rig.
http://members.cox.net/huddy31/LT%20side.jpg

Mike H. said:

Yep, OME leafs are dandy outfits.
Just the factory bumpstops in the rear.
I run 33x10.5's on stock wheels and they tuck up inside the wheel well just fine... link is to picture of tire stuff. I do not have a picture of the leafs inverted, but, trust me, that's what they do on my rig.
http://members.cox.net/huddy31/LT side.jpg

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Nice flex there. I had 32's on mine a month ago but went back to 31's cuz they rubbed like mad. I have no trimming done and don't want to either.

muddeprived said:

and I don't have any way of welding anything so is there a cheap way to bumpstop the rear?

Click to expand...

cher96 said:

Why not kill two Birds with a Stone? Fab a Rear Truss or order one that incorporates 2.5"s of Raised Bump Stop Pads and Strengthens the Axle Assembly like those of Iron Rock 4x4?

http://www.ironrockoffroad.com/Merc...en=PROD&Store_Code=IROR&Product_Code=IR-XD44T

Click to expand...

Leaf springs are such terrible tech... Looking at my OME 2" lift leafs I don't see them having more than 2" of travel. So where does that leave the stock flat leaf?

cher96 said:

Why not kill two Birds with a Stone? Fab a Rear Truss or order one that incorporates 2.5"s of Raised Bump Stop Pads and Strengthens the Axle Assembly like those of Iron Rock 4x4?

http://www.ironrockoffroad.com/Merc...en=PROD&Store_Code=IROR&Product_Code=IR-XD44T

Click to expand...

Thanks for the suggestion but can't find anyone to weld it and they would charge too much. It's pretty overkill too. I'm not into the hardcore stuff or running anything bigger than 33's. The 8.25 will be fine the way it is.