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Spring helpers

Kevinma255

NAXJA Forum User
Location
West Milford, nj
I have a stock 91 XJ. the springs are flat if not inverted. this is a daily driver that is not likely to ever see the woods. I have used the coil bolt on's on my off roader with great success but am not sure how they will handle on the road. I know it is dangerous to ask for opinions but I am feeling lucky. Is a "add a leaf", Helper spring, or coil add on, the better way to go?

Thanks.

part # I am looking at are bellow.

http://www.jcwhitney.com/quick-change-helpers/p2005887.jcwx?skuId=229137

http://www.jcwhitney.com/add-a-leaf...terid=c11307d1163y1991t1j1#prodDetailTabPanel

http://www.jcwhitney.com/leaf-spring-adjustable-helpers/p2005984.jcwx?filterid=c11307j4
 
I wouldn't use any of those for a DD.

If your rear end is truly sagging, an add-a-leaf will last for awhile, then sag again. The leaf "helpers" just add two more pressure points on your leafs, and make great places for the spring to break (and wouldn't add much, if any lift or load capacity).
The coil helpers, hmmm, don't know about those either. Seems they would only help if you are loaded down, and then it's just a band-aid.

If it were me I'd just snag some stock OEM leafs from teamcherokee.com, Omix-ada etc. or another full pack option.
 
Hit the salvage yard and grab a set of OEM springs from a late model XJ.

Another option would be to grab the main leafs from another XJ, grind off the eyes and add them to your current springs. This would be more work than just changing the entire leaf packs.
 
I've done two sagging XJ's in the last few years by adding a leaf from a stock pack, but not in the top position. If you look at the stock leaves, you'll see that there is a very large difference in length between the second and third leaves down, and this is where much of the negative arch occurs. I cut extra leaves to a length halfway between the original 2 and 3 and added them as #3. It gave me a pretty good restoration of height which has held up well, and has little effect on ride except to keep from hitting the bump stops so often. I got the parts to do two vehicles from one set of springs, too, which was convenient. You can cut the leaves pretty easily with an abrasive cutoff saw.

If your Jeep is rusty and the shackle and eye bolts hard to remove, this can be a pretty easy alternative, since the main leaf can stay attached. The U-bolts can tolerate one more leaf. You'll need a new center bolt and new clips, both of which can be found or made without too much trouble. If you know anyone who works on VW's, you can get a couple of the bolts used to attach CV joints to the hub of just about any VW from the 1970's on, and they are exactly the right head size, length and thread for the center of a one-leaf addition.
 
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