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leaf springs on the front of an xj

Been there done that. Used 4" wrangler springs and weld perches to my D30. Clears 35"mts well.
xjbackyard033.jpg

Best thing is I didnt cut any thing off the unibody so I could just get another axle and bolt everything back on to go back to oem style suspension. Still need to fine tune but rides better than my 7" short arm suspension did. It wont flex as good as a long arm probably ever, but I've only got a couple hundred bucks in the front end suspension (brake lines, shocks, used springs, MORE axle mounts, cj shackle mounts, etc.) and can lift a tire 26" (maybe more but I was using the lift at work and was pulling the jeep sideways toward the lift so I freaked out and let it down.). If I got to do it over again I would have used a waggy D44 in the front but I didnt have one at the time and didnt have the money to get one.
Cheesy web page with some conversion pics
 
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sorry to hi-jack the thread kinda but anyone got an in detail page of how to convert to front leafs? i kinda am curious to this now as you'd never need new control arms and stuff like that with lifts, just longer shocks and bigger springs, very simple and cheap and i like the idea alot. Could a YJ front end be used with the stock trac bar if i would just leaf it as a spring under set up? just wondering.

thanx,

Eric
 
My question is simple, "WHY"??????????
 
jeepfreak said:
i was wondering if anyone has ever put leaf springs on the front of an xj i know it sounds strange but when building you must look at all angles
thanks
Click to expand...

Yeah, one of my friends did it a long time ago. He later built a custom coil setup for a CJ5 he built with an extended wheelbase. He said that if he had known then what he had learned about coils building the CJ, he would have never put leaves on the front of the XJ.

CJ, Wrangler, and 'Cruisers are geeting coils, and the front of XJ's and the rear of 4Runners are getting leaves......go figure. :rolleyes:

Sure, you can put leaves on the front of an XJ, and you can make it work well, but you can also make the coils work well. If you're just more comfortable working with leaves, or just want to be different, go for it. If you want something that will actually work better.....forget it.
 
I had no budget for 10" springs and custom control arms and you have to be a bit better at fabrication than I am to build a good long arm set up. I know it wont work as well as a high dollar or well fabricated suspension but it will work as well as any leaf sprung wrangler out there and I saw a few leaf spring suspensions in the ARCA games. Plus "never need new control arms and stuff like that with lifts, just longer shocks and bigger springs, very simple and cheap and i like the idea alot" No one is saying its better in any other was than being cheaper but functional.
In florida the only rocks are in the government types heads, the rest of the state is mud.
5-192wdrun020.jpg
 
thanks for all the help and pics i was leaning toward springs for the cost end of it also do you know if the spring perch width would be close to a wagoneer front end or would i have to widen the the hangers also it is kinda wierd that xjs get leafs and toys get coils
 
hey georgia mike thanks for the web site i also noticed thet he said he used d44 knuckles is that just a bolt on cause if it is i'll keep my d30 since i may have a 90 xj but the d30 is a 98 tj unit and already has 4.10 gears in it
 
I believe that bill grafted the 44 knuckles to the 30 axle tubes. Use the tj front end. Get the spring mounts for a yj from mountain off road. They have a couple different mounting positions that help center the axle in the wheel well. The only reason I would have liked to had the wagoneer front is to have locking hubs.
 
thanks yellow xj after a little more research on his site i found the inner knuckle conversion guess i sorta answered my own question but thanks for answering it to i also have the 8.8 rear although when i bought it i could have got it with the 4.10 gears for less then swapping in new gears my bad i guess but now i have a reason to go to 4.88 (darn) also i think i will be swapping to leafs but i think i will use the lca holes instead of drilling new one to push the axle foward since i have cut all i can cut on my front as well as the rear nothing like spending hours and hours pop riviting the rear body back together anyway tne more info the better so keep it coming oh and anyone else on here who has done it and has pics i would really appreciate it thanks again everyone
 
10-4 I wish I had 4.88's now. The 4.56 do pretty good with the 35's. You'll have to modify the lca holes abit since the lca's splay out and you'll want your springs to go straight. Plus add support to those stock holes. If you drill further back it goes through two layers of metal on both sides. A bit stronger. Dont know how the single layer hole will handle stress and wear.
 
i here ya i was thinking of welding a plate or some heavy washers to the lca mounts after all they are oval i guess i will also get some stock yj springs and use them for placement then order what i need for lift i got 31s with no lift now the only problem is the rear i want to run 35 inchers so as not to distroy my dana 30 but i will be checking the spring perch distance on a fsj to see how far off it is and maybe i will go dana44 and even bigger tires who knows to soon to tell yet talk at ya later
 
My rear suspension is basically two xj springs packs put together and 3" blocks. I hate having bloxs but the 9 spring packs dont rap bad and they flex great. I found a dakota 4x at the u-pull that looks like a reg. dakota pack with a add a leaf. Definitly stock it looks like they added the leaf at the factory to make the 4x springs different than the 2x. If stock ones lift 4-4.5 I really want to see what the 4x ones do. But I want to see them flex too. My wife has dakota springs on her's and it seems like we need to cut the overload spring down but I havent had her on the trail yet to see what real weight they can handle.
Been beating that d30 with little joints and havent broken anything yet. Broken a few before with the 33's so I know I will though and am stocking 297 DS as spare.
PS. found a 78(?) bronco front drive shaft that seems to be perfect length for 9-10" lift. It looks super heavy duty compared to the stock xj one I spent money on to get lengthened.
 
cool i will probably get the front where i want it then do the rear to match using xj lift springs i know i can get the lift with springs,shackles,add a leaves and small blocks so i am not to worried about the rear i also dont want to go too high just high enough to clear the 35's i will use bump stops if i have to to limit upward travel flex is cool but how much do you really need unless you want to be king of the rti ramp and the toys dont seem to have a problem with leaf springs either(wonder if i will get some negative responses for that) anyway i like leaf spings they are simplistic huh i wonder if toy front springs are to long or not man do i have some reserch to do i mean i dont want to tear it apart and then say darn missed that now what do i do i will tell you what though this is going to be fun and it must be a good idea since my wife is all for it of course she said i could cut it in have and build a xj buggy to she is so cool well talk at you later
 
well after watching this thread for the last few days i will be doing the front leafs to. i am up here in Michigan and there are only big hills and deep puddles. at least where i am from. so let me get this streight.

Front- 2 stock yj front leafs. a set of shackles and that is it. i will be drilling the hole the 1.5 behind the lca. i am going to be building my own custom blocks i got a idea i want to test out.

Rear- use the xj packs but rebuild them. now this is where i am more confussed. i am the kinda of guy that just needs part numbers. like how should i rebuild them with what other leafs. please give the year and the make.

Other- did you do a tranny drop kit or what. i am not looking for any drop outs.

the nice part is my father has a car shop and i have full access to a welder, torch, grinders, and a old man that has been working on jeeps sence they where sold to chrysler.

thanks for all the info and if every thing goes well my jeep will be sitting high before the end of the month. heck i still do not even own it yet. but i will come tusday.
 
I used 4" lift yj leaf springs in the front of mine. Bought them used. Got more lift than I wanted but 35"mt were cheap. Tried the stock yj springs but they were either so worn out or so weak they wouldnt clear my 33"s. I did drop the trans 1.5 inch and am using the oem style drive shaft. Am saving for a sye. Cant tell if the slight vibes that occur occasionally are from that or the currie motor mount/ daystar trans mount combo. Do a lot of research then be prepared to pull everything apart a few times until you get it right.
 
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