leaf spring inside frame rail...opinions?

OK, I kinda doubt that I would do this because of stability reasons, but I am just wondering what you guys think...maybe there is a way to do it well, and maybe I will do it. I have liked the idea of moving the springs inboard a bit to get more flex out of springs, but always hated the idea of getting so much f'in lift, and having the spring hanger sticking down acting as a hook.

Not too long ago I saw an article where YJer's cut into the frame rail...plated it, and made a sort of hole for the spring hanger..leaving nothing protruding except the actual arch of the leaf spring. I just got to thinking that this may work well for an XJ, but then thought about the unibody. So here are my questions.

-cutting the hole, filling it and fully welding in 1/4" metal...would it be strong enough

-stabilty...how bad do you think?

-is it worth it? it'll be free for me, but in terms of usefullness.

the only pro I see to it would be flex, but I just can't seem to get any more out of my re1642, and I definitely could use more. _nicko_

Do you have any pics of your 1462's, where do you have the rear leaf spring mounted currently?

mine are mounted in stock locatation with an RE 1.25" lift shackle. Shackle is perpendicular to ground with a good 5.5" of lift total. In droop, they max out too early, and with my plans on 37's on 5.5" of lift in the next year, I need all the droop I can get. And will not go revolvers. What did you want pics of the springs for?

I like pictures,

Anyway,are you considering new springs. You may have to go to a longer spring. With that, you could just do the boxing of the rear mount and then relocate the rear shackle for your needs. Just a thought.

There's a picture uploaded just for you. it's the only one I have that shows the rear flexed up. That is almost max droop..since then I raised my shock mounts, and got a bit more, but now the shocks aren't maxing out...the springs are. I have always wanted to look into an MJ spring conversion, but don't have any dimensions of those springs, so never could see how they work.

The boxing of the shackle box may help a bit, but my shackle doesn't hit when stuffed or drooped....all that will do for me is give me some more lift, which I don't want, and shoot my pinion up. It's either a longer spring, or move them inboard....seems to be my two options that I'm considering here.

Did you see Stoney's pics, his rear flex is pretty sic!, as he would say.



There's mine, but I haven't done anything with the rear shock mounts yet.

Here's the link to Stoney's latest

http://www.naxja.org/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=4711

XJCHUCK72 said:

Here's the link to Stoney's latest

http://www.naxja.org/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=4711

Click to expand...

That's actually NorCalXJ's rig

Nick, I'd for sure try revolver shackles before I started cutting into the uniframe for spring mounts.

If you really want to do it, 1/4" steel is WAAAY heavier than what the factory used for the "box" at the forward spring eyes, but the issue isn't raw thickness so much as how big an area around the actual spring mount you plan to plate, and how you plan to tie it all together so the loads (stresses) from the springs are transmitted to and distributed through the unibody.

What'cha got against revolvers? Lawn Cher had a set of home-made ones on for awhile. Don't know if he still runs them, but you might want to discuss the issue with him.

ExtremeMopar said:

That's actually NorCalXJ's rig

Click to expand...

Sorry Norcal, I thought Stoney was taking credit for it.

Well, revolvers...my gripe about them....they are a fad IMO, and I hear many instances of them bending. The trick to them for climbs is having a limit strap in the middle on the diff so they don't unload, but you still get all the flex, but they are expensive, I wanted to keep this cheap, and I just don't really like them.

Eagle, I'm pretty sure Mark ran a double shackle set-up, which I think is a little better, than revolvers. Much stronger from what I see, and won't unload a ridiculous amount with flex. I guess I could always just throw a set of stockers with a bumpstop on one day and see what it leads to.

The talk about the balanced flex in that other thread...that is what I want in actuallity, but don't know how to get it without having the same springs on all corners...meaning all coils in my mind. I was watching a samurai the other weekend at nacfest, and was in awe at how balanced it was. 4" compression in the front 4" compression in the back and so on, but that was from 4 leafs springs, probably the same on all corners. I guess making my own spring pack, and messing around with different leafs is the only way I can get what I really need, maybe starting with a longer main leaf. Who knows..maybe I should start compiling leaf springs from junkyards and see what I come up with.

about the stress's inside the frame..I think with the spring in the frame rail, it would distribute the forces to the unibody much better than the stock location as it's going into the stronger frame rail, rather than the floor. The way I was thinking was welding up a little box and inserting it into the hole I cut in the bottom of the the frame. Then weld that fully around on the bottom, and some plugs welds on the two sides and through the floor. Then put a bolt right through it.

I just noticed I always type too much. Hope you guys have fun reading it. _nicko_

gearwhine said:

Well, revolvers...my gripe about them....they are a fad IMO, and I hear many instances of them bending. The trick to them for climbs is having a limit strap in the middle on the diff so they don't unload, but you still get all the flex, but they are expensive, I wanted to keep this cheap, and I just don't really like them.

Eagle, I'm pretty sure Mark ran a double shackle set-up, which I think is a little better, than revolvers. Much stronger from what I see, and won't unload a ridiculous amount with flex. I guess I could always just throw a set of stockers with a bumpstop on one day and see what it leads to.

The talk about the balanced flex in that other thread...that is what I want in actuallity, but don't know how to get it without having the same springs on all corners...meaning all coils in my mind. I was watching a samurai the other weekend at nacfest, and was in awe at how balanced it was. 4" compression in the front 4" compression in the back and so on, but that was from 4 leafs springs, probably the same on all corners. I guess making my own spring pack, and messing around with different leafs is the only way I can get what I really need, maybe starting with a longer main leaf. Who knows..maybe I should start compiling leaf springs from junkyards and see what I come up with.

about the stress's inside the frame..I think with the spring in the frame rail, it would distribute the forces to the unibody much better than the stock location as it's going into the stronger frame rail, rather than the floor. The way I was thinking was welding up a little box and inserting it into the hole I cut in the bottom of the the frame. Then weld that fully around on the bottom, and some plugs welds on the two sides and through the floor. Then put a bolt right through it.

I just noticed I always type too much. Hope you guys have fun reading it. _nicko_

Click to expand...

cliffnotes???

cliff notes of what goes on in my head. If I typed everyhting I was thinking it would go on and on. Maybe I could market these "summaries", maybe add an analysis.