Rear coils-rambling

[yellowxj]

Ya I know, all backwards, needs same flex in the rear and much less spring wrap. Broke a spring mount last weekend and am disgusted with having blocks in the rear and rear end hopping/spring wrap and people pointing at the rear axle with that "dummys gonna break something" look...anyhow......parked next to a old chevy pickup in traffic and started dreaming about its rear coil spring suspension....also trying to keep with my theme of keeping it "bolt on" so I could go back to oem if I ever needed/wanted to(and cheap, saving money for an off-road park, ya I know, sounds silly but we had 10k saved until my wife talked me in to putting it down on a house...grrrr..). Thinking of a set of bent control arms for the rear that could be u-bolted to the axle in place of the springs. Could put rod ends on or a threaded section in the middle to allow for adjustment and flex/twist. A mount for the coils built on top of the control arms off center a hair with the top of the coils mounting where the old bump stops are now. Add a track bar (yeecchhh) to keep it centered.
I'm sure this isnt original but I tried to search for archived info and couldnt really find anything. TIA you tech heros.

[vintagespeed]

Wouldn't it be easier to build a traction bar & some raised perches? I must be missing something. =)

U bolted control arm mounts would be interesting, you'd probably still get that "dummys gonna break something" look.

[RCP Phx]

If you just told everyone about the lift that you have,I bet some ideas would pop up.Getting the rear to work isnt that hard!The fact that your running blocks already explains the wheel hop/axle wrap!

[yellowxj]

I've got 4"wrangler rear leaves in the front soa (I'm going to cut down the overload leaf a hair to help it flex a bit more, no wrap reported by gawkers in the front) and in the rear I have almost two sets of xj leaves per side. I think I have 9 leaf packs with 3" blocks and home made scissor shackles using my stock xj shackles and mj shackles with a brace welded in to keep them from folding up.
http://home.earthlink.net/~michtravhp/_uimages/vacation7-4186.jpg
I know the rear is not good. I dont have enough spring clamps now but even with proper clamps the blocks would still lead to problems. I need to use things that I can make with my limited skills or parts I have on hand.

vintagespeed is there a way to make traction bars that go above the axle. I guess that doesnt make sense as far as leverage goes but I do alot of playing in the mud in florida and the fewer things that can get snagged the better. I lost my last pair of rear shocks to unseen obstacles under water.

[RCP Phx]

I had scissors on a couple of lifts ago and loved them.What is there static and extended lengths?How about the shock travel?

[vintagespeed]

Sure, you could make it mount above and behind the axle or above and in front of the axle. All you need are 2 attachment points on the axle, the further they are from the center of the axle, the better leverage they'll have against the torque of the axle. Since the axle end is basically a radius arm, it wont allow much flex by design so rubber LCA bushings will work great and a JJ at the frame end w/a shackle.

I used to run Revolvers and loved the flex, but they did exaggerate spring wrap.

You have a link to pics of your SOA buildup? Looks pretty damn good!

[yellowxj]

A few pictures of my conversion work. Not carefully documented.Yellowxj conversion pictures here (http://home.earthlink.net/~michtravhp/_wsn/page4.html)
Also pic of the cheap semi-scissor shackle prototype. Works well so far. Gives a little extra stretch.
http://home.earthlink.net/~michtravhp/_uimages/constructionxjpics025.jpg
Thanks for the advice on the traction/torque issues. I still want to get rid of the blocks but need about 8-10 lift. CHEAP. I could probably make the traction arms out of stock I have around now. Have to sit down behind it at lunch time tomorrow and wish it would just back over me, just kidding, figure how to limit the wrap.

[RCP Phx]

I noticed that you didnt put any forward stops on or any kind of bump-stop material?

[Goatman]

There's nothing wrong with blocks if you use a traction bar to control the spring wrap. But, with no traction bar, 3" blocks, and funny shackles, you're really asking for problems. :D

[MaXJohnson]

Originally posted by vintagespeed
All you need are 2 attachment points on the axle, the further they are from the center of the axle, the better leverage they'll have against the torque of the axle.

Wide spacing on the axle mounts counts when you're working with 2 links, but with a a single link (traction bar), solidly welded to the axle tube, this isn't a factor. The reason for wide spacing of the axle-end mounts is to allow for an increase in the dimensions of the traction bar for increased beam strength; ie the typical triangle shape.

In any case, a traction bar would seem to be the solution to your problems. Judging by your pic, flex is already excellent in the rear.