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Best Bastard leaf pack build

rockwerks

NAXJA Forum User
So can we compile a little info on this on who finally got great performance out of their bastard packs. Ive searched and alot thrown around but a definative good bastard pack build.
 
xjnation said:
good one to cover the s-10 buildup. msot are not happy with the final flex though

I have a complete set of my with metric tonne package leafs. what will that do for me?

a complete set of your what?
 
Goatman wroteup a really nice full page post about his rear leaf setup some time back, but I'm having a hard time finding it now. If someone comes up with it, it would also be a good contribution here.
 
scottanchee said:
I would say it was from his MJ with the metric tonne package
yep some how my fingers didnt write what my thoughts where.


I have 2 sets of xj springs from 2001's and mj springs from an 89 with metric tonne package. how to mix and match for around 4" and then my lift block. I like the blocks to help keep less arch in the packs........ ala goatman
 
I have done bastard pack with S-10, Dakota and Bronco II springs. They all flexe well AFTER I did a lot of leaf swapping and mixing. You get out of these bastard packs what you put into it. The Bronco II is my favorite for the following reasons:

1) It gives 4.5" lift with a 1.5" lift shackle. The shackle is always citical to getting good flex. I have 13 inches of travel with it split fairly even. I ran an RTI ramp and got a 654 on a 30 degree ramp, shock limited. I run 31's and they stuff real well.

2) You use the whole pack including the main leaf under the XJ main so there is no messing around with swapping leafs to get it to flex well.

3)The leaves are thin and the rub pads are retained. Thinner than the Dakota or S-10 leaves.

4) I uses a 3/8 center pin. I have destroyed several stock center pins (5/16?). I now upgrade to 7/16ths center pins which are a snug fit in the Bronco II pack. Still have to drill out the hole on the XJ leaf.

5) And best of all in my view is that the Bronco II spring clamp (one per pack) is riveted in place. You unfold the ears and use them to located the leaves laterally. Now the leaves are not bound up when you unload the rear and they just keep on dropping. I could probably get 14 or 15 inches of travel out of this set up if I couild find the right shock. The clamp is located in the front of the spring and is about even with the rim. It wont rub on the tires and you can run stock offset rims with 10.5's and have plenty of clearence.

6) The only negative (because I am detail oriented) is that you should/must use a teflon or HDPE liner between the XJ main and the cut down Bronco II main to get maximum flex under compression with out huge loads. This is true for all bastard pack buildups where you use the main leaf from the donor pack (after cutting off the eyes). I polish the XJ main and then bond the liner on (HDPE) using weld wood adhesive.

John
 
I dont know for sure what year it was, but I would guess early 90's or late 80's, nothing special about the Bronco II that made it stand out.

John
 
Time to go look for some Bronco II springs.
 
karstic said:
Time to go look for some Bronco II springs.

The only problem I found with the Bronco 2s were that I couldn't find a decent pair. They were so old and rusted I wasn't looking forward to pulling them. I was lucky to find some new MJs.

I did a lot of searching. Rodeos, Troopers, Broncos, Exploders, any light truck/SUV. There were a lot of good matches, but upon further inspection they weren't. Some were too short, and some were actually 2 5/8, or 2 1/4, or 2 3/8.

S-10s work and are very plentiful. They are definitely doable. So are Dakotas. However they are thicker than XJs. Around mid 80s, manufacturers started going fewer/thicker leafs. So to find thin flexy ones like our XJs, you get older rusted springs.

You should be able to get good S-10 or Dakota packs in good condition. BUT, be on the look out for Bronco II or MJ packs in good shape. I actually lucked out. I think I found my MJ leafs that had been replaced. They didn't look new, but they still had paint and zero rust. If they were OE, that MJ spent it's life in a garage in Arizona. I think they had been replaced recently. Score!
 
hadfield4wd said:
I know Timmay is happy with his. I pm'd him a couple of weeks ago.

:D For sure. I might try out MJ packs when I stretch the rear. I'm leaning towards just flipping my S10 bastard packs though.

They flex great. As Goat said, minimizing friction is everything.

CIMG9260Medium.jpg


CIMG9261Medium.jpg


CIMG0060Medium.jpg
 
Timmay said:
:D For sure. I might try out MJ packs when I stretch the rear. I'm leaning towards just flipping my S10 bastard packs though.

They flex great. As Goat said, minimizing friction is everything.

MJs would be perfect cause they are longer. So if you are going to use longer leafs too, there you go. You probably already know this though. When I cut the eyes off the MJs they still had enough length to go under the eyes of my XJ main leaf. So there is not a bending point like using a cut main XJ leaf.

For everyone else...When I did mine, I used the graphite paint. Trippy stuff. Sprays on real thick. Takes a while to dry too. They were still soft after sitting overnight. Graphite is a very slippery substance. I couldn't find teflon at the time. I know the graphite is doing something, but if you can, get teflon. At least you can actually see the stuff there. Get the kind with the lip so they stay put. To me it seems like the graphite paint will wear off. It squeezed out when I clamped down the center pin. Just my .02. I do now the graphite paint is better than nothing, and it's real cheap. It only took a can and a half to do all my leafs. $9
 
Powerman said:
MJs would be perfect cause they are longer. So if you are going to use longer leafs too, there you go. You probably already know this though. When I cut the eyes off the MJs they still had enough length to go under the eyes of my XJ main leaf. So there is not a bending point like using a cut main XJ leaf.

For everyone else...When I did mine, I used the graphite paint. Trippy stuff. Sprays on real thick. Takes a while to dry too. They were still soft after sitting overnight. Graphite is a very slippery substance. I couldn't find teflon at the time. I know the graphite is doing something, but if you can, get teflon. At least you can actually see the stuff there. Get the kind with the lip so they stay put. To me it seems like the graphite paint will wear off. It squeezed out when I clamped down the center pin. Just my .02. I do now the graphite paint is better than nothing, and it's real cheap. It only took a can and a half to do all my leafs. $9


so you used all the MJ pack and jsut cut off the eyes on the top leaf?

How much lift?

this is good stuff
 
bear in mind that your metric toone leaf packs have an extra leaf compared to a regular MJ pack.
If you use them like powerman did you might want to take out the lowest one next o the overload to get the same results.
ad what happened to the MJ project?
 
xjnation said:
so you used all the MJ pack and jsut cut off the eyes on the top leaf?

How much lift?

this is good stuff

For my whole pack, this is what I did. I used my XJ main leaf, never took it off actually. Broke off the centerpin.

Took apart the MJ pack. Cut the eyes off the MJ main leaf. Left enough length to go past the XJ eyes. That way the thin XJ eyes would not be overhanging the pack causing a stress point.

used the whole MJ pack under the XJ main leaf. However, I removed the real thick overload leaf of the MJ pack. I then used the the last short leaf of the XJ pack on the bottom.

I was happy with the pack, but unhappy with the leaf lengths. The short last XJ leaf was too short. The second to last MJ leaf was much longer and just didn't look like things were supported enough so...

I added the second to last leaf of the XJ pack. (Last being short/bottom) Now it was about the same length as the MJ leaf, so I cut it down and grinded it up to fit in the middle of the two leafs.

Thats my pack. I use a 3/4 inch shackle. Total I have 4.5" of lift, "above stock". That is an important thing to remember. If you are starting from stock, it is very unlikely you are at stock height with our weak leafs. People will say they got 3" of lift, but they were sagging 1". I thought I had a good 2.5" BB. Come to find out I was only an inch above stock. They are flexy and very comfortable. Hope that helps.

P.S. Thanks Timmay. I read your write up some time ago and that is what sent me to the yard. Thanks for taking your time to do your writeup.
 
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