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Bastard Pack Springs

Wayne Sihler

NAXJA Member
NAXJA Member
Location
Maurertown,Va.
What do you use as spring clamps? Ho-made or are there after market ones ?
Today I combined my worn out 4.5 " Rockrawler and 3" Skyjacker packs-now I need to clamp the 2nd longest springs to the rest of the pack.

Thanks,
Wayne
 
I bastardized my leaf packs just over the winter, and a local spring shop had the "clamps" I needed. I quoted clamps, cause I think they are just clips. They are held in place by bending over metal tabs.
 
The ones you buy, and then wrap around and bend over, will limit spring movement if you make them too tight and they can rattle if you leave them loose. Not the best option. The only way I've done it is to include a couple leaves in the newly made pack that already have the spring clamps on them. The clamps that are riveted on and are open at the top with a bolt across are the only real ones to use. They keep the springs in line, allow the leaves to separate on droop, but don't allow them to open up too much.
 
The ones you buy, and then wrap around and bend over, will limit spring movement if you make them too tight and they can rattle if you leave them loose. Not the best option. The only way I've done it is to include a couple leaves in the newly made pack that already have the spring clamps on them. The clamps that are riveted on and are open at the top with a bolt across are the only real ones to use. They keep the springs in line, allow the leaves to separate on droop, but don't allow them to open up too much.


That would have been best--But- the leaf I removed had the clamp,and the replacement didn,t.plus the clamp would have been too short to include the extra leaf if I would have kept it.A Catch 22---.
i,ll come up with something---

Wayne
 
You can buy or build the open style retainers.
 
Those are the ones that don't work well. You go through the trouble of building a better working (bastard) pack, and then go backwards by using a clamp that doesn't allow the springs to work properly. You need to leave it a little loose so the leaves can move, then it can rattle, and it won't allow the leaves to separate a little on droop like the open top type clamps do. A poor compromise.
 
Use a thin rubber isolator to prevent it rattling (when left a little loose to allow spring movement.) Even if you originally clip them too tight, they will loosen up with some use. Leafs aren't supposed to separate much, that's why they clip them. They do need to slide against one another however, without binding.
At least behind the axle. CLAMPING them in front of the axle will help prevent axle wrap, at the cost of flex. But of course, a clamp doesn't allow them to slide against each other.
 
For a tall pack (ie 6+ leaf), the Husky clips are a bit short. I did this- although mine weren't so pretty- measure once, cut twice. With a little more work, these could be fastened to the bottom spring, although I didn't do that on mine.

To make the leaf spring clamps, I needed to make a trip to the local hardware store, where I picked up four 3.5" x 5/16" Grade 8 bolts, four 5/16" nuts, eight 5/16" washers, and a 4' long piece of flat steel bar 3/16" thick and 1" wide. To make the spring clamps, I cut four 7" long pieces, found the center of each piece and made a line 1.25" to the left and right of the center (totaling 2.5" for the width of the leaf springs). I marked a spot 3/16" from each end of each of the 7" long pieces in the center, where I drilled 5/16" holes for the bolts. After drilling the holes, I made a 90* bend at the two lines that I marked 1.25" from the center of the pieces. After finishing this, I painted the clamps to prevent rust, and here is the finished product,
100_0160.jpg


From RockLizard's Home Brew Budget Boost.
 
Use a thin rubber isolator to prevent it rattling (when left a little loose to allow spring movement.) Even if you originally clip them too tight, they will loosen up with some use. Leafs aren't supposed to separate much, that's why they clip them. They do need to slide against one another however, without binding.
At least behind the axle. CLAMPING them in front of the axle will help prevent axle wrap, at the cost of flex. But of course, a clamp doesn't allow them to slide against each other.

Sure. Then why do all of the top quality leaf spring makers use the open top clamps with a bolt across. It takes more work to drill the hole in that spring steel and rivet the clamp on. I've always considered making your own spring a legitimate option to spending the money for expensive leaf springs, but if you want the best performance you need to do it in the best way. If you're just going cheap, then use the cheap clamps, but understand what you're doing. It's still best to keep a leaf in the pack that already has the better spring clamps on it.
 
Those are the ones that don't work well. You go through the trouble of building a better working (bastard) pack, and then go backwards by using a clamp that doesn't allow the springs to work properly. You need to leave it a little loose so the leaves can move, then it can rattle, and it won't allow the leaves to separate a little on droop like the open top type clamps do. A poor compromise.

Goatman: I trust your experience, so I'll address this to you--

is there any drawback (other than noise) to keeping the clamps loose top to bottom, if they are solid enough to keep the leaves stacked i.e. using the Rock Lizard clamps w/out attaching them to the spring on the bottom?
 
Goatman: I trust your experience, so I'll address this to you--

is there any drawback (other than noise) to keeping the clamps loose top to bottom, if they are solid enough to keep the leaves stacked i.e. using the Rock Lizard clamps w/out attaching them to the spring on the bottom?

Why are the clamps there in the first place. One reason is to prevent the leafs from fanning out side/side. Another is to prevent spring wrap. To do this, the clamp's location needs to be fixed to the lowest leaf at that particular fore/aft location on the leaf spring. The factory solution is to turn a tab into a hole in the lowest leaf, then clamp it fairly tight, using a rubber strip to allow some give. As Goatman previously posted somewhere, the aftermarket springs use a 'Rock Lizard style' clamp riveted to the lowest leaf.

My question was how do the Rock Lizard style attach to the bottom of the spring. If they arent attached at all, they'll slide fwd and back many inches, is that what people are running? I guess this would work OK, the clamps might slide all the way up to the main eye, which wouldnt prevent any spring wrap. That seems unlikely, but nothing to say it couldnt happen.

Now I'm wondering if even a simple zip tie thru a RL style clamp with a hole and the factory leaf hole might do the trick.
 
Having a pile of used leaf springs is an advantage when building your own packs. I pick up leafs whenever I can, especially if they are free.
You need to find a few springs that are pre-drilled for clamps.
You can drill and countersink them yourself but good luck with the hard spring steel. Pre-drilled is a lot easier.
If the leaves are too long, you can diamond cut them with a grinder or a cutoff saw. Cutting the springs allows you to space the spring length exactly the way you want.
My packs have 6-leaves, all 1/4' thick, each with to two rivet-on U-clamps clamps and one OE-style rubber-wrapped clamp at the rear.
I added the rear clamp to help tame the wheel hop and it works fine without limiting articulation. The clamp is just snug enough to keep the leaves from separating. The rubber wrap stops the rattling.
Inter-leaf friction is controlled by full-length 2-1/2" wide plastic liner (H-shape) from Eaton Spring. http://www.eatonsprings.com/ Call to buy.
This stuff is great. It produces a smooth ride that does not degrade over time the way spray moly and other dry lubricants do.

Building your own springs is hard, dirty work that allows you to inexpensively address your XJ rear suspension needs better than most off-the-shelf aftermarket springs.
If you are picky about getting the right spring combination, be prepared to spend a bit of time to get it dialed in.
Buy extra center pins and a set or two of U-bolts.
I started building my own several years ago after reading Goatman's past postings on DIY leaf springs. It's worth searching for.
 
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