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5.5 RE springs sagging on right rear. Is there a better spring?

Rem870XJ

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Southern Indiana
My second owner xj has a bad sag in the right rear. Does any body make a better leaf? I am about ot but a new axle in it and now would be the time to get the springs fixed right. thanks for any imput
 
National leaves...


From Greg L. on SoCalXJ.com

The ORGS pack has 11 leafs. 214 gauge. Rate is 99. Load is 1800
The Nationals has 10 leafs. 237 gauge. Rate is 108 Load is 1881


They are not the ones on the site! These were made from the plans that Bill
Hinkly made up (ORGS)...except they didn't have the smaller gauge material.
So he got on his computor and came up with the 10 leaf pack with the specs
being very close. They are 5 1/2 lift with a 1" schackle...but I'm closer to
6" with stock bumper and little weight in the back. They are firm yet soft
on the road with Bilstein 5150 HO shocks with the softer valving. Throw a
little weight in the back and they soften up quickly. They are great on the
road (where I live during the day) and handle very well. The more weight you
put in back, the softer it gets, and the more it will lean in a turn. Off
road they work awsome. Especially if I have some extra weight in the
rear...so they will work better with a heavier bumper.


I set up a socal price, but nobody seemed interested. Now I don't know where
it is, and Bob (owner) isn't in the shop this morning. I think it was $475?
$500? Something like that. It was a killer deal!!! Bottom line is I love
them and so does Mike R. Mike has more weight in the back, so you'll need to
wait for his comments.


Call Bob @ National Spring and ask for the SOCALXJ price. Get some people
together to buy, cause there's strength in numbers. They will be made to
order, and can get the lift you want. But if he sells the biz, your SOL on
the price.


National Spring
619-258-2724
Ask for Bob


Greg L
 
also Deaver makes nice multi leaf packs in custom lengths and for your desired application: ie- vehicle lift & weight. they flex like crazy and have a nice soft ride..
but be prepared to open up that wallet wide..

also check ALCAN spring alot of xj-ers think they're really good.
 
I have found RE leafs arent too great. I had a set on my cherokee for 3 yrs or so and after a recent wheeling trip i come to find my rig sagging hard to the passenger side. I was a victim of spring wrap. i really was quite suprised because i really dont wheel too "extreme".

My personal decision was to get together a couple springs from different spring packs and make my own. I have 9 leafs in the ones i am running right now and i love them. I will tell anyone who buys springs to go ahead and take them apart and install full legth liners as they help smooth out the flex and ride.
 
Yeah what Jason said. I am thinking about adding a few stock leaves to even out my RE 5.5 lift now that the rear is all saggy----------Kyle
 
You could, but you're always better off adding leafs that have the same arch and thickness as the existing pack. That way, the leafs will flow better and actually compliment each other.

Adding leafs that are a different thickness or different arch as the rest of the pack, creates a conflict within the pack, and the result is often poor ride quality, poor flex and reduced life.

BTW, most new leaf packs will settle slightly after a break in period. On an XJ, you will usually see this happen on the passenger side first, since the torque load is transferred to that side. Usually, you can just switch leafs from left to right and wheel it again. Often times, you'll be sitting level again- unless the sagging leaf is really shot.

Of course, there are some who install a nice set of leafs, and then add some blocks and longer shackles but don't add more bumpstops. You CANNOT expect a leaf in that situation to compress as far as it did when stock and be able to live. I know a good number of guys are running 6-8" lifts with 31" to 32" tires, no extra bumpstops, and wonder why their springs are sagging...
 
so is this the passengers side or drivers side?

I do know that RE does make the DS stiffer to account for the drivers weight. ride empty is about 1/2" different
 
xjnation said:
so is this the passengers side or drivers side?

Both guys said they were sagging to the right (passenger) side.

I do know that RE does make the DS stiffer to account for the drivers weight. ride empty is about 1/2" different
That's news to me. Ever seen a driver/passenger designation on an RE spring? Some of the ARB/Old Man Emu springs are side specific.
Our RE equipped rigs always sat pretty level until we wheeled them once. Then, the rear pass leaf would break in first.

Funny thing is- Our '97 was leaning to the passenger side. We swapped the rear leafs and it was still leaning to the passenger side. I thought, it MUST be the coils, so we swapped them too. STILL leaned to the passenger side. Obviously, it wasn't the springs at all.

I quit worrying about it.
 
DPG said:
Both guys said they were sagging to the right (passenger) side.


That's news to me. Ever seen a driver/passenger designation on an RE spring? Some of the ARB/Old Man Emu springs are side specific.
Our RE equipped rigs always sat pretty level until we wheeled them once. Then, the rear pass leaf would break in first.

Funny thing is- Our '97 was leaning to the passenger side. We swapped the rear leafs and it was still leaning to the passenger side. I thought, it MUST be the coils, so we swapped them too. STILL leaned to the passenger side. Obviously, it wasn't the springs at all.

I quit worrying about it.

the last install I did had drivers side on the leafs.........so did my first set 5 years ago. I do think that not all do.

My original RE springs where actually nationals.......(wish they still where)
 
Last edited:
xjnation said:
the last 2 installs I did both had drivers side on the leafs.........so did my first set 5 years ago. I do think that not all do.
That's weird- there's never been any designation on any of the RE leafs that have come through here.
 
Jeepin Jason said:
Never seen that on any RE leaf here either. :dunno:

On good drugs today......(from trying to rip a fingerrrrr off)......had to check paper work.........it was nationals I bought to install with the kit............my bad.....but my original set where marked..........LOL.........maybe I should just read stuff today........:confused1 :confused1
 
My hole Jeep is sagging. I just put a 3" lift & 32's on my other XJ and it sits an inch or so higher than my trail rig with RE 5.5 & 35's. I just want to get the rear back up until next year then I plan on redoing the whole thing. What can I do until then. PS I have bump stops out the wazooo!!! still sagging.
 
tekeum said:
My hole Jeep is sagging. I just put a 3" lift & 32's on my other XJ and it sits an inch or so higher than my trail rig with RE 5.5 & 35's. I just want to get the rear back up until next year then I plan on redoing the whole thing. What can I do until then. PS I have bump stops out the wazooo!!! still sagging.

I dont know maybe unload the back of the 5.5 rig? youcan install an addaleaf or extended shackles in teh back
 
tekeum said:
My hole Jeep is sagging. I just put a 3" lift & 32's on my other XJ and it sits an inch or so higher than my trail rig with RE 5.5 & 35's. I just want to get the rear back up until next year then I plan on redoing the whole thing. What can I do until then. PS I have bump stops out the wazooo!!! still sagging.
Wow! That's a lot of sag. Are you loaded up pretty heqavy with armor, winch, bumpers, etc?
Is your 3" lift maybe a bit taller than 3"?
There's only a few ways to lift the rear of an XJ. Extra leafs, longer shackles, blocks or new leaf packs...
 
What about the BOR leaf packs, anyone running those with good results?
 
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