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4.5" lift rear leaf ID, help me fix terribly harsh ride

madmike283

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Lakewood, CO
Quick history... Just bought this XJ last week. It's got some sort of 4.5" lift with leaf pack and seems to be a 1" block.

Had YellaHEEP check it out yesterday and he's not sure which pack it is. He suggested rebuilding the leaf to gain some arc and lose some stiffness.

Went and did some very mild wheeling today which included a lot of washboarded dirt road and small rocks. The ride is terribly stiff. So now I'm looking at options to soften up the ride and improve flex. Also during the wheeling last weekend and this I have realized that one or more of the leaf bushings seem to be shot causing some clunking when rocking back and forth on rocks. This isn't a DD, but I don't want to build it to a trail only rig either. Will likely stick to around 5" of lift and no larger than 33s to keep me from HAVING to regear.

Here are some pics I took to show what I've got. Any idea which springs these are? The only markings that we can see is "CANADA" on the aft-most portion of the leaf on that vertical surface. Would you try to reconstruct these to give them some more manners? Would you just go with a full new pack that's proven? How about shackles? Who knows what the shocks are also, so they may get swapped out as well someday.

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It really looks like you need a longer dog leg shackle and ditch the block.
 
Other than re-working the springs and replacing the shocks there isn't much you can do with the springs to soften up the ride. You could remove a leaf or two I guess but you lose lift height that way. I thought about re-working my factory leafs with an add-a-leaf in it rather than buying new springs but the cost to get that done wasn't much less than buying some Rubicon Express leaf packs so I just bought those instead. Also buy a good set of shocks not just a generic set of shocks like Rancho RS5000s or something similar because the valving in the shock is the same on the ones that fit a 4,000 lb Jeep or the ones that fit a 6,000-7,000 lb F-350 diesel dually truck so on the Jeep they are going to ride rough. Rubicon Express makes their Monotube shocks specifically for a lifted Jeep so they ride much smoother and handle much better. I had factory springs with an add-a-leaf and BDS shocks before I replaced with RE monotubes and leaf packs and I had a friend who knew nothing about cars even ask if I had done something to the Jeep because it was riding noticeably smoother.
 
Is it a block or a shim?

Shackle relocation brackets are the mod du jour. It's probably help you a little. I did for me.
 
The spring, when compressed, is obviously contacting the the shackle and the bumper bracket bolts.

Your choice of shocks can have a greater effect on the ride harshness of the ride than the springs.

Ditch the blocks, extend your bumpstops, then get longer shackles and some better quality shocks.
 
So, I could splurge for some new BOR packs, short boomerang shackle, ditch the blocks, and some new shocks... Or maybe just stick with the existing packs, get some relocation brackets, extended shackles, ditch the block, and new shocks.

Are those the two options you guys would choose between, price being the obvious factor?
 
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