xj_maniac_newb

yes, they arent bad in the snow (what little we have) but they are completely useless in any mud or gravel or dirt. but this is only my personal experience. they dont clean out at all, but not many tires can clean out georgia clay Oh yeah, and they ride SUPER quiet. just like a car tire.

CAEMI

How do you cut leaf springs?

96_xj

angle grinder with a cut off wheel, hack saw, saw zaw, anything that normally cuts metal lol


when i added an extra cherokee main leaf my my leaf pack(and another secondary leaf) i cut the main leaf like this. keeping it as long as possible because i wanted to support the entire leaf pack

CAEMI

OK. Cool.

I've never removed a leaf spring or coil. Is there anything dangerous about pulling the spring assembly out of there? What do you support and how?

96_xj

the only thing you have to worry about is the centering pin. But a C-clamp will solve that.

Take a c clamp and clamp the center of the pack, undo your centering pin(which you need a new one-longer)

un do the c clamp slowly to where the leafs are all seperated and supporting themselves.


Not to hard.

just retorque everything once you are done.

There is tons of writes out there/

You also need new u-bolts and spring clamps like i mentioned earlier.

You can make spring clamps but expect to spend about $20 on all 4 u bolts

CAEMI

Where is the stress on the springs - do you support the body and let the axle hang loose or support the axle?

I guess I'm worried that the springs will "spring" out at me or something. How do you unbolt the shackles safely? Or is there really nothing to it???

Is there spring tension on the centering pin?

96_xj

your going to take the tire off, support the vehicle



then you are going to take off the spring clips



then this is where the only "springing at you" action MIGHT be. which is where the C-clamp comes in handy



with the leafs cut and you can throw them in the leaf pack how you want them.-mine are the ones with the white painted tips



here is the new centering pin and everything bolted together






here is how i made my spring clamps. drilled a hole for a small allen head bolt to bolt to so it sits inside the hole in the leaf spring to keep it from moving around (you will see waht i mean when you take yours off). Then i used a spacer and a bolt and bolted the 2 sides together. It lasted like this until i sold the leaf pack (lots of wheeling/towing/DDing










i would trim it up a bit tho lol


ignore the cinder blocks and leaf spring block.

i was young and learning!

XJeepWerks

I ran 31x10.5 Goodyear MT/R's on stock 10 hole wheels for a good 4-5 months with only fender trimming. The only problem I had with them was that they rubbed my LCA's making tight turns, which was fixed when I mounted them on my Cragar Soft 8's. I had reduced steering capabilities but my Jeep looked nasty at stock height running 31's. Now 33's look small on my Jeep, but I don't have the funds to regear for 35's yet. Running 31's at stock height is a good way to find out how bad your shocks are, just don't demolish your quarterpanels on a speed hump like I did.


P.S. I find it hilarious how these new speed humps are posted with 15mph signs, but it hurts to hit them at 5mph in a brand new car. Found one of those deals on an old road that wasn't posted and had no paint remaining on it with a Jeep full of people. My quarterpanels will never be the same because of that day. My shocks had no charge left at all to them though, when I installed the lift I turned my shock upside down just for grins, and the shock hit the floor.

CAEMI

96 XJ: I owe you a six pack. Thanks.

Actually, I think you need a floor jack more than the sixer.

No kidding - thanks. I've been worried about what would happen when I tried this job. I appreciate the pics and explanation.