thunder

I need to replace the rusted leaf springs and shocks on my 1999 Jeep Cherokee 2 door, 4x4, 4.0L automatic. I do not want to lift my jeep and will have a garage do the job.

How many hours should it take a pro to do this job?

How much should I expect to pay for labor and parts?

Where can I get the best price on a new pair of leaf springs?

XJ Stryker

With NO problems it will take you about 2 hours to do the rear.

But you will probably run into siezed bushings, and broken shock mount bolts. Even with these problems it can be accomplished in about 5 hours. With the right tools then prolly even quicker.

On the side I had no problems with took about an hour to change out the leaf spring.

thegriffin

i need to do the exact same thing. my leaf springs are flat. i'm not putting a lift on either.
i found leaf springs and all the bushings off quadratec for about $300. still waiting for the paycheck to get the parts, but if anyone else knows of a better place to buy new rear suspension please share

'98XJ4life

I did my leaf springs on my '98 with 110,000 miles and it was not a couple hour job. Besides I don't think that guy even owns and XJ so he doesn't know how bad getting the main bushing bolts out can be. First of all, start with the front bolts, those are the hardest. I think you need like a 23mm socket. i recommend using a 3/4" drive size socket and start to turn the bolt. Now if your Jeep is any like the other two I've done this on you won't be unbolting the front bolts from the bushing. What happens is the sleeve inside the bushing starts turning inside the rubber and the bolt never comes out. But what you want to do is un screw the bolt so all the threads are unscrewed. Then you need to get your hands on a power hac-saw and 12 of the strongest "metal" cutting type blades you can find. I got several at Lowes. Then cut the bolt to remove the remove the spring. Now if you have to go through all this your bushings will be junk and you will need to replace them. (They're not cheap) And have a machinist press them into the new springs for you. Because pressing the bushings is too tough for a bench press you need to use a hydraulic press to do this. Any who. After you have the front bolts and bushings figured out the rest can be fairly easy. You have to remove the upper mouting bolts on the shackles on the rear of the spring. The lower shackle bolt is facing the wrong direction and you won't be able to pull the bolt out with a hitch in the way if you have a hitch. Then of course you need to remove the 4 u-bolts and CHECK FOR WARE! Also check the mounting bolts and if your ambitious just replace the mounting bolts. Or at the very least take them to a wire wheel. Then make sure you grease the bolts when you put them back in. I am not sure about torque specs for installation. I just tightened them up tight and put a little lock-tight on the threads and that seemed to work alright. Also make sure you get good leaf-springs. I ordered mine through an online mopar dealer http://www.wholesalemopar.com/. You'll need your VIN number to get springs from these guys. GOOD LUCK. And this whole thing took my about 15 hours probably. It's not as easy you might think. But it depends if you live in salty conditions and what not.

alpine.adrenaline

Get some PB Blaster working on all the bolts you can find. Do this a week before you start working on a rusted chassis and keep them saturated. If you're really looking at snapped bolts etc. get a few replacements from the junkyard or new ones before you begin (EXCEPT U-BOLTS, never reuse worn or rusted u-bolts). Sounds like you'd like to stick with stock but you can pull that rear swaybar while you're back there if you'd like. I've found that to get the axle articulaion to fit springs and shocks in smoothly is a combination of floor jack on the opposite side of the axle and bottle jack on top of the axle to push it down, but keep a close eye on brake lines etc. to avoid ripping them out. Those leaf-spring bolts really can be a pain in the neck because they'll only back out as far as the threads have grip, then you have to wrestle with the leaf spring to line up the bolt holes. I've managed to slide the hex-end (closed end... whatever its called) of a wrench below the head of the bolt and use leverage to push it out while turning the bolt with a socket wrench. It'll eventually get to where you can tap it out. The key is to simultaneously pull/push it out while you turn it. Move the jacks up and down frequently; relieve as much tension as you can on the bolt you're removing by aligning the bolt's holes.