My 1996 classic suspension seems to be a little "soft" in the rear. Kinda bouncy and seems to sit a little low in the back. Is this shocks or struts or just normal. It rides ok, just kinda bugs me the way it sits. How hard is it to fix and can I do it or does it take a "special wrench" or something.

 

Your rear leaf springs are worn out. You can buy new ones and swap them out.

 

How hard is that? I live in an apt. complex and my tools are limited.

 

Lowness in the rear is from wornout springs. Bouncyness is from wornout shocks. It is normal result of time and use.

 

ok thanks

 

I'd like to resurrect this thread- I have a 1996 Sport with BADLY worn rear leaf springs. It's so bad I hear a grinding back there when I accelerate or hit a bump. I need experienced suggestions on how to go about replacing these- are there certain brands of springs that I should avoid? Are there certain ones you recommend? Is it an easy process? Can I use a regular car jack that you'd use to change tires? I need a place to start...

 

Swapping your leaf springs (and broken shock bolts) tutorial - Jeep Cherokee Forum

 

Easy to do. I simply jack up the car and place jackstands under the sub frame in front of the springs and under the axle. Then start unbolting. I find using one of those cheap mini floor jacks in between the leaf and subframe works well to position the eye to the shackle.

 

In the tutorial in post #7 he's actually under his Jeep WITH IT UP ON HOLLOW CINDER BLOCKS!!! Big no-no. Heavy things fall fast. One imperfection, crack, piece of pea gravel and you make the evening news. Never go under a car on cinder blocks!

................................V 6? is that when you switched from Craftsman to Snap-On? V..........

 

Absolutely positively 100% no no. My daddy taught me that one when I was 6 years old. Those things crumble and break. Not made to support a load.go out and buy yourself 20 or 30$ worth of jack stands. If you feel your life or full connection of your spine is worth 30$. On that note I think he had those down there as a back up. There's a red jackstand poking its little head out behind those blocks. I'm sure people do it though.