wlolinIV

Well Im posting bc I am looking for some opinions on my cherokee. I recently bought what seemed to be a simple and in fair condition '89 Cherokee with 4.0 with the Automatic. I was mistaken and this thing needs A LOT of work! Just to get it in a decent running condition was a handful and I still havent worked out all the problems yet. Anyways, the entire suspension has been modified (by an idiot!) and so now Im looking to correct his mistakes. The rear suspension has some weird air bag suspension that my friends nor I have ever seen on a crawling or offroading rig. The rear leaf mounts have been removed and Im going to have to rebuild the entire rear suspension. So my main question is: Which would be easier, cheaper, and better all around for the rear suspension? Leafsprings (cheap and easy) or convert to Coil springs (from what I have seen, its not cheap and is not for everyone that DIY)? Im pretty mechanically inclined and I have been a welder (Aviation) for about 6 years now. Thanks for any help or suggestions ahead of time.P.S. Renix engines suck to troubleshoot!

trans_am7935

wlolinIV

Thanks for the insight.

trans_am7935

now when you say that thee mounts have been removed, they cut them entirely off?

if that is the case, i would just go coilover if you have to money. the make an almost complete bolt in kit for like 1500 bucks, kinda pricey i know, of you could just fab up some leaf spring brackets off of the frame.

wlolinIV

Yeah, I have been reading quite a bit about the coil conversion and also the kits that some companies actually put together for it. I found 2 or 3 companies that make new mounts for the leaf springs and if I stick to leafs (more than likely) I will probably but the mounts for them from Poly Performance. They look pretty beefed up compared to the others and you and bolt them on and/or weld them on. I just don't have any of the stock hardware for the leaf spring setup, so I don't know exactly what I would need for a parts list. Most companies I have found only offer either a complete lift for front and back or just leaf springs and individual parts.

So I guess I was just asking is there any MAJOR advantages to converting to coils in the rear instead of rebuilding the stock rear suspension setup with a decent lift (3-4.5")?

wlolinIV

Also keep in mind, I'm not going to be off roading everyday and most of the terrain I would use the XJ against probably isn't that crazy. I just want it to be able to handle what I put it through. Ha ha and if it doesn't... Just gives me something to do/fix!