OOdynamite

So I have decided that this spring I'm going to put brand new leaf springs on my Cherokee seeing as how mine are currently bent in the other direction. Seeing as how I'm going to do this myself, and I'm terrified of it, I have a couple questions.

1. Do I have to remove the shocks in order to install the new leafs?
2. How does cutting seized nuts off help in removing bolts, aren't the bolts still seized?
3. Do the shackles have to come off the body, or can I leave them on?
4. Should I get new hardware (ubolts and such)?
5. About how long is the process for both sides?
6. Any tools you would recommend for the project?

Thanks for the help, my Cherokee really needs this, and this will also be my first time actually doing any real mechanical work on any vehicle. It seems like a fairly straight forward process, and a good place to do my first project.

Garvin

1. You don't need to remove the shocks, but it does help to disconnect the bottom to give extra droop to give you more wiggle room with the springs. You can get away with taking the two nuts off the axle side, pull the shocks off and just let them hang.

2. If they are seized that bad, you cut the bolt on the inside side of the leaf spring, that way you can pull the bolt out and drop the leaf spring out. At that point, you put a punch through the outside hole and bang the other side out, assuming it hasn't fallen out already.

3. Assuming you aren't getting new shackles, the shackle bolt can stay in the top of the shackle. You just need to remove the bottom bolt on the shackle to disconnect the leaf spring.

4. New u-bolts are highly advised, as well as new grade 8 bolts. The u-bolts are meant to stretch as you install them to get a snug fit and can break when reinstalling. The other issue is the u-bolts might break taking them off, which having new u-bolts will save the time of having to order them. When you install the new bolts through the eyes of the leaf springs, put anti-seize on them (or grease). I had regular grease (lube grease like what you use for your tie rods and whatnot) and after two years with the lift springs on, the bolts came right out without an issue.

5. Assuming the bolts come out, it shouldn't take anymore than two hours or so without experience. At this point, I can swap out a set of springs in my driveway in less than an hour by myself.

6. There really aren't too many special tools. Make sure you have a breaker bar and a pipe that fits over the end to give you more torque. Make sure you also have a saw-saw handy in case you round a head or the bolt is seized.

Before doing the swap, spray the bolts down with WD40 (PB Blaster, whatever brand you choose) days in advance and keep spraying them atleast once a day, make sure you soak them good. That will help the bolts break loose. The whole process is fairly easy with 8 u-bolt nuts, the 4 u-bolts, 2 shock nuts, and 4 leaf bolts total.

If you have any other questions or you're confused on how I explained something, feel free to ask.

OOdynamite

WOW!!! That was the single most helpful reply I have EVER gotten on this site. Thank you so much for the detailed reply. Now I'm much more confident in this project. Thank you again and I'll shoot ya a pm if I have anymore questions.

Garvin

Glad I could help.

Feel free to ask anything, no matter how big or small. I check in at least once a day so can get back to you fairly fast.

OOdynamite

Great I will for sure.