So my brother just bought an xj yesterday. It has extended shackles and he said the previous owner told him the springs were replaced 2 years ago. To me however, they look to be on their way out. They seem flat to me buy my brother insists that they are not. Please help settle this haha

 

if they're only 2 years old, they weren't a quality spring to begin with. yeah, they're done.

take a pick of the jeep from the side, this way we can see how much sag is in the rear.

 

Here is one.

 

see now in that pic it looks relatively level. but that doesn't mean the leafs were sagging so the extended shackle was installed to get it back up to level again.

i would replace those leafs, it will ride a lot nicer too. and less chance of breaking a leaf pack.

 

Martlor13, you are correct and the victor in the debate with your brother.

 

If they was oem they would be rustier then they are,I'm betting he replaced them with the cheapest springs he could get which sagged already to flat.

 

Thanks guys. The jeep being level was his argument. But you can just tell that there is zero arch.

 

Being level is irrelevant. They added a 2-inch shackle because those leaf springs were beat to heck and back and the lift was added to accommodate for the sag.

I'm not so sure they're 2 years old either.

What you can do when you replace those is go with OEM replacements from a junk yard, or you might do a 1-2 inch lift with an aftermarket company. A stock Jeep never looks bad on 1-2 inches of lift.

 

I'm gonna try and convince him to do what I'm going to do with mine since he doesn't like large lifts either. I'm saving for an old man emu 2 inch kit so I'll try and get him to do the same.