crux

Its a few years down the road and 11K of miles on the jeep since the RE superflex lift went on. Been over all happy with it till it was recently in the shop. I learned that the rear bushings were completely gone both front and rear on the leaf springs. After replacing the bushings the rear rides VERY FIRM to the point you can lift the inside rear tire in a turn. Makes me a little worried learning this and concerned if the issue will be ongoing.

With the repaired bushings and very stiff ride I'm considering removing a leaf or two in the back and interested in how this would effect the vehicle. Is there a means of making the rear of a RE leaf spring pack perform and have a good ride?

Possible thoughts:
- Remove a leaf
- Flip a leaf
- Sell the Jeep

93XJLI

how long has it been since you replaced the bushings? rubber? poly? what shocks are you running? tires? tire pressure? sway bars?

the bushings being new didnt make your jeep handle like this, the bushings being shot have been masking an existing issue.

gy24

sell the jeep? why not just buy a new lift system?

SeriousOffroad

Was the hardware tightened before the weight of the rig has on the ground and the suspension cycled by bouncing the bumper up and down a few times?

RememberTheMallamo

I second the tightening process comment. Sounds a little crazy but I'd loosen the rear bolts (leaf and shackle bolts and u-bolts) then retighten them with the Jeep sitting on them. It would greatly depend on what leaf you plan on removing as well and they will all most likely drop you lower. Is that okay?

crux

Some more info:

Shocks are Bilstien 5100 on all 4 corners.
All shocks are in good working order
Tires are 31 Yokohamas aired at 30 psi.
Old bushings were what ever RE give you. Replacement are rubber.

If it looses a little lift in the interest of comfort then I would be fine with that.

Coastal

first thing I would try is loosening the bolts a tad and retightening them under the weight of the vehicle.

If the leaf pack flexed fine before and all that is new is the bushings it has to do with the new parts, or the install.

Northwoods Snowman

Are the replacement bushing OEM units? I don't know what the setup is, but if the inner steel sleeve is absent then when the bolts are torqued down they will just clamp down on the bushings and not allow them to rotate. Just a thought, unlikely I would think but something to look at anyway.

XJ Stryker

I think you should remove the rear sway bar too. They are worthless. That will keep your tire on the ground going around curves lol. Also if you tire is coming off the ground on curves. SLOW down lol

crux

LOL. There is no sway bar on the Jeep in the back. Front is even disconnected right now seeing if we can get more flex.

Bushings are aftermarket something from the spring shop here. they have both inner and outer sleeves.

Tom95YJ

I thing they tightened the bolts before the jeep was on the ground

crux

Wish I had the Jeep here to test a few things out.

What bolts is everyone referring too The U-bolts? How would torquing down on the bolts in the air vs ground change things?

Lowrange2

They're talking about the leaf spring bolts that go through the bushings. If they tightened the bolts while it was still on the lift up in the air then there's a good chance that the bushings are loaded with tension.

SeriousOffroad

Not the u-bolts, the leaf spring and shackle bolts.