AF-XJ

I am trying to find a way to lift the rear of my 1997 Cherokee without have to break down the spring packs. Is there another pack that will bolt in and give lift? The closest I have found was out of a full size dodge van 70-97. From the front eye to center pin the measurement is the same 23. On the rear side of the spring it is 2 inches longer than the Cherokee. From what I have read this will improve the shackle angle. Is a shackle relocation bracket needed? I was going to try this with a stock Chevy shackle swap (1 inch of lift?). Do you think that this would work or cause any problems?

If I do the direct swap with the Chevy shackle swap how much life would I gain? Im looking to gain about 3-4 inches.

Tom95YJ

Just by a new spring pack. They are 80-130each depending on brand. Unless you go alcan or deaver then your in the several hundred dollar range.

RacerX

It would seem like he wants USED springs and/or longer...
BTW junkyard springs are about $35 (that's < 1/2 price)
I have also been wondering about the Dodge Van leaf spring upgrade.

Does anyone have more info on using the Dodge Van leaf spring???

ALSO what is the deal with the Chevy shackle swap? how much longer are they? angled? year? model???

Tom95YJ

Wow your brining back a thread that's a year old !

I am pretty sure he already got springs by now !

Turbo X_J

Just as old/used as the stuff you are replacing, new parts r moar betta.

RacerX

Shz ... don't search and you get XXXX, do a search, and you find the wrong year ???
Well at least I got a partial answer about the Dodge springs

mentalbreakdown00

You can do it, but plan on buying or building a shackle relocator as the shackle will be riding on the inside of that well it sits in at static rest....

Teephphah

It's gonna drive me nuts, but just within the last week or two I read some post on some forum somewhere where some guy was just absolutely gushing about the Dodge Van springs he put on and how great the ride was and how well they flexed and how they cured his cancer and everything good.

The claims seemed a little overstated, but he came back several times and reaffirmed everything he claimed again and again. Was just at the JY this past weekend and, lo and behold, there just happened to be a Dodge Van sitting there. Definitely got me thinking.

DIdn't know about the extra length on there though. It seems like that could be a bit of a bad thing. No?

mentalbreakdown00

Without the shackle relocators the shackle has no more room to move back... If you make or buy some relocators then yes, you can run them... If not it could cause some bind..

rugsucka

I used the main leaf from a Dodge Ram Van as my second leaf under the XJ main. I cut it off at the rear eye so that it supports the XJ main completely from front to back. It is slightly thicker than an XJ leaf. I was running it with the main from an S10 4 pack (which is slightly thicker than the Dodge van leaf) as my third and the rest of the original XJ pack until I cracked a couple leafs this summer. It was always a very flexy pack and would allow me to stuff and rub the rear, but axle hop was present when in some mud and definitely when snow wheeling.

I got almost 3 years of wheeling out of this bastard pack that cost me ~100 and no issues with front spring bolts. I also run relocation brackets with 1.5" shackle lift for good shackle angle and a solid 5" lift total with almost flat leafs.

I had to rebuild my leaf pack a few months ago, and in a pinch (ie the day before wheeling I found cracked leafs) found a pair of s10 Mains from a 3 pack. These swapped in for the s10 mains from the 4 pack are much thicker, added around 3/4" more lift, and provide a nice firm ride when loaded down, but don't flex nearly as well. Perhaps I'll eventually break them in, but I'm thinking of searching out another set of s10 or exploder mains to get back that flexy feeling.

There. There's an actual testament of using Dodge Van leafs....and a variety of other leafs that combined with a few other modifications and components provide a variety of flex, ride quality, and lift. I'm not gushing, but as a cheap bastard that would rather play with combinations of leafs and lift for super cheap vs buying a set of arched lift springs, I advocate for bastard packs as a inexpensive and very effective method of lifting the rear.