Richieb9

Has anyone ever done this to achieve the right height/ softness? i know i hear of buddies removing the helper on the s10 bastard pack so they are not so stiff. but i was interested if anyone has taken the smallest leaf out of a RC kit to improve ride or even just to get a little less lift in the rear to level things out... anything would help guys.

sreeb

I have been looking at this.

I don't think taking out the bottom leaf is going to do much.

I was looking at removing the middle leaf or the second longest one.

However, I think the design of these springs is fundamentally flawed. The stock shackle isn't very long relative to the depth of the arch. This means that there isn't that much room for the spring to lengthen as it compresses without the shackle bottoming out. A longer shackle would give more room for the spring to compress but would increase the lift and I'm already higher than I want to be.

I suspect that the arch and spring rate are the hardest things to control when manufacturing a spring. Actual rear weight can vary a lot in customer usage. Due to the short length of the stock shackle, any variation can cause problems (either too short and bad geometry or too long and binding the shackle). Then factor in sag as the spring ages and it is just hard to get right.

I think some combination of lower spring arch, lower spring rate, (these are obviously related when installed) and longer shackle is required to work well. You probably also need a shackle relocation kit to get the geometry right.

I want to make clear that I don't know anything from experience. I'm still just looking at it and speculating.

caged

long leafs provide flex where as the short leafs provide lift/stiffness.

so yes, you will achieve a softer, more flexi ride if you remove the small leaf.

however, you may end up cracking the next leaf in half over time.

sreeb

I placed a 195 lb reference weight in back of my xj and got 1/2" of deflection at the bumper.

The same weight in the back of my 1/2 ton pickup gives me 1 1/4" inch of deflection.

I think I am way over sprung.

How many leaves does the stock spring have?

Donnie_K

How's your shackle angle? not length... angle... if you're at 90 degrees or more (lower shackle bolt being further forward than upper shackle bolt), then you're gonna have a rough ride, and it's going to be overly stiff. IF that's the case, longer shackles may help a little, but you need shackle relocation brackets more than you need longer shackles.

Richieb9

Ok well here is the scenario I was sitting at perfect lift height. Had a bad shackle angle got the relocation kit from RC and it gave me too much lift as I suspected. But every kit I looked at gave lift. So I had no choice. So I was thinking instead of the kit being a waste I couldn't maybe take one leaf out with the kit in and possibly get back to my original lift height. Since then I found a "low profile" shackle relocation kit that doesn't add any lift. But of course I don't want to buy another product And keep throwing money away. So I was just wondering if anyone had done this and gotten the results they were looking for. Thanks for your posts by the way!!!! I have been spending the past few days fabbing up my own relocation kit with is going to work great.

Donnie_K

lets see it!

Richieb9

ill have to try and see if i took any the jeep is ripped apart now tho in my garage sitting on jack stands. and i actually grinded the shackle box (where the shackle mounts to the frame) completely off for my new shackle relocation kit. thats really the only pic i would have...

Donnie_K

Shackle relocation brackets are on my upcoming things to do list... and I'm running the same springs. I'd love to see what you're doing there and may have to steel some of your ideas.

sreeb

My shackle angle is bad, maybe 20 degrees forward.

I'm also over lifted, 6" measured for a nominal 4.5" lift.

I'm thinking that taking a leaf out will reduce the arch causing the spring to lengthen which would improve shackle angle and reduce the lift some.

sreeb

Can't anyone visualize any more....

Donnie_K

I don't want to see yours, yours looks just as crappy as mine, identical even... lol. I wanted to see the fabbed relocation bracket previously mentioned. Got to fix shackle angle...

sreeb

See this thread for the relocation brackets:

https://www.cherokeeforum.com/f10/lo...n-kits-156665/

How much lift did you get from yours?

Richieb9

haha well his looks just like mine also, only i added a shackle from like a 1995 chevy 1500 which is about and inch longer. i do have some pics of the brackets that im fabbing up. only im basically copying another design. is that legal? haha like i previously said i had lready bough the RC shackle Relocation kit. so im chopping away at the parts from it. ill upload some pics

Richieb9

Here is the part from the RC kit I just cut it and I'm going to weld a plate on the back of it and bolt it to the part on the frame where the bumper mounts and to the old shackle location. Then I will bend a piece and bolt it to the frame. If that makes any sense.