I installed some leaf springs from a 95 S10 in my 96 Cherokee, not a bastard pack but the entire set of springs just like the came out of the S10.

The stock springs are 51.5 and the S10 springs are 54 with a 3" difference in centerpin location, so this swap required me to move the front mount 1.75" forward.

You cant take the full 3" in the front mount because the S10 springs have more arch. So i made up the difference in the perch welded to the axle, there are three holes in the perch, 1 large in the center and 2 other smaller holes both 1.5" away from the center. I opened up the back hole on both perches to 9/16 to accept the centering pin on my new leafs, I also hade to put a new hole in the plate that bolts above the leaf spring, again 1.5" back from center!

The stock shackles wouldnt work so I made a new set that was 2.75" long from hole center to hole center, the mounting location had to be moved forward 2" to get the schackle angle right!

After all this I got it back together, axle looked almost perfectly centered, which was a combination of luck and skill. I jumped up and down on the bumper and it felt nice and firm which is what I desired to match the Thunderbird coils i installed up front. Did a quick measurement, around 2.5" of lift!

Went for my test drive to make sure its road worthy before I put all my tools away and head for home. My shop is on the edge of town and there are some nice bumpy country roads perfect for testing the new suspension!

Everything felt real nice for the most part, the ride is better and the handling is greatly improved (my stock springs and shocks, both front and rear were beyond shot). I was trying to hit as many bumps as possible to get a feel for it. Then the vibration hits, and its nasty, I'm accelerating from a stop sign, hit some bumps at about 35-40 and get a horrible vibration, I instantly hit the brakes and pull over, Thinking I left a bolt loose or perhaps something broke!

After a quick inspection, everything is as it should be. No loose bolts or broken parts. I get back in and take off and everything feels fine. I drive around for about another 15 miles trying to get the vibrations to happen again with no luck. Perhaps it took a perfect storm to make it happen. My other thought is I may need a SYE. My pinion angle looks to be almost perfect, Pinion is pointing down maybe a degree or 2 at the most!

I'm a little stump, so I defer to the experts, here are some picks from the install, any insight would be very much appreciated!


3" taller


New front mounting location



New back location and shackle



Example of one of the plates used to move mounts forward




Front, 95 Ford thunderbird springs, With mt custom built top plate to keep it center on the isolator!

 

Just read for an hour and a half about SYE, looks like iron rock offroads kit is the way to go!

http://www.ironrockoffroad.com/Merch...egory_Code=PFX

 

Hey. I'm in the middle of my budget lift with a set of front coils from a thunderbird. I have the mounts as well (from the thunderbird) but how do I hook them up? Did you have them or just mod your own? How was the ride once they were installed and did you use any special shocks for your build?

Sorry to throw all these questions out but I am stumped. I also sent you a pm on your profile. Thanks for any info you have.