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Stiff rear, no articulation

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Old May 21, 2013 | 12:04 PM
  #1  
Gee oh Dee's Avatar
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Default Stiff rear, no articulation

I'm at about 3" of lift. BDS coils, add a leaf rear from BDS with stock shakles.

My front is fine. I can unseat my coils on my OEM short arms. Articulation is great for what it is.

My rear leaves alot to desire. Rough ride unless the cargo area has a good amount of weight. Barely articulates, no tuck or droop.

I was told that the wrong leaves were used.

Not sure how that would happen, but I've recently seen lots of folks talking about how their stiff, multi leaf packs are great.

Any suggestions on improving ride quality and articulation?
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Old May 21, 2013 | 12:08 PM
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well, there's the obvious question of what is you shackle angle?
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Old May 21, 2013 | 12:11 PM
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Low profile shackle relocation and longer shackles are your best bet. I run no spring clamps on my jeep too, but I would not recommend it as it has such flexibility that it fatigues the leaf's quickly. Which could be a good thing if you have a stiff full length add a leaf. You'll be gaining height from the shackle anyways so it may just end up sitting just right after springs wear in.
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Old May 21, 2013 | 12:20 PM
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need pics. rear sway bar on?

longer shackle and relocators are useless without the correct shocks also. I'm at 3" and run 25" extended 15" collapsed shocks. my rear works well with a AAL and shackles with relo's.

I'm building an XJ XJ pack right now because my leafs are shot.
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Old May 21, 2013 | 12:20 PM
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Yeah, I get the shackle stuff.

My plan was to go back to OEM leaves, 2" shackles, and 1" lift relocation brackets.

But then this came up:

https://www.cherokeeforum.com/f67/do...stions-170302/
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Old May 21, 2013 | 12:39 PM
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Originally Posted by danXJ
need pics. rear sway bar on?

longer shackle and relocators are useless without the correct shocks also. I'm at 3" and run 25" extended 15" collapsed shocks. my rear works well with a AAL and shackles with relo's.

I'm building an XJ XJ pack right now because my leafs are shot.
No sway bars front or rear. And my shocks should be the correct length.

I'll see if I can get a pic to post. But my phone has been giving me upload errors lately. :/
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Old May 21, 2013 | 12:43 PM
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Default Stiff rear, no articulation

Originally Posted by Gee oh Dee
Yeah, I get the shackle stuff.

My plan was to go back to OEM leaves, 2" shackles, and 1" lift relocation brackets.

But then this came up:

https://www.cherokeeforum.com/f67/do...stions-170302/
honestly get a new OEM pack cut your main down and stick in there, then go 2" shackle.

or you don't want "your shackle as low as your axle?" lol

look at my profile pic. it's not low, and gets tucked away more when I'm bumped obviously. get the FST locators. I'm at a 50* angle at ride height.

Last edited by danXJ; May 21, 2013 at 12:45 PM.
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Old May 21, 2013 | 12:46 PM
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The ome 2" lift medium duty leaf's packs are $110 each. Go with those and 1"lift shackle and 1-1.5 shackle relocation. Longer shackles are a good thing. It more travel/swing, so more flex. Although I wouldn't go more than 1.75 lift shackles. I don't understand why some one would say long shackles are bad thing. If they are setup at a 45°then the full length is not hanging down, so no clearance issue there.

Last edited by MoparNJeep; May 21, 2013 at 12:48 PM.
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Old May 21, 2013 | 12:48 PM
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Originally Posted by danXJ
or you don't want "your shackle as low as your axle?" lol
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Old May 21, 2013 | 12:54 PM
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Originally Posted by MoparNJeep
The ome 2" lift medium duty leaf's packs are $110 each. Go with those and 1"lift shackle and 1-1.5 shackle relocation. Longer shackles are a good thing. It more travel/swing, so more flex. Although I wouldn't go more than 1.75 lift shackles. I don't understand why some one would say long shackles are bad thing. If they are setup at a 45°then the full length is not hanging down, so no clearance issue there.
EXACTLY.

also the pro comp leafs packs 3" are 100$ on eBay shipped.
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Old May 21, 2013 | 01:02 PM
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i'm in the same boat. my plan after I build my stiffeners is, homebrew low pro relocators, get rid of AAL and swap in some thinner xj leaves (junk yard) and a slightly longer shackle. I made the mistake of putting in a thicker leaf on each side after I broke them. duh. I gotta take those out too. from what I've researched thus far, trial and error and experimentation leads to the best results. I expect to have my leafs apart a number of times before I get it right.

Last edited by hankthetank; May 21, 2013 at 01:06 PM.
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Old May 21, 2013 | 01:17 PM
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super low shackles suck, they drag everywhere And I hated it in that aspect. what was worse is not being able to back up because your leaf spring is against a rock. I am well aware a shackle won't be vertical when used properly with relocation brackets, but it still hangs down far.

I think you mentioned your issue in the first post. add a leaf. they aren't known to be very forgiving in the flex and ride department. when I said bastard pack, I meant using leaf springs from another light truck mated to a stock xj main. I've had great results in the past using Comanche leaves.
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Old May 21, 2013 | 01:39 PM
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I'm running 1" jks boomerangs, and LII shackle boxes. I hate it. my rear sits at least 3" taller than my front by driprail measurments. and it still doesn't flex worth a ****. I think I'm taking KTM's advice and cutting my front hangers off and moving them back an inch or two and ditching the stupid relocation boxes. I was about ready to inboard a pair of stock leaf packs

bilsteins are actually what finally changed my ride quality. it rides fairly smooth now in the rear
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Old May 21, 2013 | 01:57 PM
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I got a Hobart 210 a month ago. I can finally do that kind of stuff on my own, now.

I'm a thinker/researcher when it comes to my XJ. In a way this thread is verbalizing my thoughts and getting working feedback as I plan.

I would hate to finally get this rig out and be frustrated with myself for not doing something the right way.
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Old May 21, 2013 | 01:57 PM
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Originally Posted by Atmos
...bilsteins are actually what finally changed my ride quality. it rides fairly smooth now in the rear
+1

one of my white bodies is puking pretty heavy out the top in the passenger rear. i'm sure it's blown completely 'cause high speed right handers are scary. new quality shocks needed here.
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