Nakedginger

Hey, the past few weeks Ive been looking into ways of stiffening up my 1990 Jeep Cherokee's back suspension. The last time I went out I had four people in the car, two in back, and all my gear (come alongs, farm jack, strapps, shovel, spare tire, ect...). Im also in the middle of making a new back bumper out of steel with a swing away mount that will hold my spare tire, 5 gallon jerry can, and farm jack. All together this adds up to quite a load in the back and I saw this the last time I went out. As I would travel over small mounds I heard my back tires hitting the top of the wheel well. My first solution was to lift the whole jeep, but Im already at 3 inches and if I do much more Ill have to replace alot of items under my jeep. Unfortunately I don't have the money to do this. So my question is does anyone know how I can stiffen up my back suspension so that when I am carrying a decent amount of weight, my jeep wont bottom out as easily? Ive looked into buying a helper spring, or replacing the back shocks with Monroe shocks that have springs around them. Is there a possibility the back leafs could be shot? Any thoughts?

Bugleboy

probibly the sag in the leafs, i have the same problem only with no lift stock leafs and less weight

Nakedginger

how can I tell if the leafs are sagging? Is my only test if they make a up side down smile, or is there some measurement I can make to see if they are doing their job? or if they are shot? If I remember right, they still have some arc to them.

Jeepjunky

when they look like a flat line or an upside down "U" then its time

99 Purple XJ

Make some bastard pack leaf springs out of a dodge dakota or if your looking for stiffness to hold weight go with like dodge 1500 or 2500 springs anything thats 2.5 inches wide will work

DaddyGreenGenes

Get some airbags. I just did some on my XJ and they're awesome. The ride is better and they'll keep the rear level with a heavy load.

Bugleboy

or just give it one of these

http://rustysoffroad.com/mm5/merchan...ode=sus_xj_kit

2" Budget booster lift for $99

5-90

Airbags are the best way to do this - inflate them when loaded, deflate when not.

The problem with AAL helpers and stiffer rear springs is that they're stiffer - they'll ride like old corduroy roads when they're not loaded. It's possible that you can go aggressive enough that you'll have "skip" in the rear end - which isn't good for your tyres.

The airbag allows "selectable" and "adjustable" help with the rear springs, which is going to be better all around. And, they're usually easier to install than springs anyhow.

Nakedginger

Im debating between the stiffer springs, and the air bags. I just have a few questions about the air bags... should there be a worry about off-roading and puncturing them, and what is a good pair? like anything there are the cheap pair and good pair. DaddyGreenGenes, what did you get?

codyc

I did a bastard pack with Dakota leafs and now I can carry twice the amount of stuff without a difference in heigh or ride quality

DirtRoadXJ

How do the air bags affect the articulation of the rear?

rideordie66

Sounds like you need bumpstops. Proper bumpstops will make it so you dont rub your inner fenders. I would only go higher if you need to leval out from all the weight.

Nakedginger

Thanks for the input! I took some pics of my leaf springs this morning and will be posting them soon. When I do please help me understand if they are sagging or not. I think they are. Also how is a dodge dakota "bastard pack" made codyc? I like the sound of the results you have.

xjsnake

If you are worried about air bags being punctured you can always use air shocks instead. Pump em up when you need em and leave em down when you aren't carrying a load.

DaddyGreenGenes

Here's the airbag kit I got.

http://www.suspensionconnection.com/...r-springs.html

You'll need longer bumpstops anyway, since you're rubbing your fenders, but you need them for the airbags too. You don't need an OBA setup to run these, it also has a tire valve type filler. With that lift, you'll probably have to turn the top brackets upside down to account for extra gap between axle and frame.

You get pretty good flex with the airbags installed, you just can't compress the airbags completely, but that's what the taller bump stop is for. Also, the rear end doesn't bounce as much when you hit bumps. It dampens the stiffness of the springs pretty well...

The airbags are pretty sturdy, so unless you slam your axle and completely compress the airbag, you're probably not going to mess it up. I've been offroading my bags for the last few weeks, and never had any problem...Plus I just don't have rear bumpstops at the moment.