leafs in the front of an xj

highrollintj

Well-Known Member
Joined
Nov 13, 2005
Location
Rolesville
for the sake of simplicity and cost i have changed my mind on what i want to do on the beater build. i have decided that i will just run leafs up front but i dont know what kind to use. any body got some good input on this that could point me in the right direction
 
yeah i think that is the thread that i just finished looking at, but i was a commanche
 
I would use either waggy, wrangler or XJ springs.:beer:
 
Sure, you might want to add an extra main leaf for strength!
 
RANCHO 44044s

Rancho 44044's

44044s are Rancho Jeep Wagoneer Lift Springs

Length: 47”
Center Pin split (front/rear) 22.5"/24.5"
Bushing: 3”

I had a buddy run the 44044s on a 91' XJ w/ a HP 44. He ran a 38" tire and had tons of room and flex. Let me know if you want a pic, I might have one saved on my computer.

Robbie
 
Best springs IMO are s10 blazer springs or explorer springs, s10's are bout 53" explorers bout 56" explorers have a good offset to em, s10's have some but not as much, either way they both flex pretty good

fyi explorer springs need two leafs added to em in the front to ride at the same height as the rears will, pretty much the same deal for s10 springs

best part is they give bout 2" of lift over normal springs and you can get em super cheap at any pull a part $30ish bucks a peice at LKQ

all the 44044 springs are expensive as crap, well at least the ones i've seen.
 
Seems to me like you're going backwards, but that's just me.
 
in terms of ride quality and all that mess, i agree, he is going backwards, but leafs just plain work from what ive seen in the front of xjs, i dont think he will regret it at all
 
its not that i am going backwards its just that this is my beater build and i am not supposed to be dropping lots of money into it like i did with my tj. and setting up leafs in the front will eliminate having to buy long arms which by themselves were gonna cost around $300, then new coils $140 and track bar $150 and what not. at least with the leaves i dont have to worry about having to constantly adjust the trackbar or worrying about it wallowing the whole out in the bracket and all that. and i am not worried about the ride quality, this isnt being built to drive on the road.
 
mm-hmm, and let's not forget about a long-travel, balanced driveshaft you'll need with flexy leaves (since your XJ doesn't have lockout hubs, so a square shaft is pretty much out of the question), the axle wrap, etc..

Since every kit performs differently, I won't go into how well a set of leaves work as compared to a good linked suspension, but just because they both hold the vehicle up doesn't mean they both work the same.

IF you're willing to fab all this leaf spring crap, why not make your own long arms, buy some used coils (like no one ever changes suspension), and make your own trac bar as well? Sure as hell would get you on the trail faster than cutting all that crap off the vehicle and axle, making new hangars, shackles, spring perches, etc...

The Thuren trac bar on my Dodge is nothing but a RE large joint and a poly bushing, and it's holding up very well under the 5000lbs that's on the front axle alone.

But I don't really get the whole 'beater build' thing anyway, so nevermind.
 
Rich said:
mm-hmm, and let's not forget about a long-travel, balanced driveshaft you'll need with flexy leaves (since your XJ doesn't have lockout hubs, so a square shaft is pretty much out of the question), the axle wrap, etc..
Since every kit performs differently, I won't go into how well a set of leaves work as compared to a good linked suspension, but just because they both hold the vehicle up doesn't mean they both work the same.
IF you're willing to fab all this leaf spring crap, why not make your own long arms, buy some used coils (like no one ever changes suspension), and make your own trac bar as well? Sure as hell would get you on the trail faster than cutting all that crap off the vehicle and axle, making new hangars, shackles, spring perches, etc...
The Thuren trac bar on my Dodge is nothing but a RE large joint and a poly bushing, and it's holding up very well under the 5000lbs that's on the front axle alone.
But I don't really get the whole 'beater build' thing anyway, so nevermind.
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Putting leafs under the front end will be super easy compared to trying to link it and much cheaper even if he trys to make his own arms/tracbar/used coils. All that has to be done is fab a set of front hangers thats pretty easy.

He's not running the dana 30, going with a 44 front so he'll have hubs to unlock so the square driveshaft will be fine.

As far as axle wrap being an issue I have 5.89 gears and a 350 with 44" tires and i dont have a problem at all, its all about using the right leaves to make it work right.

Stupid flex yuppies with their "coils" and "links" and there "captain america" paint jobs :flipoff2:
 
yeah for right now, like ricky said, i am just going to run a hp 44 front that i am gonna snag from my neighbor, so it will have lock out hubs, and probably just run some 38's for right now with a 4.0L and 5.13 or 5.38 gears.

later on when i get a boat load of money i will swap in a hp60, 350, and so on. but for right now the leaves up front seem like a pretty easy conversion and will allow me to stretch the front a little and improve the wheelbase.

believe me, if i had all the necessary tools and welding experience i would be all over the whole fabbing up some long arms for the front and rear and going coils all the way around.
 
highrollintj said:
believe me, if i had all the necessary tools and welding experience i would be all over the whole fabbing up some long arms for the front and rear and going coils all the way around.
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Makin links are easy as fawk, payin for em isnt, gotta drop tha :bling: to have decent links. Whereas leaf springs are $30 a pop bolt em up and wheel :driver:
 
jrraw23 said:
Putting leafs under the front end will be super easy compared to trying to link it and much cheaper even if he trys to make his own arms/tracbar/used coils. All that has to be done is fab a set of front hangers thats pretty easy.
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It's already a coil spring vehicle... He never mentioned anything about swapping axles before. So he doesn't need to make a shackle hangar? Huh.. free floating leaf springs eh?

Ricky bobby said:
He's not running the dana 30, going with a 44 front so he'll have hubs to unlock so the square driveshaft will be fine.
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Like I said, he didn't mention that. I'm no freakin mind reader.

Ricky said:
As far as axle wrap being an issue I have 5.89 gears and a 350 with 44" tires and i dont have a problem at all, its all about using the right leaves to make it work right.
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Dude.. seriously. You are the LAST one to tell anyone what's right and what's not. Your pile doesn't have axle wrap because the damn springs are so arched, and so fawkin stiff that they wouldn't wrap if they were attached to Mog portals being driven by a Top fuel engine.

He's talking about using Waggy springs, which I have a couple of years of real world experience with how they work, and they are nice and soft, and wrap like crazy.
 
Maybe he should just just put leafs in it and forget about it! LOL...:D
 
It's already a coil spring vehicle... He never mentioned anything about swapping axles before. So he doesn't need to make a shackle hangar? Huh.. free floating leaf springs eh?
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Free floating spings??? I mean I'd try it, :driver: . I said he'd have to make some hangers for the front?

Like I said, he didn't mention that. I'm no freakin mind reader.
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Wasn't tryin to make you sound stupid i was just tryin to let you know that he was changin axles so some of the mentioned problems wouldn't be an issue.

Dude.. seriously. You are the LAST one to tell anyone what's right and what's not. Your pile doesn't have axle wrap because the damn springs are so arched, and so fawkin stiff that they wouldn't wrap if they were attached to Mog portals being driven by a Top fuel engine.
He's talking about using Waggy springs, which I have a couple of years of real world experience with how they work, and they are nice and soft, and wrap like crazy.
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My springs are arched alot :confused: I'm running stock explorer springs on all four corners, the front pack have two leafs added to support the engine weight. Have you seen it flex? I mean I'm not sayin it flex's as good as like a linked suspension, but it still flex's pretty dang good. See the pic below for reference :driver:

This is with s10 blazer springs in the rear, chevy 56's in the front

n11809671_32753086_198.jpg



This is with the explorer springs all the way around 56" on all corners

n11809671_32918644_8559.jpg




Nothin personall but in my opinion I can't justify the price of linking a rig when you can go to a junkyard spend $30 a pop and get that much flex. I mean maybe if I was runnin moab i'd need the extra 4 to 5 inches of travel. I mean linked suspensions are cool as hell but just not cost effective IMO. Course I'm still in college runnin off super buget mode so my opinion might change later.
 
Considering the ones he's proposing will sit flat at rest and go negative alot, yes, yours are heavily arched.

But given the other stuff (mainly the axle swap) he's proposing, I suppose leafs will be easier.


I said he'd have to make some hangers for the front?
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Why run the shackle up front? helluva rock magnet.
 
Rich said:
Considering the ones he's proposing will sit flat at rest and go negative alot, yes, yours are heavily arched.
But given the other stuff (mainly the axle swap) he's proposing, I suppose leafs will be easier.
Why run the shackle up front? helluva rock magnet.
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Ehh, true, IMO once again I think if you just make stout shackles you don't need to worry quite as much buuuut it wouldn't be hard to stick em around back and yea would help the approach.
 
Since this is just a 'beater build', then just put them on sideways.

I *think* once again you're offering advice without knowing the difference on how a front and rear shackle behave, and that's the problem.

That's my point, end of my input.
 
Rich said:
Since this is just a 'beater build', then just put them on sideways.
I *think* once again you're offering advice without knowing the difference on how a front and rear shackle behave, and that's the problem.
That's my point, end of my input.
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Well i mean i kow how having a shackle in the front works against force when the leaf flexs from an impact etc, i mean yea it is a good idea to put em in the back I'm just a slacker and stick em up front, I havnt really seen a need to flip em around personally as of yet but that can def change in the future, not arguing that puttin the shackles inthe back is bad just basically sayin I'm kinda whatever on the whole reverse the shackles idea.
 
the worst thing about front shackle in my mind is the difference when the front shackle hits a rock, and when a solidly built spring hanger hits a rock

Rear shackles, no big deal, front shackles, bye-bye main leafs
 
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