More flex out of my rear leafs

tahoeon44's

Active Member
Joined
Nov 11, 2008
Location
Hendersonville/Asheville
So on my XJ I have a ford 8.8 and a rusty's 6.5 leaf pack. NOW I KNOW that with that much of a lift it wont really be THAT flexable. But I really would like to know how to MAYBE get a little more flex from my rear leafs. This might belong in the newbie tech section, and the answer may be real simple. But I don't know the answer... Anybody have any ideas?
 
make sure there are teflon pads between the leafs
I used to always bend the u-bolt type/style keepers up and out of the way to allow them to flex some
I've always taken my new springs apart and put a coat of good grease between the springs and put them back together
Use rubber bushings instead of poly for better flex
 
I am assuming they are new. If that the case drive on them and flex them out as much as possible to settle out a bit. You might lose lift if they become to worn out but they will flex better.

Make sure your shocks are not limiting the suspension.

You could also remove a leaf from the pack, I am running chevy long springs and I removed 1 leaf and the over load leaf I think, maybe more leaving me with 1 main leaf and 2 on top of that for a total of 3 leafs per pack. I need 2" of lift now due to the leafs settling but don't want to loose flex by AALs or wrap from blocks. I might lower the coilovers but I need the height.

BTW I have seen a 1st gen 4Runner that tightened the shackle bolts too much and it only flexed from the leafs and the shackles didn't move at all.
 
I would try removing a leaf from the pack. Assuming they are 4-6 leaf packs, the third leaf from the top is usually a good place to start.
 
The leafs have been installed for a while I maintain them regularly (spreading the leafs and applying grease, etc.) - am looking into revolver shacles now, but with a little one on the way money is tiiight. Hmm maybe a good b-day present! Thanks for the help guys!
 
a little food for thought,,
from the center bolt forward is what controls the "bite" which has all the affect on pinion wrap,traction.
from the center bolt to the rear shackle is what holds the vehicles weight.
so taking a leafs out will soften the spring rate and will give you more pinion wrap but you can also just cut the leaf about 1 inch behind the center bolt and it will soften the spring pack and it will have little effect on the way the spring wraps up.
i played with many spring packs going around circles on dirt..LOL
 
I've got the same springs. They've been broken in pretty well, but I've also removed the smallest "leaf". They flex great work very well with the front in my opinion--within the travel limits of a leaf spring.

I also like that idea of quickracer's. I just built different spring pads that were ~2" longer than the stock ones.
 
Back
Top