Moving spring location

dcain1979

dcain1979

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jan 13, 2008
Location
Troutman
Basically what I've got going on is putting a dana 44 from a fullsize chevy in the front of my yj. So I have outboarded the spring mounts on the front of the frame. I am doing a shackle reversal and moving the axle forward 2.5 inches.

Here is my plan, bolt the springs onto the front axle, center the springs on the frame with the spring perches and shackles bolted onto the springs. Tack the spring hangers onto the frame, remove the springs and weld the hangers up.

Will this be the correct way of doing this? By doing it this way will my shackle hang straight down or when the jeep gets a load back on it will the shackle be at an angle?

Let me know your thought and opinions please.

Thanks,
Daniel
 
watch out that your axle is not rotated down too much. when I did my shackle reverse it ended up rotating the pinion angle down some. also, with no weight on the springs, I think the shackles should hang strait or a little in for optimal performance.(I think)
 
I think a lot will depend on what springs you will be using. I did the shackle reverse this year and had my shackles leaning towards the rear of the Jeep. They still want to invert forward and bend the springs upon extension. If I had it to do over I would have left the shackles in the front.
 
Please elaborate on why you wouldnt reverse them. The only thing that I am hearing is how much better the thing will handle with the shackles reversed.

oh yeah, I will be using stock wrangler springs, sprung over.
 
I have about 4" of lift and it does drive better. also, my approach angle is better.
 
the reason your ride would be better is because when you hit a bump in the road, both axles move in the same dirrection, up and back. when the shackles are in the front, your ft axle moves away from the rear. when i changed my cj7, i went with a d44 out a chevy, used 4x4 .25in square tube, the two in the rear holding the shackle are 4in long and the two front on the hanger were 8in long. i welded them on the side, flush with the top of the frame. a piece of 4x4 .25 plate welded to the bottem of each tube gave me my mounting points for my spring hangers. they were even spaced just right
 
also with the longer fronts, it kept my pinion and caster just about right. plus got about 3 inches of lift in the front also. just weld them back beside where the original hanger were mounted on the frame should give you the best shackel angle.
 
Well, thats part of the reason that I am askng, I am moving the front axle forward a couple of inches also. So I cant just weld them back exactly where my old hangers were.
 
if you are going to use your same springs, just move each hanger forward the same amount.
 
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