Review: Leaf Spring Sliders

J.C.

J.C.

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Joined
Apr 18, 2005
Location
Greensboro, NC
After bending or breaking one of my rear leaf springs four times in the last year and a half I decided to install some leaf spring sliders in hopes that it would help with the shackle inverting issue and the resulting bending and breakage. I had been wanting to lower the COG some anyway and I hoped I could kill two birds with one stone so I ordered some AFCO leaf spring sliders from Speedway Motors. AFCO makes these sliders in several models from plain vanilla to roller bearing super sliders. They run from $15 to $35 each, I opted for the middle of the road nylon version, a little over $20 each. Install was easy and had the effect of lowering the vehicle a little over 2”. I hooked up with 89wrangler from the board at URE this morning and we ran up Daniel and over to Kodak where we made several passes. Overall I'm pleased with the results. Had some noise at first but I think that was just break in noise. Seemed like I had lots of traction, maybe more than before, the rig was hooking up good and I didn’t experience any hopping today which was nice. Took the hardest lines and had no problems. The only down side I noticed was that I had much more skid plate dragging going over the large rock at the top of Kodak. That’s the only place I really noticed the 2” less clearance I got from the slider install. By the time we left there was quite a group of rigs at Kodak, looked like a real good Memorial Day crowd! I give the sliders an 8 out of 10 pending more testing but so far so good :)





 
good info. It doesnt look like there's much room for the sliders to move forward during compression. When parked, wouldnt you want the pin to be closer to the center?
 
The sliders looked like they worked really well to me. (from the guy who had to be winched off of kodac with a bent Dshaft,broken motor mount and inverted leaf :shaking:). Not sure where you where before, but hope it worked out.
Steve
 
My springs are basically flat and any flex only shortens them. The sliders are set for 3/4" more that the max length of the springs.
 
They look good. Think they will hold up the rock rash/abuse? Looks like they are 3/16" thick or so? I might have to give these a shot on another project. Always seen them but never really given them a shot.
 
I was wondering the same thing

RenegadeT said:
good info. It doesnt look like there's much room for the sliders to move forward during compression. When parked, wouldnt you want the pin to be closer to the center?
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X2, CYJKrawler, are the binder chains compressing the suspension? I can see that the slider mounts are as close to the end of the frame rails as possible, But they seem like they would function better, if the pin was centered in the slot when the suspension was static. I have never seen this setup, & would like to know more on your experience with them. The price is right for my wallet, even cheaper than shackles. Post up, when you find any likes/dislikes. :bounce2: Oh just noticed your flat spring/ 3/4" post, so the pin never reaches the outer end of the slot, thats the ticket.
 
farmboy said:
Think they will hold up the rock rash/abuse? Looks like they are 3/16" thick or so?
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Good question. When I took it off the trailer this morning I noticed the passenger front was bent a little. I made several passes at the top of Kodak, backing down and trying different lines. Probably got hit when I dropped down one time. Might look into some type of beef/guard/support if it becomes an issue.
 
Im am sure boxing them in would make a worlds difference. Overall i like them though.
 
Update:

Boxing the 3/16" sliders helped but they ended up not being stout enough for the front. After several repairs I ended up making some out of 1/4" and they have held up fine despite repeated abuse! Still running the 3/16" Speedway ones in the rear.

I have changed the nylon blocks once in a year and a half and only then for looks, they were still fine and I have them for spares, just wanted some bling on The krawler :)

Over all, I would recommend this mod to anyone looking to lower their leaf sprung rig or to deal with shackle inversion issues. Heck, I'd recommend it to anyone :)
 
I drive on the road some. It works fine IMO. I'll drive from Callalantee in to Hardee's, from The Outpost to the trails, to the parts store.
 
Do you feel like you lost a measurable amount of flex by removing the twist that the shackle allows? I am considering running these with a shackle reversal setup, how do you feel that would work? Would it help keep the pinion angle more in line during the suspension cycle?
Any thoughts or ideas on the subject are welcome.
 
I don't feel like I lost any flex. I'm running stock YJ springs in front, stock XJ springs reversed in rear.

You mean moving the slider to the inside of the spring instead of the end? It wouldn't make any difference. I just mounted mine the way they are because the fixed mount was inside. If you already had a shackle reversal you could mount them inside.
 
Joe D runs these on the rear of his front springs on the "storm trooper".

I believe he made his though. No complaints.


crap just looked for a pic. cant find a good one

pm Joed4x4 if you want shots of a front application of the sliders.
 
I like digging up old post..... Has anyone else used these.... what kind of longevity have you had? Thinking about using them on the back end of my YJ which will probably get a lot of mix use....
 
There's another rig in CTB that had been using sliders for years. They work well IMO from what I've seen.
 
Had them for years on my old Krawler. When I sold it and got my present CJ, one trip to Harlan where I had an inverted shackle was all it took to switch K2 to sliders also. I've had these on for two years now and would never go back. Works fine on the road and great off road, a super mod IMO :driver:
 
JC said:
Had them for years on my old Krawler. When I sold it and got my present CJ, one trip to Harlan where I had an inverted shackle was all it took to switch K2 to sliders also. I've had these on for two years now and would never go back. Works fine on the road and great off road, a super mod IMO :driver:
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Thanks! I was thinking they would be a better mod than boomerangs or tow shackles. I hate to ask but do you have any pics of your current setup? The ones in the OP are just showing black X's. Ive done searches on the ole google, a lot of talk about them but not a lot of pics.
 
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uploadfromtaptalk1381945856114.jpg

I fabbed up my own last winter and my only regret was not doing it 4 years ago!
The ride is much smoother now and the steering feels a lot better without all the shifting around on the shackle bushings.
Buckeye Performance Inc.
 
Nice... yeah I was looking at the LII sliders but thought about just building my own b/c of the cost. Novacayne, where did you get your HDPE?


BTW Sorry for hijacking your thread JC
 
Mountain MJ said:
Nice... yeah I was looking at the LII sliders but thought about just building my own b/c of the cost. Novacayne, where did you get your HDPE?


BTW Sorry for hijacking your thread JC
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I have a buddy that owns a resturant and he give me a few 3/4" thick sheets.
I cut a strip on a table saw then into individual blocks.
I have a whole freezer bag full thinking I was going to need spares but I have yet to need them.

Buckeye Performance Inc.
 
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