Leaf springs

Stumpalump

Expedition Leader
I had a malfunction.

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Rebound clips severely limit droop and since I'm adding two of my old leafs into the new ARB spring pack I had to weld them longer.

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One clip is on one leaf and the other on the next. That's just how it worked out with the leafs on hand. Without the clips or the bolts removed you can get crazy flex out of a leaf spring but then they break. Longer ones are the compromise between good flex and longevity.

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New pack as shipped on the bottom and modified new pack on top.

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With one side on I'm 3/8" taller on that side. Back to the grind to finish up the other side.

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Stumpalump

Expedition Leader
To get the centering bolt in you align the holes and compress the spring. Mine was just long enough but if the pack is too thick then use a longer bolt with the head ground down enough to fit into the axle spring perch.

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Spring steel is hard to cut and hard to work with. To get the old spring bushings out I separated the spring eye enough to break the corrosion and beat them out. The spring stores a lot of energy so when the chisle comes out it flies 30'. Same with if you drop a leaf. It will bounce up and hit you so don't get to sloppy working on any spring steel.

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New bushings would be best but I cleaned up the old ones with 22,000 miles on them. They don't just drop in so you need to be creative and suport the spring before you drive in the bushings.

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If you noticed I ditched the heavy bottom overload spring. If you run bigger tires with extended bump stops then it does not come into play enough to need it. The other thing an overload spring does is help control axle wrap or spring wrap. This is a custom 8.8 axle with longer spring perches plus with the two addition leafs to control any wrap it should be good. If it tries to bounce when it's clawing and climbing then that's spring wrap. Bad things happen like bent springs, broken drive shafts and cracked transfer cases. Don't let it bounce. If this one hints at bouncing I'll add another thick short spring on the bottom of the pack.

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A longer main leaf than stock generally needs a longer shackle. When you flatten the bigger arch it moves further is why. On XJ jeeps like this a stock shackle bottoms out in the frame pocket. Like axle wrap, bad things happen if the spring runs out of room to move. Reusing old JKS boomerang shackle after greasing and checking for cracks.

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Stumpalump

Expedition Leader
No need to wrestle anything while putting springs back in. Raising and lowering the pumpkin with a floor jack and a ratchet strap to pull the axle forward or backwards lines the bolt holes right up.

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With the extended spring clips you can see the leafs fan out as it droops. It helps articulation a lot. This is jacked up and flat but when the other tire is stuffed up against the bump stop them this side will droop much further.

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The only good way to max out articulation is with an articulation ramp. I bought a used one 13 years ago when I built this rig. A tab was welded onto the spring plate as a bump stop. The height was dialed in by stacking cut down hockey pucks. They say to not reuse ubolts and such but these were overkill new ones from Dan at Ruff Stuff when I built it.

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After a good romp the springs are 5/8" taller. They should settle to the height the rig was built for in a few months.
The front end is a air locked Dana 44 with 4:88 gears. Cut Deaver Jeepspeed coils have it about 4.5-5" of lift on Clayton long arms.

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If your still reading you either have leaf springs or would consider them. They are heavy and you work on the ground but nothing here is hard if you want to tweek yours. Stock is too soft. Aftermarket is too soft but adding in a leaf from your old pack can give you a nice CG without bottoming. This was one of the first XJ's to run a 35" tire without 8" lift. I won't say I invented it but went with the idea and have been really happy with this custom setup. Any comments or leaf spring experiance appreciated.
 

pappawheely

Autonomous4X4
Are you running a limit strap or do the shocks control full droop? Looking at how much room you have between the main leaf and the straps, the entire weight of the rear end, wheels, and tires is being supported by the main leaf at full droop. If you look at where the old spring broke, it makes me think that was the cause of the original springs failure.
 

Stumpalump

Expedition Leader
Are you running a limit strap or do the shocks control full droop? Looking at how much room you have between the main leaf and the straps, the entire weight of the rear end, wheels, and tires is being supported by the main leaf at full droop. If you look at where the old spring broke, it makes me think that was the cause of the original springs failure.

Yes the droop did it in without any clips at all. 22,000 miles of nothing but trails with some roads if I did not trailer it. I think the China steel is just junk. I almost welded it to see how much longer it would last. The new clips will help and it will still droop some. If it breaks again I have the other main leaf as a spare. It's still perfectly shaped so I'm surprised the other cracked. ARB did not have a main spring in the shed so they gave me a deal on a set of the newer version. It's all good. The shocks control full droop but they are as long as I could fit. The body was hammered and cut back for max clearance. Basically I milked every millimeter of travel out of it up and down using a ramp and then ordered shocks and cut bump stops. It's done Pritchett in Moab to Carnage in Colorado. Now it just gets driven on the endless rocky trails in AZ. Same 13 year old BFG blue label Krawlers have been on it since the original build. A very heavy tire that added stress to the spring.
 

pappawheely

Autonomous4X4
Yes the droop did it in without any clips at all. 22,000 miles of nothing but trails with some roads if I did not trailer it. I think the China steel is just junk. I almost welded it to see how much longer it would last. The new clips will help and it will still droop some. If it breaks again I have the other main leaf as a spare. It's still perfectly shaped so I'm surprised the other cracked. ARB did not have a main spring in the shed so they gave me a deal on a set of the newer version. It's all good. The shocks control full droop but they are as long as I could fit. The body was hammered and cut back for max clearance. Basically I milked every millimeter of travel out of it up and down using a ramp and then ordered shocks and cut bump stops. It's done Pritchett in Moab to Carnage in Colorado. Now it just gets driven on the endless rocky trails in AZ. Same 13 year old BFG blue label Krawlers have been on it since the original build. A very heavy tire that added stress to the spring.

Don't use china steel. :sombrero:
 

Happy Joe

Apprentice Geezer
To get the centering bolt in you align the holes and compress the spring. Mine was just long enough but if the pack is too thick then use a longer bolt with the head ground down enough to fit into the axle spring perch.

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A piece or all thread, in the center bolt hole, and a couple of nuts often works to compress the spring pack enough to let a too small C-clamp work...

Have field welded broken spring leaves with a couple of starting batteries, as an expedient repair to get home.

Enjoy!
 

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