jswift716
Adventurer
Every xj I ever built was for overland style use and i always went bilstien. Now I'm in an 89 yj and still goi g bilstien lol
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1973 Wagoneer - Full Size Camping Goodness
- Thread starter Dr. Marneaus
- Start date
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Jeepin' Pete
Member
Same decision I'm thinking through right now. The adjustability of the 9000XL's is intriguing, but the overall better build quality of the Bilsteins will probably win over my $. I have the 5100's on my TJ and they have been pretty good for 10,000 miles so far. They definitely helped body roll and slow speed rocks and washboards, but at higher speeds (30+) it's still pretty harsh. Then again there is about 1,000 pounds and a fair bit of wheelbase length difference between a Wrangler and a Wagoneer. I'm curious how the universal valving of the 5125's works out on our FSJ's...
About how much lift over stock do you have? And on 31's or 33's?
Dr. Marneaus
Station Wagoneer
Theres also a huge difference between coils and leafs. My ********'ll never ride "nice" on leafs. I'm just hoping i can take some of the harsness away on the washboard and rocky stuff. There are trips and roads that a subaru could traverse where I just turn back and abandon the effort because I'm tired of it.
4" lift, 33's
lumpskie
Independent Thinker
Shocks are going to be worth the money. I always liked my Bilsteins and have a buddy who likes the Rancho 9000s on his 4 Runner. With good shocks and appropriately setup leafs, you can get a great ride. My Tacoma had Alcans (which I spec'd for Bill to make for my rig) with Bilstein 7100s in the rear. The ride was amazing.
My Land Cruiser has an awesome shock setup now too. I'm running Icon shocks with their "divergent valving", which feels like a bypass shock over washboard and bumps. I did some testing and, at low speeds, it feels like any other quality shock. But, at high speeds, it is crazy smooth. I can go over the square edge speed bumps on the road to my work at 30mph and feel almost nothing in the cab. I want to get something like that for the Wagoneer now.
A decent spring/shock combo should make the suspension work a lot better. The right leaf combo can work very well, I'd see if parabolic leafs are available for the Jeep as they usually make a huge difference to comfort and flex.
I've avoid just doing the shocks on their own as you may not achieve the desired outcome. I'd probably go Bilstein over Rancho though, they seem to be superior quality overall.
I don't know that's the case, my '89 rides very well on the stock leafs with new monroe shocks (nothing special), so could just be the spring/shock combo you're using. Obviously given the lift you're running you can't run stock springs, but you may be able to find lift springs that have a similar rate - but your larger wheel/tire combo might need different damping to make it ride nicely. You can also try disassembling the leafs and adding teflon inserts to help them move more easily, should reduce the harshness.
Dr. Marneaus
Station Wagoneer
Pretty much only 1 or 2 options for lifting a pre-74 because we have external post mount springs. So, short of custom work, I dont think theres anything that will ride nice. And my hooptie isn't worth custom springs.
I'm just going to go with better shocks and home for some minor improvement.
Dr. Marneaus
Station Wagoneer
So last week, half drunk at 7pm on Thursday, my wife and I decided to go camping after work on Friday. I loaded the trailer in about 10 minutes, then packed a cooler and duffle bag in the morning, loaded the dog, and drove to work planning to leave after i put in my 8 hours.
Went to Ft. Churchill State Park, pretty cool. Remnants of an old civil war era army fort, right down on the Carson River. All the cottonwoods are changing color. It was warm enough, but cool enough. Pretty basic trip, just camped at a campground then went and did about 25 miles of dirt the next day, exploring out around Lahontan.
I'm getting more efficient with the tent and annex, and getting quite efficient and packing up and leaving. Trying to get a number of trips under my belt before I make any more changes or updates to the setup.
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Cheers, folks.
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Went to Ft. Churchill State Park, pretty cool. Remnants of an old civil war era army fort, right down on the Carson River. All the cottonwoods are changing color. It was warm enough, but cool enough. Pretty basic trip, just camped at a campground then went and did about 25 miles of dirt the next day, exploring out around Lahontan.
I'm getting more efficient with the tent and annex, and getting quite efficient and packing up and leaving. Trying to get a number of trips under my belt before I make any more changes or updates to the setup.
Untitled by Marn, on Flickr
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Untitled by Marn, on FlickrCheers, folks.
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Dr. Marneaus
Station Wagoneer
Also, I am now weighing the options for shocks. I think I have the part numbers correct based on OAL and compressed length. I'm putting these here so i dont lose them.
Bilstein:
Front 33-230320 - $85 each
Rear: 33-233970 - $75 each
Rancho9000 adjustable:
Rear: RS999113 - $115 each
Front: RS99916 - $115 each
Also Rancho 7000 series:
RS7113 Rear - $83
RS7118 Front $70
Bilstein:
Front 33-230320 - $85 each
Rear: 33-233970 - $75 each
Rancho9000 adjustable:
Rear: RS999113 - $115 each
Front: RS99916 - $115 each
Also Rancho 7000 series:
RS7113 Rear - $83
RS7118 Front $70
Smileyshaun
Observer
some thoughts on leafs , most people over tighten the shackle bolts and dont lube the bushings causing lots of binding and a ruffer ride , can't tell you how many rigs I've pulled apart that the bolts are so tight you can't even move the shackle . Leafs need to be lubed from time to time , most have a plastic or teflon pad at the end of each leaf with a hole in it .Shackle angle also plays a important role in ride quality if the shackle is straight up and down or inverted your ride will be ruff
Dr. Marneaus
Station Wagoneer
I lube mine, bushings are newer and i greased them when installed, and made sure they can move in the shackle. I guess i could go back and lube em up again though. I believe my shackle angles are aite in the front and rear, not vertical.
It also doesn't hurt to lube up the leaf packs too with something like WD-40 on a regular basis. Being able to slip more easily will make the suspension more compliant.
Dr. Marneaus
Station Wagoneer
I was actually just logged in over there today for the first time in ages. So much is changed and worse. I basically posted a few epic pics in my build thread and said "signing off". I was so active on there and have made some serious friends for life, met many people from across the country, etc. As lame as this is, it feels really weird that I just pretty much let it go just now.
Wisco
Observer
I tried logging in over there recently as well to try to find some of my old YJ threads. Seems like my account got deleted, as I can't get logged on (I was "tuck" over there). It's changed so much that it's unrecognizable from what we had in the mid 2000's. It's kind of sad, as I really enjoyed that community.
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