Whats the best (easiest) way to swap springs in a CJ7. Yes i know you take out the bolts thru the bushings and take off the spring plates but whats the easiest way to compress the spring in order to get everything to line up. i am going from a 2" lift spring and a shackle lift to a 4" lift spring and a normal length shackle. when i took off the 2" spring i had jacked up the front bumper with my hi lift but when i went to put in the new spring i needed to go a mile higher with the hi lift and it looked like the spring would not reach the shackle up front when bolted to the rear spring hanger. do you have to compress the spring or something to lenghten it?? WTF! i hate messing with things under a ton of pressure that could unload in an instant and sever whatever is in the way. whats the secret?. when i mounted the current springs the frame was stripped bare so i just flipped over the frame and bolted them on but now with a ton and 1/2 of jeep over it and some beefy axles under it its not so easy. enlighten me please.

My question is,,,,WHY ARE YOU TRYING TO COMPRESS A LEAF SPRING TO GET IT MOUNTED?
Assuming that you ""ARE"" using tall HD jack stands under the frame-rail just behind/in front of the spring mounts, I have never hab to "compress" leaf packs in order to get them mounted on, and I have done quite a few leaf build-ups/concersions. If you are out of room just for a 4" spring, sounds like the jeep is not high enough.
:skull:

as you can see from the sig line i run 42" TSL's (SOA), i doubt that there is a jack stand made and readily available that will reach my frame (roughly 30"+-). that is why i had my hi lift under the front bumper. it just seemed to me that with the new springs arched to give 4" lift that they were too short to reach the hanger and the shackle in the their relaxed state.

ok, lets try it this way.... can any one confirm for me the correct part number / item number for a 1976 CJ ProComp 4" front spring??? maybe the dumbasses gave me the wrong springs!

thanks

measure the length.
Are you saying that they wont reach the shackle? That doesn't seem right. I would venture a guess that once you got them mounted the shackle angle would be terrible.

ok i know exactly what your talking about. what you need to do first off is put a jack under one side of the axle and take that side tire off, put high lift on the bumper, or a jackstand somehow under the frame. let the axle down untill you can get the spring in. if not jack the bumper up a knotch or 2 w/the high lift. once all bolted together let the high lift down, jack the axle up reinstall the tire then proceed to the other side! this is what i do cause my 48" high lift isn't tall enough.
later
bob
p.s. the springs will lengthen under compression. i think stock ones are 46"s long compressed. at least the rear's are.

Originally posted by 1TonJeep
as you can see from the sig line i run 42" TSL's (SOA), i doubt that there is a jack stand made and readily available that will reach my frame (roughly 30"+-). that is why i had my hi lift under the front bumper. it just seemed to me that with the new springs arched to give 4" lift that they were too short to reach the hanger and the shackle in the their relaxed state.

ok, lets try it this way.... can any one confirm for me the correct part number / item number for a 1976 CJ ProComp 4" front spring??? maybe the dumbasses gave me the wrong springs!

thanks

What works good for me is a small pair of trailer jack stands, the kind that are adjustable. I jack up the rig off the housing, pull the tires, and put some blocks with tall stands under the frame. Put the adj stands under the housing to raise and lower it to the springs. If you are fawking around with a high lift to hold the rig while you are working on it, you are asking for an owie one day.

O.K. maybe I misunderstood your dilemna, yes I did see the 42s in your sig. but I seriously didn't think that you kept them on the axle WHILE trying to mount the leafpacks. Typically I always remove the wheels first, but hey, thats the way I do things. I agree that a 48" hilift doesn't cut it when jacking up a rig with big meats. But heres a little pointer, if you're open to it.
When out on a trail, and you pop a bead, or go flat, and the jack just simply can not lift the rig, especially with alot of flex, I carry a small three foot chain to hook onto the frame and to the axle when the rig is still down. That way when I jack up my rig, the axle lifts right up with it. Can you do this with your rig? do you have a floor jack to lower the axle to assist in the process? Or did I miss the point again?
Irregardless, one should ALWAYS work with jack stands, support blocks, whatever can be had to support the rig for safety. I lost a friend to car crushing in Montana, he was working only with his jack, and the car slipped sideways. Had another friend doing the same thing, no jack stands. At least he lived, but he's paralyzed on his left side, car didn't fully land on him, but the bounce of the vehicle was enough to crack his skull:skull:
Good luck with your project.:beer:

i doubt that there is a jack stand made and readily available that will reach my frame (roughly 30"+-).

actually harbor freight makes 12 ton jackstands that are more than 30" tall in fact i have a pair b/c i ran into the same problem.

Originally posted by swamper502


actually harbor freight makes 12 ton jackstands that are more than 30" tall in fact i have a pair b/c i ran into the same problem.

Cool note, and they have some decent stuff for the budget minded (poor) like me. I'm getting to the point that I need to upgrade to stands taller than 24" for my XJ, not that I have that much lift, but I do have some decent axle droop. A taller lift is in the process as we speak, just waiting for a couple more parts to start.:D :rasta:

To answer your original question: jack it up, remove old spring, place head in between frame and axle and then start kicking the jack until it falls. problem solved. you're welcome. Aren't paybacks a bitch!:flipoff2: :flipoff2:

Originally posted by Keith


What works good for me is a small pair of trailer jack stands, the kind that are adjustable. I jack up the rig off the housing, pull the tires, and put some blocks with tall stands under the frame. Put the adj stands under the housing to raise and lower it to the springs. If you are fawking around with a high lift to hold the rig while you are working on it, you are asking for an owie one day.

THIS is the safe way to do it!!!!!! NEVER rely on a highlift to support your vehicle! I have seen jeeps fall off of them MANY times and if you work under a rig supported soly by jackstands no offense but that is just stupid. If you can't afford jackstands ou can't afford to work on your own vehicle, do it right or don't do it at all nothing is worth getting hurt over and the right tools make this sport ALOT more fun.

Put the jackstands on a large pice of wood or two stacked. I use 12 x 12 and stack them 2 on the bottom and 1 on top of that. The jack stand then will do the trick.
PS, removing the tire and using a bottle jack works wondors for the axle lowering.