Ok, Long story short, I got married, had a kid and now my toyota truggy isn't really trail friendly to the family. I'm thinking about a simple jeep build that is cheap and reliable.

Plans
4.0 FI jeep wrangler of some flavor. Late 80's early 90's.
8.8 rear w/ disc. welded
d30 front lunchbox
33" something...BFG's, MTR's
Sliders, bumpers etc...

The main question is about suspension. I'm thinking spring over with super frenched mounts. Stock springs front and rear w/ a rear traction bar. Maybe a 2" stretch in the rear if it doesn't get into the gas tank.

What should I do here?

i know the question was suspension BUT for a wrangler with a stock FI, 4.0, it will have to be a 91 and up model. 91-95 YJ's will be the leaf sprung which is what you are indicating by going "spring over".

a lot of guys are going jeep cherokee XJ springs in the rear for stretch. you might want to look into that.

and i don't know what a "frenched" mount is:(

Basicly, you mount the hard end of the leaf spring "in" the frame vs. below it. And if you "french" the shackle end, you would be mounting the shackle further up in the frame or even above it. It basicly moves your mounting points up.

As long as were at it, shackle reversal or not?

Anybody?

you need waggy springs for a ~2" stretch front or rear. do NOT reverse your shackles, keep them up front. good luck. YJs came with HP front 30s, but they also have the vacuum disco thingy that always seems to fail. FYI front HP applications are stronger. good luck.

you need waggy springs for a ~2" stretch front or rear. do NOT reverse your shackles, keep them up front. good luck. YJs came with HP front 30s, but they also have the vacuum disco thingy that always seems to fail. FYI front HP applications are stronger. good luck.

I can get a xj front for next to nothing, so that may be the way to go. Should I spend the time switching axles?

From what I've read, if I spend the time and do it right I can still have a decent ride with shackle front.

i think you're definitely on the right track. i probably would not spend a ton of effort to french the mounts, but rather weld the fixed hangers as close to the frame as you can, but still be able to slide the spring in to bolt it up. you should be able to move the rear back at least 2" and not hit the gas tank, especially with the 8.8". i would probably go with some 35"s instead of 33"s though, because eventually you'll probably go there anyways, and with the spring over you'll need the 35's. i would make sure and get the FI 4.0 and not the carb 4.2.

also i would not use the XJ springs turned around like a lot run unless you spend some coin and get some beefy ones. the stock ones are not inteded to be run backwards like that, and they will snap. unfortunately i know first hand. i would spend the extra time to move the mounts and stay with yj springs. and you WILL NEED a traction bar once you spring it over.

i would probably go with some 35"s instead of 33"s though, because eventually you'll probably go there anyways, and with the spring over you'll need the 35's.

The reason I was trying to stay away from 35's was simply a reliablity thing. I feel fairly confedant that I will not break the d30 w/ 33's. I had an xj on 35's w/ an open front and broke the entire knuckle off once.

The reason for fenching the springs, and honstly fabbing is no issue for me, was to be able to run the 33s spring over and not worry about being way to tall.

I think a typcial soa nets about 5.5 inches of lift. I think I can do it and only get about 2.5-3" by frenching.

Don't over engineer it. Just get a quality sprung under lift. On a YJ you can fit 33s with 2" of lift and TJ flares. You won't need a track bar or need to french the springs. You won't out wheel anybody with a frenched SOA setup and 33s. You could try longer leaf springs for some really nice flex, still SUA. But ive seen some really nice preforming SUA setups, its not like it was a few years ago.

Don't swap a cherokee d35 in, thats just brainless. Re-run NEW vacuum lines and pick up a closed cell battery (Optima red/yellow tops) and you will never have issues with the acctuator again.

Search shackle reversal, Do NOT make a post, it will just turn into a shit storm. You will find ALOT of die-hards still claim it to be "the Shit". While most of the people who have dedicated wheeling rigs have moved away from it, or simply "wouldn't do it again". In a nutshell its time and money wasted for little to no benefits. THeres a post about it not to long ago floating around, you can search under posts from my name, i got caught up in it. :shaking:

Don't over engineer it. Just get a quality sprung under lift. On a YJ you can fit 33s with 2" of lift and TJ flares. You won't need a track bar or need to french the springs. You won't out wheel anybody with a frenched SOA setup and 33s. You could try longer leaf springs for some really nice flex, still SUA. But ive seen some really nice preforming SUA setups, its not like it was a few years ago.

You don't know me, yes I will.

Don't swap a cherokee d35 in, thats just brainless. Re-run NEW vacuum lines and pick up a closed cell battery (Optima red/yellow tops) and you will never have issues with the acctuator again.

Where did that come from? I would swap the xy d30 to get rid of the actuator. And what does my battery have to do with my vacuum system?


Search shackle reversal, Do NOT make a post, it will just turn into a shit storm. You will find ALOT of die-hards still claim it to be "the Shit". While most of the people who have dedicated wheeling rigs have moved away from it, or simply "wouldn't do it again". In a nutshell its time and money wasted for little to no benefits. THeres a post about it not to long ago floating around, you can search under posts from my name, i got caught up in it. :shaking:

I got that, I typed incorrectly in my other post. I'd definitely do shackle rear. Beyond that, I've got over 1000 post, I've been around here long enough to know how to post. Why do you think this is in non-hardcore tech?

You won't need a track bar or...


are you kidding, i've never seem a soa yj last more than about 1-2 trips before trashing the DS without a track bar. he WILL need a track bar unless he gets some serious beef springs or buys stock in spicer...

Basicly, you mount the hard end of the leaf spring "in" the frame vs. below it. And if you "french" the shackle end, you would be mounting the shackle further up in the frame or even above it. It basicly moves your mounting points up.

As long as were at it, shackle reversal or not?

If you mount the shackle end to far up into the frame you will loose flex and compression because the spring will hit. If you cut out too much of the frame you risk bending or cracking it.

The reason I was trying to stay away from 35's was simply a reliablity thing. I feel fairly confedant that I will not break the d30 w/ 33's. I had an xj on 35's w/ an open front and broke the entire knuckle off once.

K

The reason for fenching the springs, and honstly fabbing is no issue for me, was to be able to run the 33s spring over and not worry about being way to tall.

If fabbing is no issue then link it. Frenching springs and doing SOA on a rig running 33"s for the sake of being different perhaps. You aren't gaining anything by doing this. No increased room for tire size, no increased flex (You are frenching the springs). What is your logic behind this?

I think a typcial soa nets about 5.5 inches of lift. I think I can do it and only get about 2.5-3" by frenching.

Yes SOA on jeeps net about 5.5" Gonna bet based on the fact that you can't french your springs to far into the top of the frame you won't get it under 4" using stock springs. Theres the possibility you can do this while running a long spring and mounting your shackles out behind your bumper. This would stretch your wheelbase significantly, Based on XJ springs, somewheres around 5"

You don't know me, yes I will.

You are right, but you asked for opinions and you got some

Where did that come from? I would swap the xy d30 to get rid of the actuator. And what does my battery have to do with my vacuum system?

This was my mis-typing. I meant a D30. Battery acid is notorious for eating pinholes into the vacuum lines causing the 4-wheel drive to not work. A overwhelming majority of YJ D30s that "Don't work" are because of this. This is common knowledge, I'm surprised you don't know this actually, seeing as your post count is so high.


I got that, I typed incorrectly in my other post. I'd definitely do shackle rear. Beyond that, I've got over 1000 post, I've been around here long enough to know how to post. Why do you think this is in non-hardcore tech?

Sorry to burst your bubble but your post count doesn't meant anything. If at all it did, it means you spend more time on the internet. You are free to do what you wish in terms of shackle reversal. I'm a major opponent of it, and Ive backed it up in numerous threads as to why. I was just offering some advice as to save yourself from a making a post that just turns into a shit fest.



Good Luck

....Don't over engineer it. Just get a quality sprung under lift. On a YJ you can fit 33s with 2" of lift and TJ flares. You won't need a track bar or need to french the springs......QUOTE]

[QUOTE=thall;8514334]are you kidding, i've never seem a soa yj last more than about 1-2 trips before trashing the DS without a track bar. he WILL need a track bar unless he gets some serious beef springs or buys stock in spicer...

Take a minute to absorb the material before jumping the gun friend. :D

Oh and I'm SOA without a track bar, been wheeling it that way for months. And I show it no mercy. :flipoff2: Yes I do have to watch wheel hop very closely. I haven't installed one yet, because I may be 4-linking it soon. A trackbar is a very good investment if he goes SOA.