XJ, MJ coil to leaf conversion tech.

[Thomas M]

I like the idea of starting specific tech threads for gathering information. One I haven't seen yet in the new Cherokee forum is one on converting coils to leaves. I don't have a lot of input on this topic yet but I plan to change that in the near future

Hopefully this is of interest to gather some decent tech in one spot.

[NothernAZxj]

Originally Posted by Thomas M

I like the idea of starting specific tech threads for gathering information. One I haven't seen yet in the new Cherokee forum is one on converting coils to leaves. I don't have a lot of input on this topic yet but I plan to change that in the near future

Hopefully this is of interest to gather some decent tech in one spot.

Why in the world would you like to take a step backwards on tech.....IVe built one for a guy and let me tell you its the worst mod you can make IMHO. not cheap to do, loss of performace...........you name it not much in the way of good

[Thomas M]

But there are also people who have done it and are quite happy with their conversion for many reasons. I was hoping more for tech than a pros and cons thread but we take what we can get

How did you set up the conversion you did? Maybe if you give some specs we have something to compare against someone who was happy with their set up......Ya know what works, what doesnt?

[TJP]

Originally Posted by Thomas M

But there are also people who have done it and are quite happy with their conversion for many reasons. I was hoping more for tech than a pros and cons thread but we take what we can get

How did you set up the conversion you did? Maybe if you give some specs we have something to compare against someone who was happy with their set up......Ya know what works, what doesnt?

Check out naxja.org for info about this. There is tons of posts about it.

[NothernAZxj]

Originally Posted by Thomas M

But there are also people who have done it and are quite happy with their conversion for many reasons. I was hoping more for tech than a pros and cons thread but we take what we can get

How did you set up the conversion you did? Maybe if you give some specs we have something to compare against someone who was happy with their set up......Ya know what works, what doesnt?

conversion shackle reversed, trail ready shackle bar widened a bit MJ leafs

pros

a bit more stable on the highway










cons.

6" loss of approach angle.

shackles through the frame get hung up

loss of center ground clearance. BIG TIME

loss or articulation. about 6" less



thats just a few. its not worth effort

[Derek K10]

im going to have to disagree
im running leaves up front on my mj, with waggy springs it flexes more then any short arm front ends and was WAY less expensive then it would have been to build or buy a long arm kit and set it up for my d60

mine is nice and low, extremely stable and just plain works


only con i have found with mine, is i have bent a couple main leafs on the stock waggys springs, going to try a set of aftermarket double wrapped springs eventually

i have pics from the whole build up, just let me know what you want to see

[Goatman]

I ditched the rubber bushings in the UCA axle mount to eliminate the slight front axle wrap they allowed............imagine the front axle wrap you'd get with leaf springs.

Cheap is the only reason. Performance wise, a decrease in every way. As far as fabbing, no simpler than building a new link setup, and the only cost really is paying for the link end joints. Brackets have to be made either way, link material isn't expensive, so it's just the cost of the joints. After paying to set up a front D60.....to get better performance and reliability, why go cheap on the suspension that makes it all work? Hey, do what you want.....but it certainly doesn't work better.

This stuff is always weird.....changing just to change. Leaves to links and links to leaves.

[95steel]

I ran into so many problems with my old MJ's suspension that I wanted something I would not have to fuck with every time I went wheeling.

For the style of wheeling I do, leaves work well. I don't have the travel a long arm has, so what. I am locked front and rear and have more travel than I can use. I have only lifted a tire a couple of times.

Comparing short arm to leaves, advantage leaves. Long arm to leaves, advantage long arms...

I run mine 500 miles a week and wheel when I can. I don't wheel as much as many people here, but people who bash the leaf spring conversions don't know shit... or can't build worth a shit.

I run BDS YJ springs on the front of mine, soa with a small shackle lift in the back. I clear 36" irok's and have run much faster on road than I thought possible (wifes water broke and I needed to be home). My jeep has a much better ride than my old 2wd dodge diesel. Corners as well as anything should on Irok's. I have not run into any problems or "cons" with mine yet.

As with anything, if you actually plan the modifications before you do them they tend to work.

[vetteboy79]

Originally Posted by 95steel

As with anything, if you actually plan the modifications before you do them they tend to work.

True enough.

For those looking to do some more reading, here's a thread I started back in '05 with some decent discussion of the pros and cons. It's more about the relative merits of each setup (not necessarily which one is "better") and covers a lot about the specifics of doing it on an XJ/MJ front end.

http://www.jeepin.net/forum/showthre...ing+brake+dive

[PornstaR]

http://www.naxja.org/forum/showthrea...ing+conversion