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Short W/B and ride Quality?

749 views 4 replies 4 participants last post by  Jay5.9L 
#1 ·
Hello,

I have an 82 CJ-5 that has an "old school" lift on it. Think 4-leaf Rancho's and probably RS5000's. Needless to say the off-road ride quality is really, really rough.

Typically I would rip everything out and do a SPOA with Wranglers or something. However, I want to keep this Jeep closer to stock.

Money is an issue, but I need to do something to make it smoother.

Shackle reversal? Maybe some new shocks? Any other ideas?

I know it is not going to ride like a TJ, but I should be able to do something.

Picture DD with a few fire roads on the weekend.

Thanks guys, ROB
 
#3 ·
Close but not quite. Lift shackles are widely considered a poor upgrade, maybe not so much in the rear(clear military wrapped springs), but definetly not on the front. You were on the right strack with taking some leafs out, this should soften the ride dramatically. Also if it doesn't have TJ flares on it yet, get some, you will require less lift to fit a bigger tire. Shackle reversal might make it ride better on the road, done right, but its alot of money and time spent for few gains, it won't help your offroad abilities that much, if at all. Something to think about. You might need new shocks once you remove some springs and lose some lift, they might be fine, you can try bastard packs and tweak it to your specific vehicle. Good Luck
 
#4 ·
My guess is that they are not going to work well with a leaf removed due to the fact that those suckers are close to .375 thick. I may need to just get new springs. While there I may end up going SPOA etc.

I like the simplicity and so forth of what I have, but I live two miles off the hwy on a rugged road so I need to do something.

Mild wheeler, if at all. I have a gnarly one that I use for the ugly stuff.

ROB
 
#5 ·
If you got the funds buy a nice new set of springs from OME or maybe RE.

If not you can always take you current leaves and clean, paint, and grease them up before you put them back in. Also don't over torque your spring bushing. New shock will not do much unless you got some nasty stiff ones on it now.

Remember its a CJ-5..they will ride rough regardless. My CJ-7 rides fairly good for what it is. When I increased the wheel base to 103" it helped smooth things out.
 
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