OldSch88L

I wanted one for a long time, and every time a nice one popped up, I always was broke and in debt. When I had enough money, there was only two for sale: a super original survivor, red Sportruck, showroom condition with roll bar AND tonneau cover, for around 7500$ canadian and a 4-hour drive from me. A truck this nice and original, I knew I couldn't live with myself if I modified it! The other one was the one I bought; an abandoned project, on facebook marketplace. A kinda 2-owner, clean-ish truck (the second owners were two brothers, which bought it from the original owner, and kept swapping it between themselves) that spent it whole life in the town it was sold at. It had a so-so repaint at one point, one of the brothers, wanting that "classic instagram Jeep flex pic" backed up a bit too fast in a huge snowbank to get his "pose", and ruined the original rear bumper, and bent and cracked the left frame rail. He "repaired" it by welding and plating it, but never got it straightened first, so the bed looks twisted to this day. The brother that had it for sale wanted to convert it to 4x4, and swap a Mercedes diesel in, and asked 5000$ CAN for both the MJ, the Mercedes donor, and a bed full of parts including the 4x4 bits and a Dana 44 and leaves from a Metric Ton MJ. He said the Jeep 2.5 was pretty much junk, and had cut pretty much every hose and wire in the engine compartment getting ready to yank it out before he gave up on the project and the truck sat for 3 years. I made a deal for the MJ+parts only, minus the Mercedes, for 3500$CAN delivered to my door. I completed the 4x4 convertion, but planned on an engine swap. However, just for fun and to make the truck mobile, I restored all the wiring, and did a tune-up to the 2.5; the distributor base had one ear broken off the the cap held loosely by only one screw, the clutch had a weird piece of sheetmetal sticking out messing with the CPS, and a couple of lifters were colapsed. Fixed all these things, added some Marvel Mystery oil and turned out this thing runs like a champ!!! Now I've grown attached to that little 2.5!!! Here's the first start video! 66816277_1124928101050581_3799062190091141120_n.mp4

I'm talking about the "Hockey Stick" Sportruck decals; I only seen one in person to date, like this one:

I was feeling nostalgic the other day, so I started going through my old box of photos; actual, physical, printed-on-cardboard photos. And I stumbled on photos that I completely forgot I had. As a kid I grew up in Granby's countryside, in the eastern townships, in Quebec, just a hair north of the Vermont border. Beautiful place to grow up, as you can see by our house's picture. One of my Aunts won something like 100000$ Canadian at the lotery in the early eighties. She and her husband started a construction company, bought a house, a boat and a brand spankin' new 1986 Jeep Cherokee V6 manual. Yes, a hundred grand could get you all those things in the eighties. Well, turns out they didn't quite like the XJ, and sold it to my uncle, who lived right across the street from us. My 1-year older cousin across the street was pretty much my best friend and brother that I never had, and we shared the same passions. After all, Granby is a huge car town, home to a well known annual classic car exposition with fellas from the US even joining in. Anyways, me and my cousin were into cars, spotting the neighborhood's Trans-Ams, Z/28s and IROCS and such, but always were fascinated by the Cherokee. To us it was the coolest truck. And my uncle really loved it, always garage-kept, only to be used on weekends or vacations, or to move the whole family. Funny fact, as well as owning this AMC-era XJ, he also daily-drove a Renault Alliance, another AMC-era relic that even had the AMC logo on the dash. That XJ always gave me fond feelings of my childhood, family and the countryside. And that's why I fell in love with the MJ the first time I saw one; I though it was the best of all the worlds! They last I heard about that XJ was around 2010, and my uncle still had it. I don't know as of now, since I live a couple of hours away and haven't really gone back to Granby since my Dad died in 2014. But if my uncle still has it, I'd sure like to buy it and do a full restoration, even if it was still mint the last time I saw it!!! Here are some snapshots of those good ol' times; sorry for the bad quality pics! This was the era of "point and pray" cameras after all!!!

In my neck of the woods, I've seen SOME Cherokee Chiefs, but never any Comanche Chiefs. Never seen any black Pioneers with red stripe either. Any trim tan MJ is rare over here, having seen only one in my life. Oh, and I've never seen any Laredos either. In the late nineties, all I ever saw in the AutoTrader was red, white and black Eliminators, red, white, black, grey and blue Pioneers, and the rest were plain jane base, or some rare ones with the Sportruck decals.

https://www.rockauto.com/en/moreinfo.php?pk=1284508&cc=1181584&pt=7532&jsn=868 Here you go. Those aren't the ones I used; I used Moog K3131, but they all have the same dimensions.

These are the arms that came on my MJ with the unknown to me front lift. They look like Rough Country's, but many other companies have the exact same design. After some measurements on mine and some online research, they turned out to be stock bushing sizes. I got my arms blasted and powdercoated recently, and here they are with stock XJ/MJ sized bushings pressed in.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1In5Mz6hklQ89TcGDU2OTJkTK2w8DN_aPwV6qQf1-45U/edit#gid=0

Well, I already bought my rear adjustable shocks last Black Friday, and they're extended shocks that I measured to work with 4 to 4.5 inch lift leafs with stock mounting locations. Going SOA would mean that they'd be too long unless I build some custom mounts, which I don't have access to a garage or a place to use my welder. However, I did find this nice spreadsheet with all makes and models' leaf spring dimensions, and funny enough, my '98 Ranger rear springs are pretty much the same lenght but with less arch. So this summer, for sh*ts and giggles, I try mocking up my MJ with my Ranger's springs and putting them over the axle to see how much lifts that nets...

Can anybody chime in on what's the difference is between the AX5 and AX15 besides the all-aluminum case on the 15? Because I've got a shop rebuild manual in PDF but it's for the AX5, if that could help the OP...

I have the Novak shifter, and it's a nicely built and engineered bit of kit. I got it because it pretty much was the only thing that could solve all my problems because of my weird combination (2.5/AX5/242 t-case) because of its wide range of adjustability, while all other linkages failed to work for me. But for a 4.0/AX15/231, you got way cheaper options, like the ones metioned by LimeyJeeper. Although really smooth and quality built, I think the Novak is a bit pricey and overkill for your case.

Just got an answers from General Springs; they don't make lift springs. So I guess that was an empty statement...

Good catch Pete! I've been many times on GS' website and never saw that part! I just sent them an email; we'll see what they have to say...

I've got the Rubicon Express 4.5" coils that I got for the front, not installed yet. I figured that with my 2.5 engine, the Badadfab behing the stock bumper winch mount and winch I plan to get, that a 4" lift leaf spring out back should work well with were the front will sit...

Well from what I could see from their specs, they're built based on the stock measurements. From what I understand, people get some lift from them pretty much because they're just replacing saggy old springs. I want true lift leaf springs so I can get rid of the lift shackles I've also tried reaching some of them, but I got no replies yet. At this point, I'm wondering if any of them read the emails they get on the adresses they provide on their websites... Looks like some good ol' phone calls are in order!!!

It doesn't look like I've got a lot of options, I just got an email back from Hell Creek, and they don't ship nor warranty their products outside the US...

Hey y'all Rusty's finally got back in stock their leaf springs. I wanted to order, but their website's order page doesn't allow you to choose any other country than the US. So I contacted them, and according to them, the only way they deal with international orders is through bank wire transfer... No credit card, no Paypal, nothing else. I just ain't feelin' it. Can anyone with experience chime in? Wire transfer seems sketchy to me, since I have basically no protection....

I'm 41 and I'm at 11 vehicles owned: 1988 Mazda 323 GT Turbo 1989 Suzuki Swift GTi 1989 Toyota Corolla GT-S AE92 1987 Toyota Corolla GT-S AE86 1990 Toyota Corolla GT-S AE92 1991 Toyota Corolla GT-S AE92 1990 Toyota Corolla GT-S AE92 1992 Eagle Talon TSi Turbo AWD 1992 Ford Festiva (1.8 Twin Cam swapped from a Ford Escort GT) 1998 Ford Ranger 2wd Stepside single cab 1988 Jeep Comanche Pioneer 2wd 2.5 (converted to 4x4) See a pattern in there? I used to work at a Toyota dealership at one point in time!!!

I'm in the same process right now; Alcan seem top notch, but pricey... Here's the quote they gave me: Thank you for visiting our website. At Alcan Spring we create custom springs to fit your Jeep by using the information you provide us for weight distribution, lift requirements, how you plan to use your vehicle, and any information on all prior changes that may have been made to your vehicle. The cost of the rear springs $1020.00. These springs will be built with 4” lift and stock weight capacity. The springs will come with bushings and will take 3-4 weeks to design and build. We maximize the performance of the leaf spring suspension with more vertical wheel travel, more articulation ability, and a much softer ride. It’s not all about wheel travel, many of our customers use our custom springs simply to make their vehicle ride nice. They are night-and-day difference compared to “lift kit” springs. The springs are built specifically for your truck based on our experience and your needs. We require that the springs be paid for when ordered. Shipping/handling, U-bolts, and any other hardware that will be needed, will need to be paid for when the springs are ready to be shipped. Your credit card will be charged when the springs are ready to ship; if you want us to call you before we charge your card you need to let us know otherwise, we will charge the card and ship the springs. If you have any other questions, please feel free to email or give us a call 970-241-2655. When you are ready to order please call so we can discuss any items needed, or other possible changes you may have for the performance of your springs. **Quotes are good for 30 days. Orders cancelled within 24 hours may be refunded with a 10% charge: after 24 hours absolutely NO refunds. *Disclosure: Our springs are dipped when painting which can cause dripping, smudges, and could have shipping damage scratch/scrapes. If you would like to order springs with no paint so you can paint them yourself let us know. **Any additional shipping charges incurred by UPS or FedEx for incorrect addresses that are provided will be charged to the customer (UPS – FedEx and USPS addresses may vary in certain areas). Charges incurred from address changes or additional customer requests will be charged to customer. Duty and Tariff charges are the responsibility of the customer. ***Order shortages must be reported within 14 days of ship date. Lew Weldon

The rears from a Cherokee will bolt on, but won't work the same. Your door won't open as far, as the arm is shorter than a front door one. The springs broke on mine, so I bought some rear ones at the JY thinking they'd have less wear; I ended up swapping arms to end up with a proper good set.

Here, to get you started! And for the minor tweaking/straightening of small sections, a big crescent wrench and/or the biggest set of channelock you can find will work great.

Aww man, I hate those bolts!!! I got mine out by pretty much using all the tips mentioned here, but of course, a LOT of heat and PB Blaster helps a lot. I got some new ones with Hex heads so I won't have to fight them as much in the future!

I'm going with a 4.5" lift, but I'm still waiting on a few parts. I also was planning to borrow my stepdad's garage to repair/straighten the rear frame as well as put on full length frame stiffeners this winter, but got delayed after a surprise visit from an insurance inspector, that said that the garage wasn't up to code enough for his taste. So I'm currently working on bringing the garage up to snuff so I can finally bring my truck in.

This is on 31's with what I believe to be a 3" rough country front lift kit, I.E. lift coils, longer tubular lower arms, and longer RC shocks. The rear are Metric Ton Package springs with an adjustable chevy drop shackle on the first set of holes. At the time that picture was taken, I still had the tubular lower arms on the truck. Notice how the front wheels are centered in the wheel well. With that lift/wheel/tire setup, I had no fender rub, but the tires rubbed the lower arms and sway bar at full lock. On my part, I never adjusted the steering stops though. I then swapped WJ upper and lower control arms; now the tires barely rub the lower arms, but now hit the back of the fender flares, as the WJ are only stock lenght. It's also visible to the naked eye that the front axle is now set back. Moral of the story is that for 3" or more of lift, plan on longer or adjustable front control arms...

First things first: start by stripping off all the damaged parts; it will help you make your parts list, and you're pretty much garantied to find hidden damage that you can't see right now. Then, measure your frame structure to really know what's going on. I you need them, I have one pic of the unibody blueprints, otherwise I also have the Comanche Body Manual, so I can always take more pics with my phone.

Hahaha well, we do need more weirdos like you!!! I also have adjustable shackles on the rear right now; I'm on factory, 30+ year old 4+1 metric ton leafs, on the lowest setting of those cheapo Amazon Chevy drop shackles. TBH, I hate lift shackles; I hate how they stick out from under the bed, and how they make the axle shift forward. That's why I'm trying hard to get a lift with only leaf springs!