Rymanrph Posted March 19, 2010 Share Posted March 19, 2010 I'm picking up my new rear axle tomorrow (8.25) and I know I'm going to have to relocate the spring perches. Is it possible to reuse the existing ones, or will I be better off just getting new ones to weld on? If I get new ones, where is a good place to get them from and what size should I be looking for (axle tube and spring width)? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
comanche09 Posted March 20, 2010 Share Posted March 20, 2010 You can reuse the original perches if you remove them carefully... You need ones for a 3" axle tube. I used Mopar Performance Spring perches. Part # P4120074 . Got em for $18 shipped from mopardiscountparts.com They are slightly longer and taller than the original perches. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete M Posted March 20, 2010 Share Posted March 20, 2010 Some guys have reportedly picked up the mopar perches for under 15 at the dealership. :D supposed to be pretty beefy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eagle Posted March 20, 2010 Share Posted March 20, 2010 Those Mopar perches are EXTREMELY beefy ... and that $18 (or so) price is for the pair, not per each. You'll pay $40 and up to the aftermarket suppliers and what you get for $40 won't be as good as the Mopar units. But ... with reasonable care, it should be easy to grind off the welds and reuse the original perches. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CWLONGSHOT Posted March 20, 2010 Share Posted March 20, 2010 Just go buy them from the dealer.. They are WAY STOUT and WAY CHEAP compared to the bullskit of carefully grinding off the old ones... been there done that AND ended up using the factory 8.25 units anyhow!! CW Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dasbulliwagen Posted March 20, 2010 Share Posted March 20, 2010 If you order from the dealer before 2 pm, you can usually have them next day at the dealer. NO SHIPPING COST! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rymanrph Posted March 20, 2010 Author Share Posted March 20, 2010 If you order from the dealer before 2 pm, you can usually have them next day at the dealer. NO SHIPPING COST! I wish I could do that, but the dealer near me closed. The next closest is about 45 mins away and they close during the week before I can get there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CWLONGSHOT Posted March 20, 2010 Share Posted March 20, 2010 If you order from the dealer before 2 pm, you can usually have them next day at the dealer. NO SHIPPING COST! I wish I could do that, but the dealer near me closed. The next closest is about 45 mins away and they close during the week before I can get there. Credit cards will take care of that.... Call, pay and have them leave it outside where you can get it!!! CW Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dasbulliwagen Posted March 20, 2010 Share Posted March 20, 2010 If you order from the dealer before 2 pm, you can usually have them next day at the dealer. NO SHIPPING COST! I wish I could do that, but the dealer near me closed. The next closest is about 45 mins away and they close during the week before I can get there. Credit cards will take care of that.... Call, pay and have them leave it outside where you can get it!!! CW Sales dept stays late every day, have the parts guy leave it with sales manager, and pick it up from them after parts hours! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeffK Posted March 20, 2010 Share Posted March 20, 2010 Summit Racing eBay purchases to NC will be at your door in 2 days.... http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Mopar-4120074-Leaf-Spring-Perches-3-in-x2-in-Width_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQhashZitem4cee4fe012QQitemZ330415726610QQptZMotorsQ5fCarQ5fTruckQ5fPartsQ5fAccessories Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
comanche09 Posted March 21, 2010 Share Posted March 21, 2010 Don't know if you are staying SUA, but if you are I found that the donor XJ U-bolts were not long enough (The Mopar perches are a good bit taller than the originals) and they were not 9/16" thick like the stock MJ. Rather than paying $80+ bucks to get some custom made I picked up some 2000 Dodge Dakota 2wd U-bolts and Spring Plates and welded the MJ shock mounts to them: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete M Posted March 21, 2010 Share Posted March 21, 2010 Good idea. old u-bolts shouldn't be reused anyway, so it's good to know what will fit. :thumbsup: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eagle Posted March 21, 2010 Share Posted March 21, 2010 Don't know if you are staying SUA, but if you are I found that the donor XJ U-bolts were not long enough (The Mopar perches are a good bit taller than the originals) and they were not 9/16" thick like the stock MJ. MJ u-bolts are not 9/16". They are 14mm, which is smaller than 9/16". And XJ u-bolts are not 1/2", they are 12mm ... which is smaller than 1/2". Since I mess around with both XJ and MJs, I went to a local spring shop and had a bunch of new 1/2" u-bolts made up, and I'll use them for both XJs and MJs. A new, high-tensile 1/2" u-bolt has to be as good as a rusty, 20-year old 14mm u-bolt, IMHO. And with all the hard-core wheeling I've seen XJs put through, I have never EVER seen a 12mm u-bolt fail, so I feel completely comfortable using 1/2" u-bolts in my MJs as well as in my XJs. 9/16" = .5625 14mm = .5512 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
comanche09 Posted March 21, 2010 Share Posted March 21, 2010 MJ u-bolts are not 9/16". They are 14mm, which is smaller than 9/16". And XJ u-bolts are not 1/2", they are 12mm ... which is smaller than 1/2". Since I mess around with both XJ and MJs, I went to a local spring shop and had a bunch of new 1/2" u-bolts made up, and I'll use them for both XJs and MJs. A new, high-tensile 1/2" u-bolt has to be as good as a rusty, 20-year old 14mm u-bolt, IMHO. And with all the hard-core wheeling I've seen XJs put through, I have never EVER seen a 12mm u-bolt fail, so I feel completely comfortable using 1/2" u-bolts in my MJs as well as in my XJs. 9/16" = .5625 14mm = .5512 Good to know Eagle, thanks for posting this. Agree, much better than 20+ year old rusty u-bolts. Yeah, the spring shop I went to told me they were 9/16... IMO the XJ ones are skinnier because of the SOA set-up as they are pretty much there to hold it all together, and not support the weight like the MJ/Dakota SUA setup. The Dakota spring plates are one piece and over twice as thick as the MJ spring plate/doubler setup. They are formed and tend to not bend in on itself like the weak IMO MJ plates. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eagle Posted March 21, 2010 Share Posted March 21, 2010 Good to know Eagle, thanks for posting this. Agree, much better than 20+ year old rusty u-bolts. Yeah, the spring shop I went to told me they were 9/16... The shop I use tried to tell me that, too. It's because they don't carry metric stock, so they go to the next larger SAE size rod. They showed me a 9/16" u-bolt and it looked huge, even held next to the original 14mm MJ u-bolt. I guess it's actually not too far off, but it struck me as overkill and it makes more sense (for me) to standardize on one size. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rymanrph Posted March 22, 2010 Author Share Posted March 22, 2010 I'm looking at Hell Creek's 3" lift kit that comes with new U-bolts. Am I to assume with the mopar perches, that they won't be long enough? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rymanrph Posted March 23, 2010 Author Share Posted March 23, 2010 I'm looking at Hell Creek's 3" lift kit that comes with new U-bolts. Am I to assume with the mopar perches, that they won't be long enough? Anybody? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete M Posted March 23, 2010 Share Posted March 23, 2010 you might need to ask HellCreek how long their U-bolts are. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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