mpace6a Posted January 1, 2014 Share Posted January 1, 2014 Seen more than once that we can use chevy drop shackles to lift the rear of the mj ~2". Does anyone know if these will work? Something that caught my eye getting some bedliner at oreilly's...2" drop shackles for an 88-08 chevy pickup/van. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
87Warrior Posted January 1, 2014 Share Posted January 1, 2014 Yup. Those will work. Heck, they might be the same thing I got from AutoZone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mpace6a Posted January 1, 2014 Author Share Posted January 1, 2014 Yup. Those will work. Heck, they might be the same thing I got from AutoZone. Awesome! Did you get 2" of lift out of them? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
87Warrior Posted January 1, 2014 Share Posted January 1, 2014 I suspect I got right around 2" of lift, but cannot give a true report since I did not measure beforehand. The drop shackles in the rear and 2" spacers up front got it sitting pretty darn level. I opted to try out the AutoZone budget lift on my 86 with 235 (30") tires to get a little more belly clearance.- 2" pucks- YJ or Chevy 1500 front brake lines- Rear Chevy drop shacklesBeforeAfter The front springs on this truck are well worn, so it has a little more rake than I'd like. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mpace6a Posted January 1, 2014 Author Share Posted January 1, 2014 Awesome thanks. My plan was MT springs in the rear since my old springs are saggy and leaning on the drivers side, v8 zj coils up front, shackles in the rear, and spacers up front to level. Partially for looks, mainly to have a bit more fun offroad, without going into a big lift since i've only got a 2.hate under the hood. nothing major till i decide on an engine, but no reason why i can't have some fun now . :MJ 1: . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ftpiercecracker1 Posted January 2, 2014 Share Posted January 2, 2014 Awesome thanks. My plan was MT springs in the rear since my old springs are saggy and leaning on the drivers side, v8 zj coils up front, shackles in the rear, and spacers up front to level. Partially for looks, mainly to have a bit more fun offroad, without going into a big lift since i've only got a 2.hate under the hood. nothing major till i decide on an engine, but no reason why i can't have some fun now . :MJ 1: . This sounds like an excellent setup for a good budget lift. I plan on doing the exact same thing in the near future. FWIW I discovered some heavy duty PVC flanges at my local plumbing store when i was looking for a cheap way to help my sagging springs. I bought and installed a pair of them (1 per spring) and to be honest how well they work/fit is down right freaky. Its like they were actaully made for coil spring spacers on an MJ. To keep it from looking completely cheesy i spray painted them black. I think i paid somewhere between 10-15 bucks for two of them. They give somewhere around 2in of lift. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mpace6a Posted January 2, 2014 Author Share Posted January 2, 2014 Awesome thanks. My plan was MT springs in the rear since my old springs are saggy and leaning on the drivers side, v8 zj coils up front, shackles in the rear, and spacers up front to level. Partially for looks, mainly to have a bit more fun offroad, without going into a big lift since i've only got a 2.hate under the hood. nothing major till i decide on an engine, but no reason why i can't have some fun now . :MJ 1: . This sounds like an excellent setup for a good budget lift. I plan on doing the exact same thing in the near future. FWIW I discovered some heavy duty PVC flanges at my local plumbing store when i was looking for a cheap way to help my sagging springs. I bought and installed a pair of them (1 per spring) and to be honest how well they work/fit is down right freaky. Its like they were actaully made for coil spring spacers on an MJ. To keep it from looking completely cheesy i spray painted them black. I think i paid somewhere between 10-15 bucks for two of them. They give somewhere around 2in of lift. Hmm I think I'll look into that. Definitely want the zj coils though, better spring rate than stock coils, and I need to hold up a new bumper/winch, and later a bigger engine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ftpiercecracker1 Posted January 2, 2014 Share Posted January 2, 2014 Oh ya definitely get the ZJ springs too. I am going to use both "coil spacers" and ZJs springs together. Even brand new ZJ coils aren't going to net much lift. Here is how it breaks down. . . . ALL ZJ coil springs regardless of year (92.5 - 98) will give you between .5 and 1 inch of lift, depending on how worn out they already are. Buying new springs would be the best, but then again this is a budget lift. However, ZJs with the UpCountry/Orvis package will give just a little bit more, 1 - 1.5, again depending on wear. Then you have the holy grail, in 1998 and ONLY 1998 you have the 5.9 V8 ZJ which will give you a solid 2in of lift, but 5.9 ZJs are exceedingly rare. This is the link where i got my information . . . . . http://www.naxja.org/forum/showthread.php?t=1043473 So figure, you get a pair of run-of-the-mill ZJ coils from a junkyard. Thats roughly .75in lift, plus the 2in from the spacers = 2.75 inches. No need to fool with the steering, and it should give a nice rake, Front just a touch higher than the rear, i like it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
87manche1 Posted January 2, 2014 Share Posted January 2, 2014 http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B000C53ZSC/ref=redir_mdp_mobile Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
87manche1 Posted January 2, 2014 Share Posted January 2, 2014 That link is for the grand Cherokee upcountry springs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yxmj Posted January 2, 2014 Share Posted January 2, 2014 Another cheap trick is ....if you are removing the springs yourself in the JY....remember to take the spring isolater as well.....they are +/- 1/2" so you can stack them or add them as needed to get that extra 1/2" needed.....even if just to level out the truck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bornindesert Posted January 3, 2014 Share Posted January 3, 2014 Those are exactly the shackles I used on my White 88 Comanche, with new MT General Springs. You'll net about 6-7 inches of lift with that combo over stock rear springs/shackles. The 2" drop shackles will drop a Chevy 2" but raise a Comanche more like 3-4". You can subtract the eye to eye mearsurement of your Comanche Shackle from the pictured shackle and divide by 2, to get an idea of what you'll net for a lift. You'll have a huge rake if you don't get up around 5-6 inches in the front. I went with OME spings ( 2") and aCOS upfront. I'll post a picture Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bornindesert Posted January 3, 2014 Share Posted January 3, 2014 1-2" drop shackles with new MT General Springs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
87Warrior Posted January 3, 2014 Share Posted January 3, 2014 Bornindesert - There is absolutely no way the Chevy drop shackles would lift a truck 3-4". I think your lift came from the springs. The (shackle length/2) doesn't work for the MJ since the axle sits forward of center on the leaf spring, it is actually a bit less. 2" Chevy Drop shackle vs Stock MJ shackle Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Incommando Posted January 3, 2014 Share Posted January 3, 2014 If you do not need new brake lines you can make the stocker front line fit for up to 4" of lift. That makes it an even more budget friendly lift Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
'87 fuel-miser Posted January 3, 2014 Share Posted January 3, 2014 i have an '87 4x4 that i'm slowly redoing , the rear spings were shot ... bent, half of one was missing ,sagging horribly ... found a good used set , took them apart and added a "add - a - leaf " from a xj kit i had . anywho , while at the local AZ i noticed these chevy drop shackles that alot of guys use ... reassembled the springs and shackles using the second to the last setting ( on the shackle ) , i went from 3 inches below stock height to at least 3-4 inches over stock height ! no more sagging @$$ end ! :banana: . :MJ 1: . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ftpiercecracker1 Posted January 3, 2014 Share Posted January 3, 2014 So just by putting on MT springs you are gaining a significant amount of lift. You might not even need drop brackets. And thats still spring UNDER, imagine if you went SOA. O.o Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bornindesert Posted January 4, 2014 Share Posted January 4, 2014 I know, my son and I were just talking about SOA and there's no way with those MT springs. I told him basically we'd put the old leaf's back in if he wanted to go SOA and clean up the bottom of the axle. 87Warrior, agree - those look exactly like the ones we put on, so maybe more like 2-3 inches and yeah you're right about forward of center. I was going by the General Spings input (and there's an old thread on here somewhere) that they'd provide around 3" of lift over older 4-leaf packs. Also, have been considering less shackle too...but the kid likes the way it sits so I'm leaving it alone for now. We did pick up the front another 3/4" over the Holidays to even it out, one of the nice things about the ACOS. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mpace6a Posted January 4, 2014 Author Share Posted January 4, 2014 Except why would stock springs lift a truck? They came with MT springs, the only "lift" i should get from them is back to stock height. There was a discussion about this the other day. Stock MT comanches only sat maybe an inch higher than a regular 4x4 mj IIRC. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bornindesert Posted January 4, 2014 Share Posted January 4, 2014 Except why would stock springs lift a truck? They came with MT springs, the only "lift" i should get from them is back to stock height. There was a discussion about this the other day. Stock MT comanches only sat maybe an inch higher than a regular 4x4 mj IIRC. Good question, only thing is the MT General Springs are not factory stock springs. They're aftermarket or designed to have the same number of leaf's as the factory MT springs but could have a different arch. The ones that General Spings sells also have the military wrap. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mpace6a Posted January 4, 2014 Author Share Posted January 4, 2014 Except why would stock springs lift a truck? They came with MT springs, the only "lift" i should get from them is back to stock height. There was a discussion about this the other day. Stock MT comanches only sat maybe an inch higher than a regular 4x4 mj IIRC. Good question, only thing is the MT General Springs are not factory stock springs. They're aftermarket or designed to have the same number of leaf's as the factory MT springs but could have a different arch. The ones that General Spings sells also have the military wrap. Yeah I just ordered hell creek suspensions mt springs...hopefully no lift Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ftpiercecracker1 Posted January 5, 2014 Share Posted January 5, 2014 Is there a big price difference between General and Hell Creek? mpace6a, What was it for the springs from Hell Creek about $570, right? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gogmorgo Posted January 5, 2014 Share Posted January 5, 2014 The General Spring leaves that I assume were brought up (http://www.generalspringkc.com/product_p/gsc-571.htm) have a couple inches or so of lift as well as the military wrap with the Metric Tonne load capacity are roughly $30/spring less than the Hell Creek which are basically a factory-style replacement for the Metric Tonne spings. (http://www.hellcreeksuspensions.com/) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ftpiercecracker1 Posted January 5, 2014 Share Posted January 5, 2014 Ok, so if i am reading the details correctly it would be roughly $400 for a pair of springs from General and 456 from hell creek. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gogmorgo Posted January 5, 2014 Share Posted January 5, 2014 Yeah, that's more or less what I worked out. Then decided I don't have anywhere near enough room in my budget for new springs... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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