87manche Posted July 20, 2007 Share Posted July 20, 2007 alright, so I'm going to be doing something a bit odd this fall. going SOA, but want to keep the rear at 4" need it to be flexy, yet still be able to carry 500 lbs of gear looking at FSJ leaves. who's got the info on them. length? load capacity? spring rates? pretty sure they should bolt up, and be nearly flat. I'll likely move my shackle hanger forward so I can use the long shackles and have a 45* shackle angle, should provide good flex. hit me with ideas fellas. I was going to use some 2wd MJ leaf packs, but I think that even they will put me around 6" with the 8.8. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete M Posted July 20, 2007 Share Posted July 20, 2007 A 90* shackle provides a good balance between droop and stuff. A 45* with shorter leafs would limit droop and a 45* with longer leafs would limit stuff. The 2wd leafs (with extra main) on my truck are very very flat. Any flatter and they might as well be inverted. Add an extra main leaf (maybe from an Explorer) and you should get your cargo capacity and your desired height. But I guess if you're looking for 4" of lift with the bed empty, this may not work perfect. It's hard to compromise between cargo capacity and flex. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete M Posted July 20, 2007 Share Posted July 20, 2007 Actually, I'm not certain if the height you desire is possible without going to an inverted leaf. Some measurements should show if it is. And one more thought; don't fear going slightly higher in the rear than the front. In my opinion, a couple inches higher won't make the truck look funny, but if the rear is lower once you pile in the gear, it will look saggy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
minydigger Posted July 20, 2007 Share Posted July 20, 2007 I've got waggy springs on the back of my junk, I DD mine so I've never really flexed it out. It rides pretty good and the payloads not bad either. Not sure on springs and such but they are the same dimensions as MJ springs. So they will bolt right up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete M Posted July 20, 2007 Share Posted July 20, 2007 How much lift did you get with them? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
87manche Posted July 21, 2007 Author Share Posted July 21, 2007 yeah, 4" loaded is the goal, so it's gonna be like 5 or 5.5 empty. perhaps I'm gonna stick with my original 2wd main leaf plan with exploder packs, unless I can find the magical 7 leaf FSJ packs somewhere. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjeff87 Posted July 21, 2007 Share Posted July 21, 2007 perhaps I'm gonna stick with my original 2wd main leaf plan with exploder packs They're still sitting up in PA....we just need to figure out a meetup time. I'm heading up toward the end of August but not sure if I'm gonna have time to roadtrip... Jeff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ROADLESS Posted July 22, 2007 Share Posted July 22, 2007 Would something like Z-boxes or revolvers work instead of a regular shackle :dunno: ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DirtyComanche Posted July 22, 2007 Share Posted July 22, 2007 Revolvers suck... And I don't know what a z-box is, but if it's like a revolver, it sucks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
feerocknok Posted July 22, 2007 Share Posted July 22, 2007 Revolvers suck... And I don't know what a z-box is, but if it's like a revolver, it sucks. It's more gimmicky than a Revolver. Roadless, DON'T RUN EITHER ONE! Waste of time, money, and safety. Let's keep this on topic! No one yet has tried out full-size Chevy leaf springs off a '90s half ton! Go SOA and then redrill the front mount further forward and they should bolt up. They're made for a SOA set-up, so you'd probably get just a few inches of lift out of them. In the Toy world, they're famous, but in our little MJ world, they're unheard of. I'm selling my Toy that has em on it so I can't guinnea pig it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ROADLESS Posted July 22, 2007 Share Posted July 22, 2007 Did not mean to go off topic, just trying to put some 'outside the box' ideas to help the OP, who seems to want to keep amount of lift down from a SOA setup :???: . When you look at a 'compressed' revolver, it appears shorter (less lift) than a standard MJ shackle. This is only 'theoretical' as I have not run them, but thought it was worth mentioning :hmm: . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
offroader461 Posted July 22, 2007 Share Posted July 22, 2007 do the SOA and then use a XJ shackle to drop it back down an 1" or so...that could work Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete M Posted July 22, 2007 Share Posted July 22, 2007 An XJ shackle would drop it 1/2" and the shorter shackle would limit wheel travel somewhat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oizarod115 Posted July 23, 2007 Share Posted July 23, 2007 if i can't find any good replacement OEM style springs anywhere I'm thinking about don't a pete-style leaf-swap thread using FSJ leafs and maybe those chevy ones you were tlaking bout, though if they're the wrong length i don't think ill dabble with it. but we shall see... next paycheck will come along with a nice fat check to a certain rubiconexpress company ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
87manche Posted July 23, 2007 Author Share Posted July 23, 2007 crazy shackles are out. I'm not a big fan of revolvers on our kinds of terrain. Too much off camber unloading that will make you crap yourself. Jeff, I was planning a trip to wellsville end of august, so if you can make it, we'll go wheeling ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjeff87 Posted July 23, 2007 Share Posted July 23, 2007 Heh.....if I get the new axle underneath, and find a YJ disco outer with a 297 UJ in it to swap into my '30, mebbe I'll bring the MJ along. I need a good shakedown run once it's ready :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pingpong Posted July 26, 2007 Share Posted July 26, 2007 Here is how I look at springs and shckles. Your springs need to be stiff enough to provide decent weight carrying capacity, while being able to flex their @$$ off. So basically it is a compromise... stock leaf packs, with another main leaf added as the second seems to work real good, factor that in with a Chevy 2" drop shackle and you have a real good load carrying and flexing setup Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bacon Posted July 26, 2007 Share Posted July 26, 2007 anybody out there go SOA with a 8.8 and 2wd MJ leaves? that's what i've got sitting in my garage waiting to go in. i've got a 3" AAL lift right now, and hoping to only add and inch or two when I put in the 8.8 and 2wd leaves. how much lift does this setup give you? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
87manche Posted July 26, 2007 Author Share Posted July 26, 2007 Here is how I look at springs and shckles. Your springs need to be stiff enough to provide decent weight carrying capacity, while being able to flex their @$$ off. So basically it is a compromise... stock leaf packs, with another main leaf added as the second seems to work real good, factor that in with a Chevy 2" drop shackle and you have a real good load carrying and flexing setup that's what I've got now, it does flex well, and is capable of a 1K pound load. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
87manche Posted July 26, 2007 Author Share Posted July 26, 2007 anybody out there go SOA with a 8.8 and 2wd MJ leaves? that's what i've got sitting in my garage waiting to go in. i've got a 3" AAL lift right now, and hoping to only add and inch or two when I put in the 8.8 and 2wd leaves. how much lift does this setup give you? you just described exactly what I was trying to find out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pingpong Posted July 26, 2007 Share Posted July 26, 2007 I had 4wd leafs and the 8.8 in Pong, and I sat level with 6.5 coils up front, but I also carried a lot of crap in the bed.. when Pong had one. It also depends on how tall your leaf spring mount is, mine was mounted so it sat flush with the top of the axle... no added lift. I have seen ppl who have made their own mounts dd up to 1" to the mounting pad Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
87manche Posted July 26, 2007 Author Share Posted July 26, 2007 I had 4wd leafs and the 8.8 in Pong, and I sat level with 6.5 coils up front, but I also carried a lot of crap in the bed.. when Pong had one. It also depends on how tall your leaf spring mount is, mine was mounted so it sat flush with the top of the axle... no added lift. I have seen ppl who have made their own mounts dd up to 1" to the mounting pad mine will be flush with the tube, just enough under there for the centering bolt head. If I end up around 5" empty then it will be good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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