Metric ton Q&A

[omega_rugal]

so far i had not loaded my MJ until yesterday, with aprox 500 kgs the truck went all the way down , it`s a SWB with regular leafs rated at stock 1400 lbs (635 kgs) , even if the LPG tank is 100 lbs (50 ksg) should`n i have  some more room left? i mean it ran like the world was going to end... anyway if i must do that again i better put better leafs, say metric ton ones, but my chances of finding those here  are next to none existant i wonder if there are options, chevy or ford or something more affordable note: a PO swapped in a Dana 44 but not the springs i can`t tell if it was an MJ specific or not...

 

 

[Pete M]

don't forget, your leafs are also old and have been around the block a few times.   as long as you retain your main, you can add in just about any combination of junkyard leafs you like.     mix and match to find the load capacity you need.

[Knucklehead97]

Or do like me and grab some Metric Ton springs from General Spring. Pricey, but I can load a thousand pounds and not even touch the overload springs. It's pretty sweet!

[Eagle]

I have a suggestion that would be considerably less expensive than having a new set of springs shipped to Mexico from the U.S. If you have looked through any of the many discussions about springs and lifts, you must have encountered the term "bastard pack." That refers to keeping the original main leaf in the vehicle and installing other leaves from another vehicle (or other vehicles) to make up the rest of the spring pack.

 

You can buy a decent, full-length add-a-leaf (AAL) from Rancho for around $75 U.S. dollars. Rancho says it provides 2-1/2" of lift for both the XJ and the MJ, but that's impossible. A long time ago I called Rancho and spoke with one of their engineers, who checked with another engineer, and then came back on the phone with me to say that in an MJ it should provide maybe 1-1/2 inches 37-38mm) of lift. So that's one solution.

 

The solution I'm waiting to try out on the '88 2WD 4-cylinder I picked up awhile back involves doing an odd bastard pack. If you use additional leaves from the same vehicle type, you get lift. For example, a common "budget boost" for the XJ is to get another set of XJ springs, take them apart, cut the eyes off the main leaves, and use those as AALs. This generally gives you 1-1/2" of lift. The same thing will happen if you add in extra leaves from another MJ.

 

But -- what if you want to add capacity without adding lift? Then you want to add a leaf that has some arch to it, but that in it's free state is arched basically the same as the springs in your vehicle when it's unloaded. So -- there must be a lot of junked Cherokees in Mexico -- I know when my wife and I used to visit her family in Chile we saw XJs everywhere. The XJ springs have less arch than MJ springs, because they are set up for spring over axle. So my idea is to take a pair of old XJ springs, pull out the main leaves, cut off the eyes, and use those as full-length AALs in the MJ pack. (I believe you also have to drill out the center hole to the next larger size.) If it works the way I think it will, you'll get a 25% to 33% increase in capacity with little or no lift.

[omega_rugal]

i want to increase the payload, not really interested in lift so a pair of XJ leaves will do

[johnj92131]

My 91 Comanche has the factory BogTon/MetricTon package. The previous owner installed 2 custom leafs on each side. Net result, I have put 3260 lbs  in the truck without bottoming.

Other options include air bag or air shocks.