Stock Suspension

[Dixie]

I currently have a 3” lift with 31” tires from the PO. I was wondering which parts of the suspension I’d have to return to stock to remove the lift (coil springs, leaf springs, struts, etc). I plan on keeping the tires. I’ve Googled and YouTubed how to remove a lift but nothing’s come up useful for the Comanche. And I understand it won’t be stock height with 31s. 

[Pete M]

hard to say.  what did they use to lift the truck?  it could be anything from just shoving coils under the truck, to a full kit with arms, brakelines and a new track bar.

[Eagle]

As Pete wrote, what's needed to remove a lift depends entirely on what was done to create the lift. In the case of my '88 MJ Chief, when I bought it there was a 4" TrailMaster lift on it. The lift consisted of taller front coils, front control arm drop brackets, rear add-a-leaves, and longer shocks. To correct the axle offset, I had added an adjustable track bar.

 

Putting it back to stock involved installing stock front coils, removing the drop brackets, removing the rear AALs, and installing a set of OEM replacement shocks. Then I discovered that the adjustable track bar was an interference fit and was rubbing against the diff cover at stock height, so I had to get an OEM replacement track bar.

 

FWIW, most of us regard "stock height" as measured from the axles to the body/chassis, so even on 31s my truck was returned to "stock" height, even though the tires raised the whole enchilada about an inch farther away from the ground.

[DesertRat1991]

2 hours ago, Dixie said:

I currently have a 3” lift with 31” tires from the PO. I was wondering which parts of the suspension I’d have to return to stock to remove the lift (coil springs, leaf springs, struts, etc). I plan on keeping the tires. I’ve Googled and YouTubed how to remove a lift but nothing’s come up useful for the Comanche. And I understand it won’t be stock height with 31s. 

 

Post a pic of your front and rear suspension setup. It isn't hard to spot what is stock and what is not.

[Dixie]

Hopefully this helps you pros out. Low priority, I’m sure, since it’s Christmas Eve. Hope y’all have a good one!

[Eagle]

Okay, then.

 

Front: You have a stock track bar, but aftermarket, long sway bar links. Lower control arms are aftermarket but not adjustable, so you'll have to measure the length to see if they'll work at stock height. Drag link and tie rod appear to be stock. Shocks appear to be longer than stock.

 

BTW, you have a factory front skid plate.

 

Rear is an add-a-leaf, so putting it back to stock height is easy -- remove the added leaf. That's the middle one, the one that doesn't have a friction pad in it. You'll probably need shorter shocks for the rear, also. The lower shock mounts in the rear have been Mickey Moused, but they can work at stock height if the factory studs were cut or broken off.

 

And the actuating rod for the rear brake height sensing valve is missing.

 

Did I miss anything?

 

[Dzimm]

9 minutes ago, Eagle said:

Okay, then.

 

Front: You have a stock track bar, but aftermarket, long sway bar links. Lower control arms are aftermarket but not adjustable, so you'll have to measure the length to see if they'll work at stock height. Drag link and tie rod appear to be stock. Shocks appear to be longer than stock.

 

BTW, you have a factory front skid plate.

 

Rear is an add-a-leaf, so putting it back to stock height is easy -- remove the added leaf. That's the middle one, the one that doesn't have a friction pad in it. You'll probably need shorter shocks for the rear, also. The lower shock mounts in the rear have been Mickey Moused, but they can work at stock height if the factory studs were cut or broken off.

 

And the actuating rod for the rear brake height sensing valve is missing.

 

Did I miss anything?

 

The front brake lines appear to be new so you may some extra slack to deal with once it's back to stock height.  Otherwise I think Eagle covered the rest. 

 

When you replace the springs/remove the aal, just ubolt the axle side of the trackbar and move it to the other (factory) bolt hole that's in the bracket.  The one it is in currently was drilled so the PO could retain the stock trackbar with the extra height, common thing to do. 

[Pete M]

it appears they bypassed the rear prop valve.  makes sense considering the disk brakes.

front bumpstop is missing and there's a spacer puck inside the bottom of the coils that can be removed once you have a bumpstop again.

your leafpacks are... different from each other.  not sure what's going on there.  almost looks like a couple of individual leafs were installed... backwards?

the rear lower shock mounts look to be from the Explorer that donated its 8.8.

is that some sort of spacer-bracket fabbed to lower the factory skid plate up front?

 

WJ lower arms have a bend in them and will help with clearancing bigger tires.   they are factory MJ length and just need the steel bushings trimmed a bit.

[DesertRat1991]

Looks like a mild lift consisting of taller coil springs, extended sway bar end links, and aftermarket lower control arms in the front.  Find stock replacements to return to stock height.

 

Track bar, Steering and upper control arms look stock. Front brake lines look newer. They could be extended aftermarket lines. When returning to stock keep an eye on them to make sure they don't bunch up and interfere with tires or suspension.

 

You've got an add-aleaf in the rear. Remove it to return to stock height. You didn't include a pick of your shackles.  Check them.  People often swap in longer shackles to complete the budget boost in the rear.

 

Can't tell if those shocks are new, old or just dirty.  When returning to stock, take some ride height measurements and select the appropriate length shocks for your application. 

[Dixie]

Thanks for all the info, guys. I really appreciate it!

[zomeizter]

Since the rear suspension is SUA, removing a leaf would add lift, right?

[Pete M]

removing a leaf always lowers.    I think you're thinking of a block spacer.

[zomeizter]

Gotcha.