Gojira94 Posted October 4, 2022 Posted October 4, 2022 Front shocks: Rear: Rear leafs have 5, shackle at the back looks stock: Rear wheel well opening sits at 34" and about 5.75" clearance to the 235/75R15 tire it sits on. Pic from the day it showed up, just after a wash. Does this look lifted or is it just me?
howeitsdone Posted October 4, 2022 Posted October 4, 2022 Looks like stock shackle and Metric Ton springs. Is there a D44 back there? If not it's possible someone added a leaf in the pack. Your top spring isn't contacting the one underneath in the rear which could mean it's got a bigger arch too. The tire size is larger than stock as 225 was largest available IIRC. Could be contributing a bit. Unsure of the shocks/struts but those don't determine height.
Gojira94 Posted October 4, 2022 Author Posted October 4, 2022 29 minutes ago, howeitsdone said: Looks like stock shackle and Metric Ton springs. Is there a D44 back there? If not it's possible someone added a leaf in the pack. Your top spring isn't contacting the one underneath in the rear which could mean it's got a bigger arch too. The tire size is larger than stock as 225 was largest available IIRC. Could be contributing a bit. Unsure of the shocks/struts but those don't determine height. Thanks for the info - this one spent time next to another MJ before I got it ("make one good one from two" situation), so many surprises are here to be found... If I'm shopping for shocks soon I need to have some idea what length I'll need. Edit: just a D35 back there with 3.55 gears.
howeitsdone Posted October 4, 2022 Posted October 4, 2022 1 hour ago, Gojira94 said: If I'm shopping for shocks soon I need to have some idea what length I'll need. Easiest way is to remove one and measure extended and collapsed (not all the way). But you do run the risk that they aren't the right size if they pulled parts to make it work. I think the other way to measure is mount-to-mount at full extension and then get the bump stop to axle measurement and take that shopping.
eaglescout526 Posted October 4, 2022 Posted October 4, 2022 Those shocks look factory. Can you locate any other stamping on it?
Gojira94 Posted October 4, 2022 Author Posted October 4, 2022 57 minutes ago, eaglescout526 said: Those shocks look factory. Can you locate any other stamping on it? Might be something else up inside the boots, but those are zip-tied around the upper tube body at the moment.
eaglescout526 Posted October 4, 2022 Posted October 4, 2022 Possibly not then. Those could be skyjacker shocks.
Eagle Posted October 8, 2022 Posted October 8, 2022 Your photo of the ride height in the rear was taken with the tape rule on the ground? That's meaningless -- even changing the tire pressure affects the measurement. You need to measure from the center of the wheel/axle up to the underside of the flare. Going from memory, I think a stock MJ measures 21-1/2 in the rear (plus-or-minus a bit).
Gojira94 Posted January 11, 2023 Author Posted January 11, 2023 On 10/4/2022 at 4:36 PM, eaglescout526 said: Possibly not then. Those could be skyjacker shocks. I believe you're right. Looking into it, it seems that Skyjacker and Rusty's have the same manufacturer for some of their more budget shock options. Skyjacker Nitro and Hydro series have the same style 3 stamped lines at the bottom of the tube as mine in the pics above, though you can't make out the details of what they say in the website pics. Rusty's calls their front shock by model number RX-27, for either 2" or 3" lifted MJ. They call for RX-13 on the back for for more than 2", less than 4.5" lifted. The RX-26 is what Rusty's sells for XJ rear with 3" lift. Not sure what the difference is between the RX-13 and RX-26, though it may have to do with the rear lower shock mount location being slightly different height between MJ and XJ? IDK, not that familiar with the XJ rear axle.
Gojira94 Posted January 11, 2023 Author Posted January 11, 2023 Yep, made by Tenneco. Here's the difference on the Rusty's by Tenneco. RX-26 XJ Rear: Collapsed Length: 15.17" Extended Length: 25.07 (9.9" travel) RX-13 MJ Rear: Collapsed Length: 15.67" Extended Length: 26.07 (10.4" travel)
Eagle Posted January 12, 2023 Posted January 12, 2023 When I bought my '88 MJ it had a 4" lift installed by the previous owner. It was a TrailMaster lift, with coils and control arm drop brackets for the front and a short add-a-leaf in the rear, along with a set of TrailMaster shocks that would shake your fillings out just driving down the interstate. After a year or so, I had had enough and I pulled the lift out, restoring the truck to factory ride height. I had a complete set of shocks from a stock height XJ that one of the guys in NAXJA gave me for my help in installing a lift on his XJ. The front shocks, of course, bolted right in. Not so the rear. The XJ rear shocks, when fully extended, were about a half inch too short to reach from the lower mounting stud to the upper mounting stud. I had to head over to Advanced Auto and grab a set of Gabriel rears for the MJ.
Airborne Janitor Posted January 12, 2023 Posted January 12, 2023 I think you have an extra leaf spring or add-a-leaf in the spring pack. Stock springs were 3+1 overload, metric tons are 3+2 overload.
Pete M Posted January 13, 2023 Posted January 13, 2023 2 hours ago, Airborne Janitor said: I think you have an extra leaf spring or add-a-leaf in the spring pack. Stock springs were 3+1 overload, metric tons are 3+2 overload. early metric tons are 4+1. later they changed to 3+2. \\ are the ends of the leafs all the same? or is one of them markedly different in shape or thickness at the tip?
Airborne Janitor Posted January 13, 2023 Posted January 13, 2023 2 hours ago, Pete M said: early metric tons are 4+1. later they changed to 3+2. \\ What year was the changeover? And were all metric tons LWB?
Pete M Posted January 13, 2023 Posted January 13, 2023 I forget the changeover year. yes, all MTs were longbed.
Airborne Janitor Posted January 13, 2023 Posted January 13, 2023 Ok. Hes got a shortbed tho. Doubt someone went and swapped in MT springs..
Pete M Posted January 13, 2023 Posted January 13, 2023 a lot can happen in 30 years. a pic of the ends of the leafs would answer everything.
Gojira94 Posted January 14, 2023 Author Posted January 14, 2023 ABJ, Pete thanks for the mini-clinic! I'll get some better pics when I get back home. Rusty's has some 4" rear leafs available, though not cheap might be a good replacement in the future, probably with an additional .75" coil spacer in the front. I'll have to see how it all shakes out once this thing is finally back together. Still a long way to go!
Gojira94 Posted January 15, 2023 Author Posted January 15, 2023 This is the driver's side leaf. Almost looks like a cobbled together leaf pack from IDK. All the hardware is trash...
Airborne Janitor Posted January 15, 2023 Posted January 15, 2023 It looks like someone put another (cut down?) leaf under the main leaf.
Gojira94 Posted January 16, 2023 Author Posted January 16, 2023 51 minutes ago, Airborne Janitor said: It looks like someone put another (cut down?) leaf under the main leaf. Yeah, I thought it looked like the 2nd and 3rd from the top are the same. Maybe a bastard pack plus an AAL.
Pete M Posted January 16, 2023 Posted January 16, 2023 2nd from the top is an AAL. and your main leaf is VERY tired. it's not supposed to have negative arch like that.
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