Leaf springs which ones?

[Warthog]

So time for leaf springs. Just curious if anyone has used the 1750lbs springs? How do they ride vs the 1200lbs springs? Runnin 33” on 15” wheels if that matters. Got a 3.5” lift and thought these hd springs and maybe an inch lift shackles should get me bout level. Any advice? Tia

[coheed]

I have the general spring ones listed here. With a 3/4" lift shackle it put's my lwb right at 4" over stock completely empty. With the canopy on it's a little lower than that but the carrying capacity is WAY better than the AAL I had before. It's for sure stiffer than the sagged stock leaves with an AAL but it's not out of the ordinary stiff. I've had plenty of non-truck friends ride in it and they say it just rides like an old truck. Whether you'll be level or not depends on your front spring. Mine's a very old RE 3.5", so it actually only gets the front to 3.25", but that means the truck has the factory rake to it which I prefer.

 

[Warthog]

Thank you soooo very much! Pretty much what I was Thinkin but it’s such a difficult choice when you’re on a fixed income. Back in the day I didn’t mind trial an error but not so much these days. I have the rubicon express front 3.5 lift springs. Like it to sit level. Or as close to that as possible. I was concerned about the light wieght truck on such a heavy spring and the ride but not as much as I was the sitting level. 33 on 15 should give it some ease on the ride, shocks ect but height can only be changed with change out. Love the truck by the way! I’m gonna do a soft top with a frame make it look like a mini duece and a half. The old military transport trucks. I’d buy one if I could afford it! Yes I like odd stuff.

[ghetdjc320]

Just a quick note for future reference, the general spring 4 leaf and 5 leaf packs both net the same lift at around 3” over stock 4wd springs. The difference with the 5 leaf is the added overload spring but it doesn’t change static ride height with an empty bed.

[Eagle_SX4]

 

2 hours ago, ghetdjc320 said:

Just a quick note for future reference, the general spring 4 leaf and 5 leaf packs both net the same lift at around 3” over stock 4wd springs. The difference with the 5 leaf is the added overload spring but it doesn’t change static ride height with an empty bed.

I did not notice any lift with the general spring 4 pack. It remained stock according to the information service bulletin 14E of 9.2 inches +- 1/2 inch from frame rail to top of the axle tube for 4wd models.

[ghetdjc320]

1 hour ago, Eagle_SX4 said:

 

I did not notice any lift with the general spring 4 pack. It remained stock according to the information service bulletin 14E of 9.2 inches +- 1/2 inch from frame rail to top of the axle tube for 4wd models.

Not sure what to say but I netted 3” using the above method. And it never settled down more then maybe a 1/4”. Were they the same springs? 

[Eagle_SX4]

17 minutes ago, ghetdjc320 said:

Were they the same springs? 

Not sure what you mean by this. My old springs were original with an add a leaf to just maintain stock height but had next to no load support. I ordered the 4 pack 1280lb springs from general spring in April of last year. I was disappointed by not getting any lift. All the posts I had seen said that it should be 1-3 inch lift but I did not see any.

[ghetdjc320]

2 hours ago, Eagle_SX4 said:

Not sure what you mean by this. My old springs were original with an add a leaf to just maintain stock height but had next to no load support. I ordered the 4 pack 1280lb springs from general spring in April of last year. I was disappointed by not getting any lift. All the posts I had seen said that it should be 1-3 inch lift but I did not see any.

That’s odd indeed. They netted 3” over stock 4wd springs for me that were still in decent shape. My original springs were 3+1 4wd springs. The 1280 4 leaf pack is also what I got from GS

 

Edit: I do wonder if they changed the arch of the springs as they were made aware that they were not in spec for replacement springs. The free arch was too high and given the high spring rate, lifted most trucks. 

[GeneralSpring]

Jeep put out a handful of different springs for the Comanche.  Most were identical except for the arch.  If yours came stock with a lower arch spring then you'll gain height but if yours came with the higher arch spring then will sit similar.  Here's a snapshot of the different springs, number of leaves, grading and arch.

 

[coheed]

1 hour ago, GeneralSpring said:

Jeep put out a handful of different springs for the Comanche.  Most were identical except for the arch.  If yours came stock with a lower arch spring then you'll gain height but if yours came with the higher arch spring then will sit similar.  Here's a snapshot of the different springs, number of leaves, grading and arch.

 

Just to put more info here, my truck measures over 3 inches what the factory service manual says it should measure with four-wheel drive springs even without the aftermarket shackle. Using the method posted above mine measures 12 9/16" from the axle tube to the frame rail. 

[ghetdjc320]

On 8/23/2024 at 1:13 AM, GeneralSpring said:

Jeep put out a handful of different springs for the Comanche.  Most were identical except for the arch.  If yours came stock with a lower arch spring then you'll gain height but if yours came with the higher arch spring then will sit similar.  Here's a snapshot of the different springs, number of leaves, grading and arch.

 

I remember seeing this before from GS. Interestingly though, I have yet to see a

single Comanche measure any sort of factory spec after swapping to GS springs. That’s not a complaint though, I just consider them a nice little lift spring that goes well with a 3” front lift (I ran the 4 leaf packs in soa for a bit and probably could have cleared 40’s in the back with Napier flares ). If you need stock height, you probably need to go used.

 

I’m almost wondering if the high spec spring rates were some sort of optional factory spring for some sort specialty builds?? I could see those being spec’d in 1985 for 86 builds back when the amc 20 axle was still in the build parts bin.  

[GeneralSpring]

I scanned in some SRI (Spring Research Istitute) pages for the Comanche which lists every spring made from early 1900s and up.  Different catalog every few years so there's a combination of them.  

Comanche_SRI.pdf

[ghetdjc320]

So 7 5/8 - 10 1/4 free arch spec. Does anyone have any stock springs lying around and could measure the free arch? I’m almost wondering if the 10.25 free arch springs in the chart above is for some sort of specialty MJ.