front suspension way to stiff

smokn007 · Sep 26, 2012

yes im new to this so please bare with me. its a cj7 6 inch skyjacker lift and i checked the numbers on the springs they came up pro comp 4 inch lift springs. i just got this jeep and we took it out in the woods this past weekend and the front end has no movement. rides really good on the street tho.i need to know what i can do to without dropping alot of money for new part to loosing it up some. the shocks look a lil beat up but i wouldnt think it would affect the ride. any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

al1tonyota · Sep 26, 2012

Either swap the front springs or take a leaf or two out! The softer the spring you will get more body roll on the street but will articulate better offroad !

smokn007 · Sep 26, 2012

does it matter what spring i take out? i think there was 5 leafs per side.

John Galbreath Jr. · Sep 26, 2012

smokn007 said:
does it matter what spring i take out? i think there was 5 leafs per side.

From the middle. not the top or bottom. Lower the leaf in the stack, the more difference the removal will make.

zukiscott · Sep 26, 2012

I can,t tell from the avatar pic but are the front springs below or above the front axle "sprung under or sprung over" :dunno:

cause it looks like if you go to taking leaves out to get a softer ride,, youre front tires are gonna get into youre fenders :dunno:

if the jeep is still sprung under ,,, then do a spring over with some stock type springs , you will get the lift you need,and it will ride WAY better off road.

but if it is already sprung over with 4" lift springs and yer not gettin tires into the fenders but it is so stiff it does not move off road I don,t know what to tell you :dunno:

"EXAMPLE" ,,,my little racin Zuki in the little picture over there is still sprung under ,,, I got some cheap 3" lift springs that lifted it too much and it rode like it had solid front suspension off road

I took the leaf paks apart,,took out the 2 bottem leaves , replaced them with 2 flat stock zuki leaves,,,and BAM,,,,got about 2" of lift and it rides WAY softer off road :dblthumb:

give us more info on yer suspension setup will help :dblthumb:

BadRockOffroad · Sep 26, 2012

Mine is sprung over on 2 in lifted springs, but the best diff came when I did a shackle reversal and put the shackles under the Jeep. I can cruise at any speed (80) and steer with one hand on 35's with chevy axles. no sway no wander, its awesome. Best mod on my Jeep for handling.

zukiscott · Sep 26, 2012

Yea a shackle reversal is great for on road driving performance , but you better lookout for hardcore off roading with a shackle reverse cause you can slam into a ledge / big rock to hard and it will shove yer front axle back

"also see it will let the axle swing back up under the jeep" so fast and so far that the front drive shaft slip will not / can not keep up and it will cause the driveshaft to perform a "DEATH POGO" manuever and start breakin crap

from there back,, and also cause yer front tires to CRAM up into the fire wall on a hard landing

There are folks that will argue that this can,t happen,,,, but it is simple math... when the shackles are on the rear of the springs , it forces the axle to go BACK as the axle moves up toward the frame,,, wich can put the front drive
shaft in a very violent environment in wich to try and function properly in.

guess yall can tell I ain,t no fan of a shackle reverse for ANY vehichle that will see hardcore off road driving ;D

smokn007 · Sep 26, 2012

they under the axle

smokn007 · Sep 26, 2012

could having 2 stabilizer make it stiff

muddinmetal · Sep 26, 2012

Good golly look at all those LEAVES! I say lose two and report back. The high # of thin leaves explains the nice ride on road though...

TBItoy · Sep 26, 2012

You need to get ahold of a set of stock cj or yj leafs and replace a couple of those ARCHED leafs with some good flat leafs (you may have to cut some down and taper them to get them the same length as the ones you take out)

If you take out leaves, especially on tall arched packs, it can actually cause the other leaves to bend when you flex it out.

Example:
We took 2 leafs out of some TG 4" lift packs on a Toyota, and replaced them with leafs from a factory rear pack, it dropped ride height about 2" and let it flex a lot better, then after the "new" leafs broke in (4-5 rides), we put one of the "new" leafs back in to bring the ride height back up.

smokn007 · Sep 27, 2012

cool. thanks for all the info. ill see what do with them springs. its goin to take me a lil bit of time. work crazy hours an dont have the time but ill post pics when i get it done.