Starting wrangler spring conversion - shackle length ?

I'm gonna do the wrangler leaf spring conversion on my CJ5. I got springs on the way, should be here next week. I'm wondering what you guys did for shackle lenghts ? I bought 2.5" lift springs and plan on making my hangers and shackles.. and doing a shackle reversal conversion as well. I might mount the front axle shackle though the frame if that works well. I'm thinking 4" would be a good start ?

 

if you have the shackle eyelets go through the frame if you have framemounted pedals the master cyl is in the way .wanted to do it that way and got shut down
because you don't know where the rear will land on the frame yet you need to hang the front first and shim the rear shackles for lenght and a nice angle on them ,and ride hight ......mine with the 7 springs are 3 3/4 " cl to cl.

I bought all new 7 hangers from 4wph and I thought they were pretty cheap at $15 each ,I spot weld the eyelets and also welded a gusset on the eyelets

 

I mocked mine up with the weight of the vehicle on the springs before I made the shackles. You can tack the main hangers where you want them and use spacer blocks between the frame and shackle end of the spring so you can put the vehicle weight on them. Then you can figure out where you want to put your shackle mounts and what length you need on your shackles. Where you mount your shackle mount on the frame and the length of the shackle will determine the shackle angle. Remember, the YJ springs are longer so unless you move your front main hangers forward, you will be moving the front axle to the rear a little. This pic isn't that great, but you can see the spacer I used between the frame and spring eye to allow me to put the weight on the spring and then figure out the length and angle of the shackle so I could mark the frame where I wanted to put the mount. I'd recommend that you not weld your spring pads on the axles until you get this far in the mock-up, check your pinion angle and then tack the spring pads. Get an angle finger if you don't have one to measure your shackle angle. I'm using 0" lift YJ springs in a springover so my angle is greater than you would want. Somewhere around 45* with the weight on is pretty standard. You can fine tune the angle if you need to later by making the shackles longer (reduces the angle) or shorter (increases the angle). I mocked up temp. shackles with some 1/8" flatbar before I made the final ones out of 3/8" x 2".


After I marked where I wanted to put the shackle mount in the frame, I used an old Sears Portalign fixture on my drill to make a pilot hole. After the pilot hole was drilled I used a holesaw to cut the notch. If you are going higher up in the frame for your mount the technique would be the same, just a hole instead of the notch.

 

Something else to consider. When you get your springs, measure them eye to eye. Then measure them along the arc of the spring eye to eye. Your shackle will need to be long enough to accomodate the extra length when they are flexed flat. Shouldn't be a big deal with a 2.5" lift, but with a 4" or greater you really have to pay attention to the additional lenght at full flex.

 

Thanks for the tips.. I have gone to hanging pedals already so I wont have a problem with the linkage there. I plan on hanging everything with the weight on before welding. I thought 45 degrees for the shackle angle is what I should get it at. By hanging the front first.. that makes sense - Im wondering if my frame is long enough to move the front hanger far enough to move the axle foward 1-2" as well to give more clearance for the wheels as they stuff into the fender.

Today Ive been working on removing the old hangers. Also need to build that dana 30.

 

I have another question about this I'm also wondering about.. that is do I need to pay attention to the height of the spring mounting to eachother ? I made a quick sketch to show what I'm thinking about. Theres a straight line that goes though the spring mount - after it's all mocked up and weight on it - shackle angle set at 45 degrees - should the height of this line be even.. or does it not really matter ?

 

I see what you're getting at , that doesn't matter so much but draw the pumkin in there and you'll see it affects camber like crazy , you either use degree shims or break the axle purches off and spin the carrier to get the angle back.capesh?
you could lower the front mount to get a little fake lift built into it but ,,,,, but the longer you are away from the frame the more it will want to twist and then crack .......

 

:iagree:

 

sweet !

 

Just a heads up, it will effect caster, not camber.

 

Doh!
my bad

 

I have the same problem. Danged "c" words.

 

Ok sounds good.. I plan on putting new pearches on the D30 as well. The stock ones arent wide enough.. so I'll be able to set my caster degree. Whats a good way to "find" the caster degree and measure it ? Angle finder on top of the knuckle ?

 

take the driveshaft off and get a cheapie magnetic angle finder from (dare I say it -----Harbor Freight) and stick it to the yoke.

 

That sets pinion angle, not caster. Most front axles have a difference between pinion angle vs. caster. In other words if you set pinion angle at zero you may or may not have zero caster.

I'd use the magnetic angle finder on top or on the bottom of the knuckle. Wherever you can get a flat enough spot to accurately measure the angle. 5-7 degrees is ideal for a CJ.

 

Doh X2
I'll just be quiet,,,,,pay no attention to the man typing this now.
mine tracks great , I'll measure it now, at the knuck

yup 7 at the knuck and 4 at the pinion

 

We all have those days

One other thing, make sure the surface you are measuring from is rust and dirt free. I've seen rust and dirt cause several degrees of difference really messing up the readings depending on how much there is.

 

If you have the ball joints out you can slip a rod through the ball joint mount holes and stick your angle finder on that. There's not much of a flat spot on the top of a D30. If you use the top of the ball joint hole make sure it's really clean like nickmil said. It's a small surface and a little grit there can add up to a lot of degrees.

 

Sounds good.. I got my leaf springs today. They look ok for some cheap ones. I was actually able to compress it slightly by flipping them and pushing down on them. I dont think I was able to do that with the 2.5" 1.75" springs I bought. Also the springs did not come with any bushings and the eyes are 1.5" ID. Which is bigger than stock for YJ OEM springs at the shackle mount. I was wanting to buy all rubber bushings. I had an idea of buying and installing the hanger end style bushing for the shackle end as well. This is how my old springs are.

Heres what I'm talking about, I'll install these in each eye of the spring: http://www.autozone.com/autozone/parts/Duralast-Leaf-Spring-Bushing-Bolt-Parts/1990-Jeep-Wrangler-4WD/_/N-igt0yZ8oy7r?counter=0&filterByKeyWord=leaf+spring+bushing&fromString=search&itemIdentifier=360068_10187_11693_

Instead of these for the shackle mount: http://www.autozone.com/autozone/pa...ing=search&itemIdentifier=360064_13921_11693_

 

On my YJ springs the main eye and the shackle end take different sized bushings. These are what I used. I'm not a big fan of poly either, but I don't think you'll find rubber bushings for those springs unless you can locate them at a Jeep dealer. Maybe OEM are rubber.
https://catalog.foothilloffroad.com...d=448&osCsid=557cab6d61a2a8a0d7ef6e472b81de6f

https://catalog.foothilloffroad.com...d=448&osCsid=557cab6d61a2a8a0d7ef6e472b81de6f

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