New Springs

Hello all,

As i have been working around my Frankie replacing and fixing all year, i noticed that it appears all 4 of the springs are different. This may be why i thought my frame was bent or twisted for how i noticed the jeep stance.

I am not totally sure if i want to lift it at all, since this is my wife's jeep and wont be 4x4 much, so looking at both stock and slightly lifted options.

I know there is some threads here and have read them, but just wanted to get a more updated thread shout out to most recent products, vendors and reviews.

Thanks!

 

Two and a half inch lift. I would go with BDS. I did Rancho, and a year later my driver side was sagging so bad I swapped leaf springs , passenger side to driver side. not sure how long it will last. Not happy, wouldn't recommend Rancho.

 

How much do you want to spend? There are OEM-style springs available, but I believe they are no less expensive than lift springs. I have BDS on my CJ-6, and they are higher than the original HD springs, which were about 1" higher than the standard springs. If you are free to spend more, a company like Deaver or Alcan can make exactly what you want.

I know that Walck's sells springs they tout as made in USA. Spring Assembly Front 10 Leaf USA 1955-1975 CJ5, CJ6, M38A1 RockAuto sells Dayton, which may be the same. These are availabe under that brand many places. If there is a spring and chassis shop near you, they can probably get the Dayton springs. Add up the price and see if they will match it, cash and carry.

 

I have the rancho 2.5” springs on mine as well. Inherited from the PO, so I’m not sure how long they have been on the Jeep. But like you, mine sagged unevenly so I flip flopped them. Also the ride seems quite a bit harsh and there is a slight forward rake. I may try removing the small leaf out of the rear springs to see if that helps any (although I’m concerned it may cause one side to sag even quicker)

 

https://www.generalspringkc.com/Leaf_Springs_Jeep_CJ_DJ_1945_1975_s/1950.htm

 

These look great, but I kinda suspect that all the leaf springs for Jeep that aren't Omix (import) or one of the lift packages come from one source. Kinda think the market can't support more than one or maybe two domestic makers. Could be that RockAuto, General Spring and Walck's are all selling the same product. There is a Dayton Parts LLC that actually manufactures leaf springs.

 

I bought the Walcks stock height springs. Happy with them. They ride much better than the Superlift springs that were on the vehicle when I bought it.

 

If I recall correctly there was speculation that this was a cj5 body on a flatfender frame. If that is the case you would need springs for a flatfender as the overall spring length would be shorter than that of a cj5.

 

BDS all the way. 2.5” is the perfect lift for our vintage jeeps. Does not affect the drivetrain, and keeps the stock look nicely. I’ve had mine for 5 years, love it!

 

yes

 

I put Rancho 1" lift on my Jeep in 07, wish I had a softer ride. Still sits OK, but spills my drink.

 

I tried the Rancho 1" springs on my CJ & found them to be very harsh.
Switched to the BDS 2.5" & I'm much happier.
We bought Alcan springs for my son's Willys PU, it doesn't run yet so I can't speak about the ride, but they sure do look like a quality product.

 

I've had good luck with Crown in the past on my XJs. This is what I went with on the CJ as well for the rear. Still waiting on a little more funding to do the front. But the rear rode like a buckboard, the PO's put some kind of really HD lift spring in the back and lift shackles up front.

 

so is this a good kit? 2.5" Lift Kit | 1953-1968 Jeep CJ Series CJ5, CJ6, M38A1 | 402H | BDS Suspension

 

Last this came up, Crown did not cover the 1.75" springs used 1975 and earlier. Downs has a '76 which has 2" springs IIRC. This continues until Jeep went with 2.5" fronts for the YJ (?)

 

Yes, those are the same springs I bought for my CJ-6. I bought my springs from Bob Supplee (no longer in business) and was able to buy just the spring kit without the shocks. The shocks from BDS will be longer than stock and you'll need to put additional blocks between the bumpers and frame to keep the shocks from bottoming on full compression (bad - tends to break the pins and/or damage the shocks).

 

Didn't know they didn't carry the narrower springs. Disregard.

 

are there better springs to get?

 

There seems to be a consensus that BDS is the best kit that's 1.75" wide and not a huge lift. The so-called 2.5" lift is probably measured against the regular duty springs which aren't high at all. The BDS springs are maybe an inch higher than the factory "heavy duty" springs.

Just a comment - may not be an issue for you, but I put the factory step back on my CJ-6 last summer so I could get in and out. With the top and doors on, it seemed like an acrobatic exercise to climb up into the driver's seat. I also have the 10.5x33 MTs on 7" wide wheels, which makes it a bit taller still.

If you want to replace the hangers, YJ springs from a bunch of different makers (OME?) give you a lot more choices. But these are wider than you have now and you'd need to weld-on new hangers to fit them.