Restoring Lifted Suspension M38a1

Hello,
My M38a1 has a "superlift" suspension and my objective is to return it to stock height and tires. After looking at it I'm thinking I need to buy a set of leaf springs for front and rear, two sets of spring shackles, and new shocks. Attached are some photos. Does anyone see issues I'm not thinking of? Any thoughts are appreciated.
Thanks,
Ken

 

Whats that liquid on the inside of your tires? Brake fluid?

I am not familiar with the shackles on an M38a1, but they seem to be pretty long. Others will chime in, but if they are, getting some stock length ones may be a move in the right direction.

 

Thanks for the reply. That's water on the tires, I had just driven in from the snow.

 

Hi Ken. An M38A1 has the cast U-shackles from the factory. Typical example: SHACKLE KIT RH M38A1 - Jeep Parts Guy - All the Jeep Parts You Need! These will work fine as long as the PO has not damaged the mount in the frame.

With the shackles behind the axle and those long shackles, the owner installed that huge caster shim to bring the geometry back into driveable range. I suggest you put the new shackles and springs on and measure the caster. The M38A1s came with some very heavy springs, which I would not replace on a de-mil'd vehicle. Got any ideas about springs? Many posts about replacement springs in the archive. site:earlycj5.com replacement springs - Bing

Still has 9" brakes!

 

Hard to tell from here...........but in your first picture , that steering column and the related U-joint & steering shaft going forward to the steering gear seems to be mounted lower than normal.......The column seems to be too long and the U-joint seems to be at a fairly steep angle going forward , which may allow it to bind as it's going through it's motion......also the steering shaft seems to be running up hill to the gear box?.........

If it's as low as it looks now and you drop the ride height the front axle will get even closer to the steering shaft at full bump..............again hard to see those angles in the picture.......but it looks low and normally it's better to have all that tucked up a little higher............

 

The previous replies are good advice. Look at getting stock length (shorter) shackles to see what that does for lowering, either with stock military "C" type shackles or civillian type, similar to what you have.
Terry commented about your steering box being low. Many Saginaw steering box conversions require the front crossmember be at least notched, if not tubed to allow the shaft to pass through. Yours appears well below the crossmember. One change or modification can have a ripple effect on other items. Lowering your Jeep a couple inches might create steering linkage issues, so try to look at the big picture before you commit to changes.
-Donny

 

Thanks for the replies. I had not thought much about what brand of springs, just was thinking of general aftermarket and not as stiff as stock. Good point on the steering, I will need to take a close look at that. Attached are a couple other photos I have showing the steering.

 

I don't see anything that would prevent you from using stock equipment. The only weird thing about the A1's original stock setup is the frame has bushing welded in. They would use the u-shaped shackles and a hollow bolt with threads on the ID and OD. I think I see these are still present on yours and they have been known to be frozen solid in the frame. Your situation might be different because they have already been removed in the past. Another thing that is very important with the A1 is one side of the jeep these bolts I'm describing use left handed threads on one side. I can't remember the exact rules but they did that for a reason so do some research. Many times the bushing will be loose in the frame and will need to be welded.

 

That steering setup looks solid. I like that fact they didn't carve out an opening in the front crossmember like they did with mine. I ended up getting a parts Jeep that had a better frame. Do you have a problem with death wobble? That steering shock should prevent it. Mine had that also but I was able to remove it when I rebuilt everything.

 

Have you driven this yet?...........I would think that extreme angle from the column to the steering shaft forward @ the U-joint would give you a feel at the steering wheel as if it was somewhat of a lobe effect or being out of round as you turned the wheel either L or R.....like it would be free and then stiffen up as you turn?.......

 

The steering is a bit stiff overall. I'm not sure if it's big tires, small steering wheel, extreme angles or what. There are some parts that are stiffer than others so that may be the u joint binding a bit. I figure once I get the smaller tires and lower the suspension I'll have a better idea how the steering actually is. I may see if I can raise the steering column a bit.

No issues with death wobble noted but i also haven't done much highway driving yet.

 

Your A1 frame looks surprisingly original I bet it has the machine gun mount plate on the frame and the boxed-in front frame horns. If the rear cross member is not rotted out it's a very nice frame. Looks like they bolted a bumper on top of it so it's hard to tell.

 

Thanks. I don't think my M38a1 has ever seen salted roads. My Wrangler on the other hand....

What is this machine gun mount? Now I'm curious to see if it's still there.

 

Good pics here - Willys M Jeeps Forums-viewtopic-1952 M38a1 Project

 

It's a plate with four holes attached to the frame crossmember in the rear. You may still see four small dimples on the floor behind the front seats. I believe these are a drill guide.

 

Another Idea that I did to my A1. If you remove the long leaf (2nd from the top) from under the main leaf it will soften the ride quite a bit.

 

I can't get my head around all the pictures, but it looks like the wedges are in backwards to me. That looks like it gives you negative caster on your front axel. I am not a fan of extended shackles, it seems like they would cause uneven wear on the bushings. The steering shock takes care of Death Wobble, probably. I have never seen a Saginaw conversion, so I do not know what is involved, a lot of guys on this site recommend them. My Jeep has the larger Ross steering box from 66, and is all original for a 1966 V 6 so it is OK for me. Good Luck

 

I agree. All the wedges need to be removed. Front and rear. I would also put on shorter shackles.

 

The wedges are backwards from what we would normally see because the shackles on an M38A1 are at the tail end of the spring. Without the wedges, you'd have a very large positive caster, and that might make the Jeep hard to steer at low speed ... lots of centering force. Would probably drive straight ahead fine though.

 

Per the seller the lift kit was a Superlift 4" kit. I wonder if I removed the wedges and put in stock length shackles if that would lower it close to stock height. It would certainly be easier and cheaper than buying new springs. Any thoughts?
And yes, the machine gun mount is still there. I still need to get back under it and check the steering shaft location. Was having too much fun running it in the snow and forgot to do that.