Leaf springs and shackles.

My 66 CJ has 14 leafs on the rear and Im running 32's. I can not find a replacement for them, So would Rancho 2.5 lift springs work in this case with different shackles? Please help. Want a more level ride than the rake I have now with a somewhat of a smooth ride besides the Jeep ride, I am not wanting a rough "off road" type of ride. Any suggestions?

 

14 leaf! Ouch! I bet that ride is terrible!
If you do a search, this has been discussed a LOT...
BDS (what I am using) and Superlift seem to get the best reviews...Holbrooks if you can afford them.
IME Ranchos are very stiff.

 

I have YJ springs with a 4" lift. they are stiff. I believe they are rancho. I bet anything would be better than the 14 leaf though.

 

BDS? Rancho? Skyjacker? Who else makes lift kits for early CJs? I have the BDS 2.5" lift on my CJ-6. Rides/works just fine, only a little higher than the OEM Jeep HD suspension.

You can also buy replacement springs from Omix-Ada, but I would avoid these as they have quality issues.

Your remaining alternative is to have springs made to the spec you want. Alcan http://www.alcanspring.com/ and likely others.

 

I ran the 2.5" Rancho's on my 3B for probably 20+ years. No complaints and they were a FAR better ride than the stock springs. Even after all that time there was little, if any, sag and it still rode level. That said, they couldn't overcome the short spring syndrome of a flatty and I still had wheels in the air on a regular basis in the rocks.

2X on what Tim said above. I think you would do fine with an off-the-shelf version of BDS, Rancho, or Skyjacker. And I too would stay away from Omix-Ada replacements. Custom can be good but you really need to check the company out. There's no shortage of crap there either and you will be paying a lot more.

 

My '66 cj5 has Pro-Comp 2.5" leafs with their mx-6 adjustable shocks. Ride is stiff. Will be changing the shocks to their other style.

 

Aside from the need for additional height, I would disassemble and clean the individual leafs in the pack, then use an anti-friction based coating between the leafs. As long as they move when compressed, they will actually offer a pretty decent ride. The Rancho springs are notoriously stiff riding, in my opinion.....

I am running Pro Comp 2.5" lift springs, with longer shackles (M38A-1 has them at the rear of the front springs) and Rancho RS9000 shocks all around (the adjustments do make a big difference)

 

I have C style shackles right now. Possibly original, I see there are different sizes, heights on shackles. Thats what I mean by different shackles.

 

I wanted a stock ride so I wound up with Rancho 1" lift stock type springs. The ride is like a Jeep a little stiff but not too bad. I am running stock size 15" tires on 15" mags. I have tall gears 3:73 , so tall tires would hurt performance.

 

Good to know. I still want to keep my 32X11.50X15 tires. I think the 2.5" leafs will work. Not going trailing or rock climbing in it.

 

I don't think there's anything wrong with the C-shackles. They are greaseable, which is a plus. Back in the day, my boss would run the C-shackles on his race cars, with an additional plate on the open side for strength. For casual use, I expect they will be fine.

 

Either the factory C type shackle or an aftermarket type shackle will work with replacement springs (or factory springs for that matter).

 

The only time I had problems with C shackles was when they were over tightened or bashed into rocks which would have destroyed any stock shackle anyway.
I'm running a Rancho 1" lift, have been for about 25 years. I pulled out the short leaf on all of the corners and it rode a bit better, still better than the stock set up. Even with the winch and all of the extra metal on the front it is still 3 leaf. When I put the Koenig hard top on and carry about 100# of tools in the back, I put the fourth leaf back on. No sagging yet.

 

So 2.5" lift springs should be ok with 32's I am picking up here. I think my Shackles have not been greased since they been on there. So I should replace them with the springs, shocks, and all other bushings.

 

The C shackles can seize. other than that they work fine

 

I recall that the greaseable replacement shackles from Omix-Ada are ... actually ok.
http://www.omix-ada.com/hd-shackle-kit-55-75-jeep-cj-models.html

 

If you buy replacement springs, they will come with new bushings in place. IIRC my BDS springs had poly bushings (polyurethane) and I bought 4 more poly bushings from Prothane I think ... http://www.amazon.com/Prothane-1-805-BL-Black-Shackle-Bushing/dp/B00386X0NM I'm using shackles made by Mike (Mcruff), a member here who is an awesome machinist.

The alternative bushing is the OEM-style rubber-steel bushings called "silent block bushings" or some kind of greaseable bushing. Most use the poly bushings.

Note that lift springs and/or shackles will alter your caster angle, and you'll want to correct the caster. Mike also makes excellent caster shims that will fix up your caster angle.

 

all my caster angles are neg. 66 cj5 so like this........F \------------\ R ( \=shocks, F=front,R=Rear) With 14 leafs in Rear and 7 in front. Replacing fronts, and bushings are shot in shackles.

 

I run 2.5 inch BDS springs, and they've been great and held up fantastic. My CJ6 rides well and flexes pretty good. I wheel it and drive it daily, except for once the snow flies. Then it becomes a farm truck and stays off the salty roads. I've had Skyjacker springs in the past, but they don't have the military wrap on the second leaf. They did ride well however.