YJ Wrangler springs in CJ suspension project??

A co-worker today offered to sell me a NEW YJ suspension kit that he found in the back of his garage that he ordered for a Jeep he owned years ago and sold, aparently he forgot he had the suspension sitting in his shop, for 50$. I told him I'd take it, if I cant use them I can find someone who can. He says it is a 3 or 4 inch lift. I know these springs are pretty darn flexy and could be very benificial on my CJ-5.

I have been playing with the idea of installing a MORE SRS (shackle reversal system) anyway, and the price is 250$ for CJ springs, or set up for the wider YJ springs, so the swap out front is a breeze.

What is involved with swapping thw wider springs into the rear? I guess wider shackles (boomerang type have any benefits?)as well as hangers, such as the HD types from Tomken Machine, etc. Are the spring mounting plates different? Anything obvious I am overlooking here? Seems I could wind up with a nice flexy suspension for under 400$$

(PS: I am currently runninbg Rubicon Express Extreme Duty 4.5 system. I does pretty well, but rides harshly and doesnt quite flex enough on the trails when coupled with the short wheelbase of the CJ-5,, likes to lift tires a lot. Would you think it is a better option to keep this suspension?)

 

OK,,also, are the YJ springs physically longer? Do I need to worry about moving any of the mounts?

 

Best thing I ever did to my 74. http://gallery.reprobation.net/v/ccarey/jeepshots/yj_spring_install/ link to 1000 words for you

 

I didn't do the yj set up but did the shackle reversal with cj7 softride springs and longer fox shocks on my 5 . I just bought the front hangers from 4wd hardware for $16 a piece and the eyelets were stock 7s that I gusseted . with the reversal I moved the front axle as far forward 1"1/2 that I could but it still hits the innerfenders at full stuff just a little . the rears you have to watch too ....my pumpkin just hits the rear tank at stuff and the rear lower fenders are destroyed . not much room under there to go either way. takes a little while to get used to the dive but I think it handles/twists way better than those short 5s on the trail . but,,,,,, the buddys that have driven mine throw me the keys back and say that thing is way to soft and it's scary to drive.I would say do it . but don't buzz it up all the way twist it to make sure your not going to kill the body if your worried about that .

 

OK, cool. So, am I going to have to get new spring perches for the front, as the CJ springs are only 2 inches vs2.5 for the YJ? What about the wider springs interfering with the diff pumpkin up front? While Im at it I figure I may as well install new perches, that way I can get the proper pinion angle without using shims. From what I can tell everything out back will be easy as CJ & YJ springs are b oth 2.5 inches, but are the YJ springs longer/shorter than the CJ ones?

Looks like Im on my way to start ordering parts for this suspension swap,but one other question I have is with the shackle reversal does it move the front axle forward any? and if so how much? Will I need to modify/buy a different mouint for the steering box? I just ordered a MORE HD steering box mount for the power steering swap,,, would suck if it wasnt usable and I had to get a mount that moved the box forward.

Damn,,, I just got the engine swap done, got it registered and on the trail and Im already planning another project,,,,,,, whats wrong with me??? (Oh,,,never mind,,, I know,,, IM A JEEPER!!!!!!) NO project, especially a Jeep, ever truely ends!

 

Excelent,,thanks for rhe pics, will make great references as I do the work. Your rear pinion angle looks pretty rough though. How did you remedy it?

 

if you keep the front end at stock measurements it might kill the front fenders .you have to move the front forward and you need to make sure the drivesaft will not compact and go into the t-case.

 

How does moving the front forward affect the steering geometry and clearance of the tie rod & drag link from the axle/diff cover?

 

I tried steering under at first but it would not work under twist so I went tierods over plenty of room.tierod just hit the frame with hard twist .no problems with steering.I run a quick p/s saginaw. the rods are almost parallel .steering wheel returns. I beat my jeep and it will track straight for the ride home--- usually... after reading you last post again ,do you mean moving the axle on the spring? I did not do that I did not want to drill through the pack .I moved the whole axle /spring set up forward and used the big degree wedge going the other way to get the pinion out of the dirt ,cause the center of the spring is offset and backwards from the reversal if I remember ................. hard to describe ....works w/no problems

 

I followed pretty closely the steps in the tech reference here. I had issues with where my steering ended up. I just moved the mount back. To do over I would mock it all up first and inspect the steering angles. It all ended up fine though. To locate my front axle the second time I just did the math. measured from the center post on the spring to the hanger on both old and new springs and moved the mount accordingly.

I used CJ7 center mounts. I also used rear Cj7 shackle mounts in all four locations. I used BDS 1" lift shackles and boomerangs in the front. I would not do that again, would use stock length shackles. I ended up with more lift than I wanted.

Since I took the pics I have relocated the rear shackles. My springs (BDS 3.5" wrangler lift) settled a lot in the first 500 miles. I didn't account for that when I located my rear shackles.

My rear pinion angle is NASTY!!!! my solution is a CV shaft, just haven't gotten to that yet. With any large lift on a CJ5 with a dana 20 that is almost a must anyway. http://gallery.reprobation.net/v/ccarey/jeepshots/P8181975+_Small_.JPG.html that shaft belongs to someone on the site here, I don't recall who, but hopefully they will chime in. That is left on my list of things to finish up on the install. I have however driven it across country twice with the shaft in it like it is. Both times though it was significantly loaded to settle the back a lot. Huge difference. I have also thought about taking a leaf out of the rear, like I mentioned, more lift than I want.

I am running 35" procomps on it. they are about the same height as my 33" TSL swampers were. Maybe a tad taller. The pics show how well they stuff. Very happy with everything, I do however have an issue with steering with the big tires in that they hit the springs so early on. If I adjusted back spacing to move them out then they wouldn't stuff like they do. Fair tradeoff.

 

Just noticed yours is an 80. The rear is a straight swap then. The fronts also except the front shackles as I recall. Someone makes a shackle that will allow the wrangler spring up front. Makes it a bolt in. I am not a fan of the shackle reversal in front, but to each their own.

 

I have a mixture of YJ springs on mine. I also used CJ-7 rear mounts everywhere. They are much more compact .
I do not see enough benefits for Shackle reversal or boomering shackles.
Properly installed slightly longer shackles give you more travel.
Seems to work well off road. Drives fine on the street, even with SOA.

 

Actually what I was wondering about most was having to move the steering box forward on a custom mount in order to be even with moving the whole axle/spring assembly forward. I know thw MORE SRS kit I plan on using moves everything except the steering box forward some.

 

FWIW, I think you can move the axle forward up to an inch without changing the steering box location.........

 

It (the front axle) ends up in about the same place. The longer springs move it backward, but you relocate the mounts foward as far as you can.

 

If you look at my pictures you will see what happened to me. I ended up cutting the mounts back off and moving them back further. Measure 8 times, drink a beer, measure again.... then weld. I used the boomerang shackles on mine because I ran out of room on my frame to install the shackle mount up front. To fix it right would have required a lot of work to the front frame rails/bumper/winch mount that I wasn't wanting to get into at the time. At some point I will probably fix all of that.

 

I emailed the techs at MORE and they inform me that the SRS kit I plan on using will move the axle/spring assembly forward 1 inch, which does not present a problem with 90% of their customers. If it does they have a HD steering box mount that moves the box forwaqrd 1.25" ( and I will be selling the mount I just bought). With the MORE SRS the shackle mount is a tube welded through the framerail up front.

I will also be installing a MORE HD steering box mount and an OK4x4 tie rod flip kit and HD tie rod & drag link when I do my power steering install over Christmas vacation ( I opted not to go the RedNeck Ram and instead am going with an AGR Superbox 2) so I was concerned there might be interferfence with the diff cover and the tie rod. I am getting SpiderTrax 1.25" wheel spacers so tires /wheels contacting the frame/springs are not much of a concern right now.

As for the back I did note that the CJ & YJ springs are both 2.5", I already am running Tomken Machine HD Shackle Mounts, so it willl be pretty simple relocating them rearward as needed to compensate for the longer YJ springs. Are there any real benefits to using boomerang shackles or am I just as well off using the shackles I have now, I believe they are only 3/4 inch over stock (as in only provide 3/4 inch lift).And do I need to use CJ or YJ spring plates?

My buddy at work is bringing the lift kit into work on monday, it includes all the stuff usual to a good kit, such as u-bolts and urethane shackle & spring bushings, etc. I am getting pretty excited about this new suspension project. It's not that the Rubicon Express springs are horrible, they do pretty darn well, but the idea of a more comfortable and more FLEXIBLE suspension i sworth the effort in my opinion.

 

goferit has a tie rod flip and the Big daddy tie rods and drag link.... kit was cheap I thought.

 

on the late CJs the rear spring is the same length as the wrangler also isn't it? I think it is a direct swap.