Suspension and Gear opinions.

[Collin the Hen]

First, are front sway bars necessary? I'm a "grandma" driver, so no stunts here. If you guys think they're vital, then I'd probably just get some discos.

Next, what are your thoughts on a 3/4 elliptical spring setup? 3/4 Elliptical Rear Suspension My rear spring hangers are questionable, so I thought this would be a flexy alternative. I'm on a 2 1/2 Superlift, so I don't think it would be unhealthy.

I'm also going to need some new shackles. I may try making some, keeping the rear stock height and the front a little taller to level it out some. Does that sound ok? I've heard that if you go too long, it screws up your driveline angle.

LASTLY, (phew), 3.54 gears should be fine with 31's, right? I have the 258 with 2.73's; NOT fun off road. I have to put it in 4 lo on 2wd traild just to keep from burning my clutch out!

Here's a couple pics of mine right now. I'll put some more up when I get my roll bar mount in (and find the camera). Hang on, it's going to be heavy duty :shades:

 

[Collin the Hen]

Any advise? :mrgreen: I'm open to any comments or questions about my naked Jeep.

I've done some more cutting and torching today. I'll post some pics of my welded body mounts when I get them in.

 

[Bounty__Hunter]

I don't run a swaybar on my YJ, it drives fine for me. Try it, I think you'll like it.

I'd forget about a 3/4 elip., too troublesome for what little gain you will get. If you want flexy, run stock YJ springs at all 4 corners and consider a SOA conversion.

 

[Collin the Hen]

I took off my sway bar and it made the ride smoother off road. I'll keep it unless driving on the street is too scary for me. Can't do that now, obviously.

I've read about the YJ SOA setup. I'd love to do that, however, I'd probably run into driveline problems. Plus, I'd probably want to run 33's which would need higher gears... one thing leads to another. If I do some other lift in the future, that would def. be the one, but I don't have that kind of money now.

As far as the 3/4 idea, I may try it, and if it fails, it fails. Then I can warn others. I just don't want too much stress on my rear hangers in their current condition. I may have to just buck up and fix that, too.
Thanks for the advise, Bounty.

 

[timritchieblue]

i run no sway bar on my tj

 

[Bounty__Hunter]

I wouldn't do it on a coilspring jeep.

 

[Collin the Hen]

I'm going to keep the sway bar off. As far as the 3/4 setup... I toughed up and bought 3x3 in. sq. tubing and some 2 in. angle iron to fix it properly. I might post some pics after we get the time to weld it together if anyone is interested. I'll be glad to get rid of those goofy bumperettes with a real bumper.

 

[scorpion]

You can ditch the swaybar on any jeep but it may change the driveability. For the most part, if you don't like how much your jeep leans when it goes around the corners, try a swaybar. Typically leaf sprung vehicles don't really need them unless the leaves are super soft/flexy. Jeep started adding them to all jeeps to decrease the instances of rolling on-road (as you recall old jeeps had a bad name for rolling in various situations). They add stability but are only as necessary as you want them to be. For coil spring vehicles the rule is the same however they're more likely to lean heavily when going around a corner so F&R coil sprung Jeeps can with swaybars front and rear.

[sidebar]
IMO, all coil/coil-over sprung vehicles should have a swaybar to make them safe. You may be okay with how it drives but that one time someone else has to drive your rig (you never know), it could cause an accident. Using disconnects is an easy way to have the best of both worlds. A good JKS set doesn't cost a fortune and it will make putting a swaybar back on a lifted vehicle easy. Offroad is where I play and I do so without a swaybar. Onroad I can drive with or without (I have a coil spring YJ) but I prefer freeway speeds and cornering with the swaybar. If I have to hammer the breaks because of someone else, it makes my rig more predictable and that's the main reason for me.
[/sidebar]

3/4 eliptic suspensions are flexy and will work well off-road. They are in the category of "not friendly on-road suspensions" for the average user. I'd consider them a good wheelin' budget suspension. With the amount of flex you'll get out of the rear you may need to address the locations where the leaves attach to the frame. The twisting of the leaves puts quite a bit of pressure on the frame mounts which can lead to failure if not reinforced. Keep a close eye on the frame as well for cracks. Linked suspensions are less prone to frame damage because most of the link mounts are attached to the frame in such a way that the force is more distributed over a larger area. Leaves are mounted front and rear to a very small area.

Making shackles is easy and I strongly recommend making your own instead of buying. My general rule of thumb is to make them (at most) 1.5" longer than the stock set you have. They can be made out of 1/4" or thicker steel and use a top or poly-lock style nut when you install them. Tighten the bolt until it stops and back it off 1/4 turn. This will allow the bolt to spin inside the bushing assembly without it actually being loose.

 

[jtjwrangler]

ditch the swap bars. As far as the springs, stock yj springs over the axles flex great. Did that swap on my buddy's cj and very smooth ride and very good flex. Just install a traction bar to prevent wheel hop.

 

[Collin the Hen]

Thanks for all the info! And the shackle thing, I've grinded enough metal right now. I'll probably just buy some Currie greasable shackles. They come with bushings and I don't want to toil with bolts and torches any more than I have to at this point.