3/4 eliptical suspension

[pokeyYJ]

I wanted to get some opinions about building a 3/4 eliptical rear suspension for my '95 YJ. I have the plans for building the set up and I have already cut my stock leafs done to build it. What I'm looking for is if anybody has experience with this type of suspension. How does it handle on the street, my Jeep takes me two hundred miles a week to school and back. How reliable are the stock main leafs if they are being put under that kind of stress. Any info would be nice, thanx a lot.

 

[demon jeep]

From a very bad experiance DONT DO IT IF YOU DRIV EON THE
ROADS. if you do not get it perfict they will walk on you. you can maybe get them to be okay but also they are illegal for roads.

But man they work good offroad

 

[spencurai]

for the sake of all that is fun offroad put a traction bar on that thing and make sure you get your pinion angle perfect!!! if you dont have a traction bar those suckers will chew you up and spit you out!! same problems as expander type shackles....IMHO worthless!!! I have known several people who had them and had the ability to bolt them up when on road and they NEVER unbolted them after a couple of trips, they just never wanted them!! IMHO dont bother unless you do it right!!

 

[pokeyYJ]

Thanx for the info I was not aware that it was illegal for the street. I guess that means that if you know anybody looking for cut main leafs from a YJ send them my way (Doh!!) About the expanding type shakles, I asume this is like the revolvers, what is the problems assosiated with them. I need to find a way to get more flex, I made the mistake of buying Rough Country four inch springs and they don't ride well or flex well. I measured a wall that i could climb, and I could only get my driver front tire 25 inches off the ground. (Vertical) Any ideas?

 

[spencurai]

are you running spring over or under?!? if you are sprung over, wait for those suckers to get nice and broken in!! ohh and dont worry about the ramp travel crap!! real world performance is always a better judge, if you have a locker at least in the rear you will always notice a big difference!! traction aiding devices are always a better way to go than flex!!! and easier to install too!


so what is it, spring over or under?!?

 

[demon jeep]

You need to talk to ewander he has got the yj from hell on flex
he sprung over with i think M.O.R.E shock hoops for longer shocks. he is close to ramping about the same as my TJ. That is what I may do with my YJ

 

[Skyetone]

well sounds like I need to chime in. I run a cj? buggie leaf and a three point traction bar. Yea it's illeagle cuz it is no longer a fixed point in the suspention. Long story short I ran/run this setup on road and off. It seams to haev a LITTLE side to side movement but not a whole lot. It only gave me 5 more inches of total travle with like a 30inch long spring. It really isn't worth it. The only mod that I have seen that is "easy" and worth it is orbit eyes. It takes the stress off of the leaf pack.
The "secret" is as many leafs as you can get with as little arch as you can get.

 

[pokeyYJ]

My Jeep is currently spring-under, Rough Country 4 inch springs stock shakles, I have 1 inch lift shakles for it but when they are one the rear drive shaft vibrates like mad. Has anyone had experience with the revolvers, they look like they might help. Also what about putting teflon pads inbetween the leafs, does this help with the ride, and flex. Thanx for the input.

 

[pokeyYJ]

Hey I had another question. Can you install the orbit eyes into a YJ leaf pack. How well do they last, are they rebuildable, do they make a big difference? Are they very loud? This vehicle has to take me 200 miles a week to school and back. Thanx

 

[Hickey]

Dude, if your so worried about it taking you 200 miles a week, then sell it and buy a Honda. Just my .02, revolvers are junk, don't do a shacke reversal either.

 

[Greg]

Originally posted by spencurai
traction aiding devices are always a better way to go than flex!!!

I agree with Spence..... save the money you would spend on the Revolvers and buy a Lockright or 2!! You won't ever look back once you're locked up. Your entire WORLD WILL CHANGE!

Get lockers and smile as you lift tires!

 

[pokeyYJ]

Honda's SUCK I still love my Jeep but drivabilty is a huge concern. I don't own a truck or a trailer so towing it to the trail is not an option. And how fun can it be taking a Civic down to Moab. Just because I need my Jeep to transport me everyday doesn't mean that I want to by a car. I still like to hit the local trails on the weekends and would like to get a little more flex out of it. I'm just trying to get some ideas on how to do this.

 

[pokeyYJ]

If not revolvers then lockers it is It just seems that it would be more stable with more flex. When I lift a tire it gets wobbly. Do you guys know if anybody makes a lok rite style locker for the Dana 35c with a factory limited slip. Thanx for the help.

 

[Hickey]

Then quit worrying about it's road manners and go wheel the piss out of it! Or fill it full of cement and drive it around for a week. How long have you had the lift, how hard have you wheeled it, how fast is it? Okay, disregard that last one, but every susp. breaks in at a different rate... take the bottom leaf out of each spring and go wheel it... HARD!

 

[pokeyYJ]

The lift has been on for five months. I'm not concerned about the on road manners, it is only if I sell it I don't want to explain to the the person that test drives it that the reason it doesn't handle well is because of all the custom stuff that has been done to it. I'm just looking out for my resale value. Thanx for you help.

 

[Hickey]

Well, if you are worried about resale value, then I wouldn't be considering any type of link suspension. Btw, did you take of your panhard bar in the rear?

 

[pokeyYJ]

Yeh I have pulled the front and rear trac bars and took the sway bar off. The springs are REALLY stiff, I think they are aroung 250#'s per inch.

 

[Hickey]

Take the bottom leaf out of each pack

 

[pokeyYJ]

Will I lose height if I do that, does it make that big of a difference?

 

[Hickey]

You will probably lose 3/4" or so, throw those other shackles on to make up.