New Leaf Springs...

[ballzdeep]

Hey all...Im rebuidling a 1976 CJ5, fiberglass tub....my leaf springs are pretty much flat. Im debating whether or not to buy new ones or have the old ones reshaped. I looked into it and it will cost about 350 dollars to get the old ones resprung i guess you coudl say. I would also like to get some that have a lift to them. I guess my question is it better to get old ones resprung or buy new ones with a lift so i could put on bigger tires. then add a body lift kit. What are pros/cons? If i put the new springs on am i going to have to adapt anything?? I know im asking lots of questions i just want to make the right decisions thanks to anyone who replies!

J

[coldwater]

Originally Posted by ballzdeep Hey all...Im rebuidling a 1976 CJ5, fiberglass tub....my leaf springs are pretty much flat. Im debating whether or not to buy new ones or have the old ones reshaped. I looked into it and it will cost about 350 dollars to get the old ones resprung i guess you coudl say. I would also like to get some that have a lift to them. I guess my question is it better to get old ones resprung or buy new ones with a lift so i could put on bigger tires. then add a body lift kit. What are pros/cons? If i put the new springs on am i going to have to adapt anything?? I know im asking lots of questions i just want to make the right decisions thanks to anyone who replies! J

Stay at 2.5" and under for the spring lift and very little will have to be done. Anything over that, and you need to start modifying stuff, especially on a CJ-5 due to It's length. $350 to re-curve old springs is not worth the mony IMO, and I would drop coin on a new 2.5 soft ride kit instead. Of course, all will depend on how much you want to spend, what you're going to do with your jeep, and how big you want the tires. Most of the guys here that have been running rigs for a while, don't use "hollywood lifts". Spring shackles are frowned upon because they do little, other than mess up your steering and look stupid, and big body lifts in an attempt to make your jeep look cool and stuff bigger tires under it. Many here, myself included, have SMALL body lifts (3/4" on mine) just to get the last tiny bit of tire clearance, or to level a body, but never to actually gain significant lift. There is only one proper way to do that, and It's by modifying the springs.

[pauld3]

not trying to highjack the thread but im looking to swap springs also and thinking about the wrangler conversion kit from rocky road and thoughts on this.

thanks paul

[mhubacek]

I like that Rocky Road wrangler spring-conversion kit. I intend on buying everything from them for my SOA. Starting w/wrangler leaf spring conversion. I emailed them yesturday, because I was thinking about using rear yj springs front and rear. They told me some do that for the purpose of having a heavier duty set of springs up front to reduce sagging over time. He said that it may make my jeep sit a little higher in the front, depending on the jeep, and that it would create a stiffer ride. I guess I'm going to just use a standard front set of springs when I do it. I can't afford to buy everything at once, so I'm going to just start w/their Wrangler conversion, then buy everything else in the future when I can afford it. I like the Rocky-Road kit because it can simply be bolted on. No welding is ussually necessary unless you want to. Let me know how it goes, because when I get some of my other parts sold, I'm going to use that $$$ to start mine.
BALLZDEEP-YOU CAN ALSO GO THIS ROUTE BECAUSE ROCKY ROAD SELLS THIS WRANGLER SPRING CONVERSION W/THE OPTIONAL OLD MAN EMU 2 1/2" LIFT.
http://www.rocky-road.com/wranglerconversion.html