Blank corners and fuel cell

Why do it twice? i will almost guarantee you'll be collecting parts for a 4link within 6 months of putting leaves on. Easy wheelbase ya, excessive wheelhop, shitty departure angle, bending and breaking leaves......i also dont believe the sidehill stability. I have very little in everything to stretch the rear of mine and could have done it for cheaper i'm sure.

I watched those videos. Notice the first video he lifts his rear left tire going through that while the next guy was planted the entire time, then the toyota lifting tires, on leaves. I'm not saying leaves are the worse thing, i'm just saying that a link suspension is far superior. They're predictable and simple. My tacoma will stuff the tires and flex pretty damn good, but it lifts the tires like hell and hops like hell. my 82 would axlewrap like a sombitch, you couldnt spin the tires to warm them up or anything it would be like riding a bucking bronco,although worn out springs were the cause of that. I don't give a **** what jeepforum says, leaves dont belong on the rear of a TJ.
 
Steve, if you swing by the house I want you to look at bending the aluminum on my rear panels for the buggy. Hind sight is 20/20 right? I shoulda cut them longer and the bend would have been simple but I didn't, and really don't wanna re-do them. Anyway...if your in town give me a holla.
 
Don't want to copy Steve's excessive rant there, but properly set up leaves will out preform a 4 link that isnt set up right.
 
If he wants to put leaves in the back of his jeep let him do it. Its his jeep not anyone elses. I helped build some high clearance u-bolt plates for a buddy's YJ and it has the same ground clearance as the stock lower control arm mounts on a tj.

these are similar to the ubolt plates we made.



2%20thirds%20spring%20under%20kit.jpg
 
I've actually thought about doing leaf springs in the rear of mine but decided to go link for several reasons. One is that a link setup is infinately adjustable with ride hide and quality when coilovers are used. I'm a huge fan of leaf springs and have experienced first hand their awesome benifits. One being stability. A SOA is far better than a SUA. The only problem I've had with a SOA is axle wrap. Flex was always awesome though. I won't tell you not to do it because I'm all about taking a different route and finding what works best for me rather than the 99% of the wheeling world, so make your own decision on that.
Here's an example of a leafed rear TJ...
leafrearTJ.jpg
And here's the rest of the build from Pirate.
http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/showthread.php?t=768019
 
I have mentioned doing leafs in the back of mine a few times and gotten shot down by others as well. Main reason I havent done it is I already have the 4 link done, and AXLEWRAP...
 
Truth be told, if I had went ahead and done leafs front and rear on my TJ build I would be done and driving it around right NOW! :shaking:

So much simpler and easier and with some effort would probably work phenominally. But I'm doing links f/r. Good things come to those who wait and save.
 
David D said:
Don't want to copy Steve's excessive rant there, but properly set up leaves will out preform a 4 link that isnt set up right.
Click to expand...

Oh ya that's why you decided to buy a set of quality leaf springs from deaver instead of stuff to link it.....


I just want to hear a legit reason of why you would want to run leaves instead 4link on the rear of a TJ? and not because someone on JF did it.

If I had another 1st gen toy id rock it's leaf springs and never think twice for the soul reason that it's simple and balanced
 
sorry if you missed it steve but the linked and stretched tj picked a tire up as well. And i'm not 100% set on doing leaf springs. and i do not believe i will be collecting parts to 4 link it 6 months after... also with the u bolts cut or with a u bolt flip kit, clearance will not be a huge problem under the spring. and as meaders said it will be about the same as a stock LCA. And i do not want you to get me wrong. i'm not anywhere saying leafs are superior to a 4 link. The main reason for leafs is that they are simple, not complex, different and works. If i hate it, then its my loss, and i will admit that its not a good idea. How many people do you know running leafs in the rear of there TJ SUA?

J.r.- if i do it. i will be doing SUA because it calms down the axle rap. and why do you say SOA is better? and flatlander's jeep is awesome!

Meaders- if i do it i will use stock XJ springs and add an extra main leaf. may later on buy a set of OME 2 inch springs
 
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It's all a matter of taste which setup works best. I know the ride quality is better with a SOA setup than a SUA because in a SOA a flatter spring is used which means more flex, which is why I prefer it. When I started doing some building on the YJ a few years ago, it was setup SUA in the rear. It handled great on the road but when I took it offroad it felt like I had limiting straps set on 1/2" of down travel and riding on bumpstops. I changed to a flipped XJ spring over in the rear and it made a massive difference. I also added a traction bar (anti wrap bar) and it fixed all axle wrap concern.
 
XJ savage said:
It's all a matter of taste which setup works best. I know the ride quality is better with a SOA setup than a SUA because in a SOA a flatter spring is used which means more flex, which is why I prefer it. When I started doing some building on the YJ a few years ago, it was setup SUA in the rear. It handled great on the road but when I took it offroad it felt like I had limiting straps set on 1/2" of down travel and riding on bumpstops. I changed to a flipped XJ spring over in the rear and it made a massive difference. I also added a traction bar (anti wrap bar) and it fixed all axle wrap concern.
Click to expand...

oh well with the dimensions of the tj frame, you actually end up getting about a 3 inch lift with a stock xj leaf plus one main leaf. and that is a pretty well flat leaf. and with stock xj and SOA you get like a minimal 5 inch lift i think? and i want to keep my junk lower than 5 inches no matter what lol.
 
I don't see the TJ frame being much different than a YJ frame. I did flipped XJ's on my YJ and ended up close to stockish ride height (or maybe not but it was LOW).
wreck001-2.jpg
 
i like a leaf setup. I want to link one end of the cruiser and have SUA axle on the other. There is alot more to setting up a proper 4link than many people want to admit. I constantly see rigs on the trail with a homebrew link setup that lean weird, unload at inopportune times, and have the axle steer when it flexes. Also if you are going to drive it on the road which im guessing you are it takes alot of math to make it work correctly. Leaves are very predictable, simple, and reliable. There was a guy who used to wheel with us alot who had a tj that was leaf in the rear and coilovers in the front, i loved the way it handled on the trail and it seemed real stable.

and on the corners, i had mine rolled at a metal fab shop, very worth the money. I also bolted them on with buttonhead allen bolts. Give it a machine look without looking tacky
 
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