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Well. Finally ordered a YJ spring conversion

2K views 28 replies 10 participants last post by  Stumpfarming 
#1 ·
So, after almost a year of talk I finally ordered me yj springs for the jeep. I decided to piece the kit together because it was much cheaper that way.

I ordered 4 YJ BDS 2 inch springs from rockridge 4wd
4 bushing kits from Rockridge also

MORE shackle hangers, u bolts, and spring plates are coming from quadratec.

And new sway bar bushings from EBAY.

It should be arriving mid next week, will have it together next weekend easy. Ill post some pics on here and details of how the jeep sits after all is said and done. Not looking for much lift, just wanting a better ride, and some more flex. The stock springs beat me to death. I looked long and hard at the OME springs, and they were priced close to the same as the BDS, but you just cant beat the BDS warranty.

Im planning on going with some cheap monroe shocks when I get it all together. SO if anyone has part numbers for the shocks I need it would greatly be appreciated. Its a 1980 Cj5.
 
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#4 ·
Okay, I hate to be the bearer of bad news and that rockridge place should have told you this. That's not the conversion kit for a Jeep. that's a lift for a wrangler. Which you may be able to make work, but BDS offers a conversion kit for a Jeep to use wrangler springs. The main issue is that the fronts are wider (2 1/2" vs. 2") than a Jeeps are, so you will need new shackles. Hopefully the MORE front mounts you ordered are the conversion ones for the 2 1/2" springs. They also compensate for the longer spring length since you are not going with longer shackles.

Heres their spring and conv. kits for a Jeep. http://bds-suspension.com/product?ma=7&mo=28&ty=33&yr=1976-1986&kid=405H
 
#5 ·
Renegade82 said:
Okay, I hate to be the bearer of bad news and that rockridge place should have told you this. That's not the conversion kit for a Jeep. that's a lift for a wrangler. Which you may be able to make work, but BDS offers a conversion kit for a Jeep to use wrangler springs. The main issue is that the fronts are wider (2 1/2" vs. 2") than a Jeeps are, so you will need new shackles. Hopefully the MORE front mounts you ordered are the conversion ones for the 2 1/2" springs. They also compensate for the longer spring length since you are not going with longer shackles. Heres their spring and conv. kits for a Jeep. http://bds-suspension.com/product?ma=7&mo=28&ty=33&yr=1976-1986&kid=405H
Yep. I realize that. I did not order that kit. Was just posting it for a reference to the 2 inch lift as opposed to what you asked about the 2.5 inch lift. No bad news here. I have all the parts to do the lift. The more hangers are for the cj/yj conversion. I got it all figured out. Like I said. I've been thinking on this for a year now.
 
#9 ·
HAVO - The rear hangers are different from the front, and someone correct me if I'm wrong but you can't swap them, they don't fit. Plus, if you don't use longer shackles then you need to move the hangers forward. And one of the spring plates would still need modified if you used the rear ones due to the center section / pumkin.

tdagner - Yes, when I initially said about the 2" I was referring to the lift height not the spring width. But then your link to the 2" wrangler springs confused me, I thought you got that kit. Sorry 'bout that. Sounds like your on the right track.
 
#15 ·
I believe Matt is using 6° shims in front. It varies from Jeep-to-Jeep though. I had 4° at first but it was too much after getting the alignment results. Switched to 2° for my setup which is 2.5" lift and factory front and rear shackles turning 32" tires. Drives straight as an arrow at any speed up to 85mph, or when the speedometer is pecked. Steering wheel returns to center somewhat but its a firm driving experience.

I'm interested on seeing how your lift goes being pieced together. While I have the Black Diamond lift, I'd like to smooth it out a little bit more sometime down the road as it can be a little to firm when I'm the only one in the Jeep. Rides great when other passengers are with me.
 
#19 ·
keith460 said:
I believe Matt is using 6° shims in front. It varies from Jeep-to-Jeep though. I had 4° at first but it was too much after getting the alignment results. Switched to 2° for my setup which is 2.5" lift and factory front and rear shackles turning 32" tires. Drives straight as an arrow at any speed up to 85mph, or when the speedometer is pecked. Steering wheel returns to center somewhat but its a firm driving experience. I'm interested on seeing how your lift goes being pieced together. While I have the Black Diamond lift, I'd like to smooth it out a little bit more sometime down the road as it can be a little to firm when I'm the only one in the Jeep. Rides great when other passengers are with me.
thanks. I'll post some pics when I get started. My spring hangers showed up yesterday. Rest of the parts should be here mid week and be put on next weekend. And 85mph in a cj? I'd never even try that.
 
#22 ·
Still waiting on springs. Kind of disappointed in rock ridge right now. Took them a whole week to mail the springs, after telling me they were in stock. They were ordered the 13th, not shipped until the 20th, and won't get here until the 27th according to the tracking numbers. So here I sit. All my quadratic parts are sitting in the basement, guess I'll go to the lake instead of working on the jeep this weekend.
 
#23 ·
Started tearing it apart today. Got all the old stuff torn out of the front end. It's basically ready to out all the new stuff back in. I had to pull my winch to drop the power steering box. I pulled the bumper cause it had to be notched. Also welded up the old holes on the old spring plates. Still have to drill some new ones. Pics attached. I also learned that my jack stands aren't nearly tall enough.
 

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#24 ·
So. Got home from out of town today and the springs and part of the bushings were waiting for me. The rest of the bushings are going to be here Saturday, so hope to get it out together as soon as they show up. Maybe with Amazon prime they will miraculously show up tomorrow. Here's a pic of the old front spring and new front spring. What a difference. I can't wait.
 

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#25 ·
On the topic of jackstands, I've came to find that the smaller ones work perfect for any axle work or to place them under an axle tube for support...

When supporting under the frame the larger 6 tons work better, I have a 6" SOA so I use squares cut from railroad ties to set stands on and at the 3rd notch the tires will sit about an inch off the ground.

To be at that height the smaller stands have to be on the very last notch so they get very sketchy!
 
#26 ·
Oh yeah. They're on the last notch. But it's pretty stable. I don't think it's going anywhere. I got a lot done today. I'm not going to be able to get it all out together this weekend because I lack some bushings. Bds website is a little deceiving. I ordered the spring bushing kits and in the item description it's says one kit does one spring. I took that to mean it has every bushing I needed to attach my spring to my jeep. Well that's not the case. The kits do not have bushings and sleeves for the shackle hangers. Which is very disappointing. So I think I'll call bds tomorrow and see what else I need to order. I also may order me some more shackle hangers for the rear. The old original ones are pretty corroded. Anyways. Here's some pics. I had to cut all the old U bolts off. Guess it will be another week of waiting on some dang bushings. Pics of my wedges. Those were a pain to find locally. No one knew what the heck I was talking about. I even called alignment shops and no one had a clue. How can you do an alignment on a starlight axle vehicle and get the caster right without these.
 

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#27 ·
Got the front end on the ground this evening. The only thing not attached on the front is the sway bar. I left it off for now so i can flex it a little when I get it all back together. Still waiting on rear spring hangers. Supposed to be here by end of day Saturday. As of now in the front I have gained a whopping 5 inches from where it was sitting at the front bumper. I don't think this is an accurate measurement cause the back end is not sitting in the ground. I HOPE it will settle. My grandpa isn't going to be able to get in it. I'll have to park in the ditch.

I also found me some cheap Monroe shocks. They are for the back end of a 1955 Chevy c3100. They are 23 inches extended and 13.325 inches compressed. They fit great for the front. And should work just as well on the rear.

You can see by the second picture how much more extension I have for the shocks. That was fully extended. I also got the caster angle pretty dang close with the 4 degree shims. It may be just a hair over 7 degrees. But I think it will prob do. Just have to drive it and see. I can't wait.
 

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#28 ·
Well. I got it all back together last night after having my rear driveshaft come up short. I don't know why but it was about an inch too short. So I had it lengthened. I haven't measured completely yet but I ended up gaining about 3 inches total from what it was stock. It rides good. Idk that it is a huge difference from stock as far as ride, but it's different. Also adding the shims in to get the caster right seems to have helped. It tracks a lot better, but still doesn't return to center. Il have to take it to a shop I think to get it adjusted right. Think that would help return to center?im debating driving it to the beach this weekend. 180 miles each way. I have aaa so all I have to do is get it half way and they would tow me for free if I needed it haha
 

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