Coil Spring Front On ‘72 Cj?

Is it practical? Or, is it one of those “I can do it, but *should* I do it?”

If it’s not too stupid an idea, where can I go for guidance?

Jon

 

Having done this myself, it’s a resounding YES.

But you have to want to do it for more than 11 reasons to make it worth it.

 

Before you head down this road, just know there are three options:
1. If you plan on keeping the stock axles, you’ll need to place the coils under the frame because there’s not enough clearance for a coil between the frame and inner C. This will net a monster lift.
2. If you want to outboard the spring, you’ll need wider axles. I went with a Toyota truck axle up front, and it was *barely* enough to fit XJ coils which are relatively narrow.
3. The easy way out is to use coilovers. You can keep your stock axles and low lift, but the price (and long term reliability?) is the drawback.

You’ll still be on your own for links to locate the axle, since there are no bolt-on kits out there. Front-end steering and suspension geometry is complicated, so do your research before you commit. There is very little room up there to get everything to play nicely together. But if you succeed, it’s pretty frickin awesome.

My front end build starts here and goes for a few pages.
http://www.earlycj5.com/xf_cj5/index.php?threads/116011/page-11#post-1317818

 

Might consider reading johneyboy03 thread for ideas. Although his is a '75 Cj you can get ideas.

Green Hell...the Never Ending Project | ECJ5 (earlycj5.com)

 

My first questions would be why do you want to do this, what are you hoping to accomplish, what is the intended use of the Jeep? IMHO most people who want to do these types of modifications is because they’ve read too much hype in magazines or on tv shows/web sites without really knowing what they are in for. The vast majority of the time a quality set of springs with properly matched shocks work just fine for folks.
More info is needed for us to really help you out.

 

Coiler front axles can have some advantages, but they need to be well thought out. Its even harder to retrofit onto something that never had that setup. Do your homework, and decide if the challenge is worth it. I’ve been playing with ‘90s-up Land Rovers that already have that setup. I like the forged radius arms that Rover uses, but those belong on a wider front axle than D30 found on an intermediate. Getting everything to fit and work together will not come easily, otherwise it would be a more common conversion.
You need to decide what you want your CJ5 to be used for, and if the complication of a coiler swap is worth it.
-Donny

 

Overall, it’s sounding like more effort than it’s worth. I really don’t want to replace the whole front axle…

I think I’ll keep the leaf spring setup.

Thanks for the replies.

I spent hours reading the whole ‘Varg’ thread. Impressive!!!

Jon

 

If you are looking for lift and articulation, you can do a lot with leaf springs. My avatar is a '72 on 4.5" lift YJ springs, sprung under on 35s. It drove well on the highway and would stuff the tire all the way up to the top of the fender on all 4 corners. It had impressive articulation.