Rebuilding Leaf Spring Pack

I picked up some old leaf springs for the right price and a long drive that I want to clean up and use....Initially, I think I want to use them as a complete set, although if the lift is too much or too stiff, I could integrate a couple of these leaves into my existing set. They are a 4 leaf pack with thick leaves - general consensus on OWF is they are the old Rancho 1" lift springs. I like that the OAL length seems to be appropriate, but as they are a bit stiffer, they may not flex as flat and the shackle position could still be an issue....

As seen in this pic, they sit just a smidge higher on the floor and the overall thickness of the pack is less, so the free arch height from the floor to where the spring pad will sit on the main leaf is more....plus they are stiffer from the 'stand on them and bounce' test. I think its interesting the center pin is slightly different on the two spring - may need to look into that a bit more.



Anyway, they are a bit crusty so I wanted to clean them up and make sure they are not rusted together etc. I separated the leafs (not as stuck together as I expected) and cleaned out the old wasted bushings.


So my real question is what is the best way to 'rebuild' these when putting them back together? Should I just clean them up (wire wheel) and restack them, and then paint the exterior? Should I paint each leaf individually and then stack them pack? Should I put some lubrication like marine grease or silicon grease or fluid film between them (before or after paint)? I am worried they will ride stiff, so trying to help them flex a bit if possible....I recognize they probably will never be high articulation springs...But the wagon will start to gain some more weight in the rear (the rear tow bar and skid plate was the start), and a larger gas tank as well as some interior mods and usage to carry some additional gear means the current springs are just not cutting it with 30" tires.

 

miscommunication....the center pins on the two rancho springs are in the same place - no issue with alignment.....they are just in a different spot relative to the current springs....in other words, either the rancho springs or the OEM(?) springs have the center pin a bit 'off-center'....

 

okay, looking at these springs a bit more...the OEM take off springs have the center pin in the exact center of the leaf (as best I can measure), and the rancho leaves have the center pin 7/8 off-center, so one end is 1.75" longer than the other end....Based on the shackles and bushings on the springs when I got them, the previous user had them with the short end toward the rear shackle.
I took these pics with the ends aligned nicely....Here are the new springs matched up, and reversed:



If I run these as is, I'll have to figure out which way I would want to run them....if I decided to combine them into the OEM leaf pack, I might have to trim the end of the leaves to make them symmetrical....

 

did you paint them?

 

Split the rear leaf packs apart and cleaned them up and some paint.....still determining if and what I might do for a bit of lubricant between the leaves, but even just stripping off the rust and fresh clean paint will be better than what it was.

 

I like the graphite paint but didn't want to do the entire spring pack in it - it seems a bit messy as it wants to come off on anything it touches. So I figured traditional paint as the base, and the I can rough the mated/overlapping top surface of each leaf and use the graphite paint in just those areas....also looking at lanolin and graphite wax for just the contact surfaces.

 

Leaf spring packs back together and attached to jeep - I used some lanolin between the leaves - mostly because i had it on hand:


While doing that, i replaced all the rubber flange bushings with poly bushings from energy suspension (#2152G - the G is 'graphite' which is either the color or means there is some graphite infused into the bushing to help minimize squeaky noise). I also used some synthetic grease to maybe help with keeping them quiet:


These bushings have a flat outer face, as opposed to the original style rubber bushing that have a slightly rounded face that fits into the OEM shackles/hangers, but even the 'new' replacement style rubber bushing (752) have the flat face now as well, and the modern rubber is junk of course. So going to give the poly a try - the fit is nice and tight.


FWIW - not sure if there are CJ springs with this sort of flanged bushing - all the ones on my CJ5 are the 'silent block' type with the two metal sleeves sandwiching a ring of rubber....but this is the standard style on wagon rear leafs and the hanger portion of the front leafs (the front shackle uses the silent block type?). Anyway, its all kind of mixed up to me, and makes getting the right aftermarket lift shackle a bit of a hassle - so i am just reusing the existing ones even though they are a bit worn. We'll see how the ride height and quality is with this set-up, and once its finally dialed they way I want, I may still replace all the shackles with aftermarket and poly version of the silent block style. next up, get the axle bolted back in.....

 

These are the bushings from LRs thread on OWF....and the discussion of the round vs flat flange is also in that thread, and the paint testing they did etc. Basically, you can go down a rabbit hole of spring rebuilding on OWF - I honestly think most of the crowd is too concerned with ride quality, or lets say, they are doing a lot of work for not much gain - its an effing leaf sprung jeep and i am fine with a firm ride. Synthetic grease isn't as good as the red stuff, but its cheap and on hand and better than Li or Na or petroleum based grease etc - same with the lanolin - its not the best solution (although Joe likes it), its better than nothing and easy and cheap to get. maybe I am just a big believer in don't let perfection get in the way of usable!
FWIW- initial set-up looks like I am going to have to split the rancho leaves up and intermix with the OEM leaves....or I might just throw the RR springs I put on a few months ago back on and let it go for awhile. Driveable jeeps are always my goal....I mean, its hard to break them and damage them and fix them if you can't drive them....

 

Here are the 3 different rear spring sets I have for the wagon....the upper one is the 'rancho style' (or whatever) thick leaf springs. The middle one is the original spring pack the wagon had when I got it - i don't know if they are truly OEM, or just OEM style replacement from whenever?, and the bottom one is a barely used RR OEM style replacement that I started running on the wagon a few months ago. The bottom two have the same 9 leaf stack.


The original springs are very soft - I assume from age and usage. They have over 7" of arch when on the floor, but they flatten out to only an inch or so of arch when loaded on the wagon - they pretty much go flat. The RR springs have the same 9 leaf pack with the same free arch, but the main leaf is almost an inch shorter, and the stack is fresher and a bit stiffer - which is okay for me trying to hold the jeep up, especially when loaded with some extra gear. They flatten almost as much as the original springs do, but handling on road is a bit better with less flex, and although it means less articulation, they reduce how often the tires get stuffed into the fenders doing a bit of damage. I'd love a spring just like these RRs, but with a bit more lift, and also it really needs a slightly longer main leaf for ideal shackle alignment (shackle is vertical with these springs). The 'rancho' style springs are only 4 super thick leaves, and they have some additional free arch (over 8.5"), but do not flatten at all when under load - might as well be a rigid support - so bad for ride quality, articulation, and without flattening, the main leaf eyes create highly reversed shackle angle.

So first, wondering if I could remove the second leaf from the 'rancho' - this would leave only 3 leaves, but they are THICK, but I don't think there is anyway that having both the main leaf and the very long second leaf is ever going to allow for flex. With the 3 remaining leaves, each one would be equally spaced....any issue trying that route? its a very thin spring pack all total, but honestly, that main leaf is so thick, it may never be functional - even as a single leaf!

Next wondering if some combination of two spring packs could be used to make what I am looking for. One option is to combine the 'rancho' leafs with the original leafs...thinking the best route would be to add one (maybe 2?) of the rancho leaves into the original spring pack to beef it it up a bit (and probably remove the equivalent original leaves). Here is a pic of the shortest rancho leaf laying on top of the original pack - you can see the difference in arch and that it would certainly increase the arch and rigidity of the pack:


I think I would first try to put the 3rd rancho leaf (with the spring clips) into the middle of the original pack (and remove a couple of the original leaves that are equivalent), and see what happens. If more or less is needed, i could also add or just switch to the short 4th leaf....but I do worry if one section of the leaf pack is much stiffer than another section, it will concentrate stress and strain at the end of the thick leaves eventually asking for failure of the above leaf. (this would be more of a concern if I used both the 3rd and 4th leaves and thus put a lot of the stress and strain into the older, longer main leaf ends.



Interestingly enough, whether original or not, the front leaf spring pack actually kind of does this - it has one thick leaf in the middle of a thin leaf pack - I've always assumed the front leaves didn't flex well as they are so short, but that thick leaf isn't helping:


Finally, I can go back to my original plan (before I acquired the rancho kit), where I was thinking I might take the original main leaf and swap it onto the RR leaf pack so that I get the slightly fresher, newer leaf pack, but with the longer main leaf for shackle position. That certainly is a decent fall back option, but would not totally solve my issue of wanting/needing a bit more lift. (I am considering if I go this route, to go to a slightly longer shackle as well).