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I just recently had some LongLeafs put on my Jeep from a local 4x4 shop. The mecanic builds some pretty extreme 4x4's including one of his own, but I'm a bit confused on the angle of my shackles.... The manual said the fromts should be at 6 o'clock (straight up and down) but the guy at the shop said that they should be in the angle (shown in pictures). I'm getting some major swaying going on, almost as if I had no shocks. Can anyone tell me if the angle is correct or not.
Thanks,
Dave

 

I don't have any experience with the Holbrook (?) product, but do the installation instructions say 6 o'clock with wheels on the ground and weight on the springs, or otherwise?

Re the sway, it's always a tradeoff between flex with a soft ride and body roll. The springs on a CJ are way inboard compared to other vehicles, and the original vehicle had stiff springs to compensate for this. When you start changing the suspension, you will change the compromise that the original springs make between stability and flex. IMO the angle of the shackles will have no effect on the body roll ... instead it's the rate (stiffness) of the springs that matters. AS long as the shackles allow full compression of the springs, they are fine.

 

Thanks for your feedback. The installation instructions say 6 o'clock with wheels on the ground and full weight on the springs. I have the Rancho 5000 series shocks but was wondering mayber a stiffer shock would help the sway?
Dave

 

The shocks only slow down the action and don't prevent body roll, so no, I don't think it will make a big difference. They will increase your ride stiffness though.

At least one person here fitted a front sway bar from a later Jeep - that would help transfer weight to the inside of a turn, and lessen body roll. Makes the Jeep less flexy, but you can disconnect it on the trail.

 

With the new leavesprings I now get some tire rub, and at one point going over a little dip in the trail the tub actually hit the top of the rear drive line. but that was with two passengers in the back.

 

The angle and length of the shackles makes the sway worse. Adjustable shocks help with the bottoming out. Dail them up when you have passengers (or large dogs). I also like the adjustable shocks on off camber spots. Dail them up on the downhill side and you hardly notice that you are going to loose it and roll down the hill. You also might need to get different bump stops.

 

Well, I can see how the length and angle of the shackle will change the ride height, and this will change the sway. A higher ride means a higher COG and more sway. In this case, I would expect the higher shackle angle to lower the ride height and reduce body roll, so the roll would be even worse if the shackles were at 6 o'clock. Maybe there's another effect here that I don't understand.

 

I originally had them set at 6 o’clock, and when I took it down to the shop to have the hangers welded in place they re-adjusted them to where they are now……… I lost approx 1 ½” in height.

 

Its the springs your feeling.
Their softer thats what their for and advertised as such.

more flex.
but as said everything is a trade off.

I use rancho 9000xl's and turn them up on the road and it helps some , or just the way it feels probably.

The shackles also help it ride a little smoother like that but also let it lean abit more.

Nothing to worry about just feels different.

A swaybar is the answer if you cant stand it.
But you must be able to disconnect or will defeat the reason you got Holbrokes to begain with.

We either have a rockbuggy or a street jeep.
In between is often hard to find and is personal prefrence.

Buying Holbrokes is going toward the buggy side.

You also get more droop buy having the shackle like that.
Which is great for off road.

 

Don't worry, your shackle angles look perfect! You gain a little bit of load carrying capacity with the shackles verticle, but you also run the risk of having the shackle invert on you and stick up against the frame and jacking that corner of the jeep up until you fix the shackle. For performance suspension, you want your shackle angle as close to 45* as possible. It will give the smoothest ride for leverage ratios, and give you the right amount of spring extension upon compression, and also you don't have to worry about shackle inversion when your springs are drooped. I don't know if any of this makes sense to you, but your shackles look perfect. Losing 1.5" of ride height is always frustrating, though, so I'm sorry about that.

 

The Holbrook springs are designed for ride quality and flex, period. Not for load carrying capacity or street handling and you will experience more body roll than stock. It just takes some getting used to. It is common for any spring pack or set of springs to "settle" over time. Setting them the way they have will give you the best flex and ride right now, but if the springs "settle" then you could run into issues. i'd discuss this concern with the installers and ask them if they will rectify the situation when, not if, the springs settle. If not, you need to find another shop to do your work. If they are willing to take care of the issues, then you may have a quality shop there.

Yes, I'm familiar with the Holbrook Springs. Drove one of the prototype sets in Moab about 9-10 years ago during the testing phase.
Ed, Gary, and David are good old fashioned Jeep folks who stand behind their products (used to go in their shop with my dad to buy parts for his GPW back in the late 70's and early 80's), but understand you are dealing with a conversion, and like any conversion, each one is a little different and requires a little different solution to any issues that may crop up.

Having said that, their product is good and well thought out and I had a set on my Race Jeep and have another set waiting to go on another project. My daughter wants them for her Jeep and I told her no way, not until she can afford them (she's 15)

 

Thanks for all the feedback The mechanic said that he could put a leaf spring helper on if they start to swag to much........ and possibility that might even allow me to put 35's inch tires on. Again thanks for the feedback.

 

what size tire and what offset are your rims? does the tire stick out of the wheel well. with longer springs and a soft ride it's possible for the tire to contact and bend the bottom rear corners of the tub with just 33's and it looks like your body/paint is nice . be carefull 35's would kill that spot,mine are totaly mutulated from this contact. but I like it like that. soft is ok, you could run a sway bar I have 2 for sale . if you feel wary about it. it will take some getting used to, just ALWAYS remember what you are driving....oh and the angle looks good .

 

I'm currently running 32's but I was hoping to buy some used 35's for 15" rims cuz I already have them. I think you are right about the rear corners being a rubbing problem..... I'm only about 3" away now when the jeep is sitting on flat ground. I'm hoping that that can be remedied with leaf spring helpers. I may be hitting you up on those sway bars. My paint job is only a primer

 

you know your from Fallbrook if you use the bobcat to twist up your rig.the sway bar was for the front just put longer bumpstops in the rear.

 

Wow is that a 35? Did you have to do any cutting? How much lift have you done to your jeep? I'm assuming that they don't rub anymore? I'm wanting to use a 10x15 rim with a
35x 11.50x15 tire.
Thanks for providing a picture.......

 

I like a low cog. those are just 33's I don't like 35 not really THAT much of a gain,heavy killes braking power ,enginepower, but I quess it's cooler to say they are 35's..............those are 2.5 softride cj7 springs rims are 15"x12" old skool Jackmans centered or out alittle bit.2" in the body and No cutting I let the tires move the metal out of the way . you should have seen the front fenders.If your going to really twist it I think they might hitwith your wheel/rim set -up