Saggy rear springs

[DaveB]

My Scrambler seems to sag out rear springs. I tried YJ lift springs at first but they sagged and now my RE 4.5 inch springs are sagging a bit too. I know that the extra length and the extra stuff I put in the back are probably to blame. My son thinks I should go spring over with some YJ springs plus an add a leaf to compensate for the Scrambler's extra booty. I could just lengthen the shackles and stick with what I have. So what would you do ?

 

[driver920]

well i guess you can say both set ups have there place, jeep and a few others have been doing spring under forever, i personally have never liked it because of the feel i get with it but i will addmit that it may be in my head the spring over just seems to have fewer problems in my opion and it gives you better clearance at the axles but it really comes down to what you want to live with most springs will sagg sooner or later but i have seen alot of sag from spring under set ups and years ago when i was 10 foot tall and bulletproof i use to haul a 8 foot cabover camper in a short wheel base chevy that i had added two leafs to, one long and one short and it never had an issue with sag and it always seemed to flex good for the type of wheeling we did at the time but it was mostly trail riding, mudbogging, and hill climbing the only real issue with spring over in my opion is axle wrap when you move the spring pack over the top of the axle it has more leverage on the main leaf but spring over packs are designed a bit differant than spring under to help eliminate this and they seem to hold their shape a bit better than spring under

 

[I Lean]

A typical springover leaf pack will be a softer rate than your current spring under setup, since it's flatter. (obviously anything can be made to your specs, but...) That would mean it would sag faster than what you've been seeing.

Do you have any of your old pre-sagged leaf packs leftover? Add some leaves to your existing pack, that will help keep it from sagging further. Make up lost height with a shackle, and see how long it'll last.

Any leaf spring will wear out, but if you can get a reasonable amount of time between replacements it might be acceptable to keep what you have.

 

[mbryson]

A typical springover leaf pack will be a softer rate than your current spring under setup, since it's flatter. (obviously anything can be made to your specs, but...) That would mean it would sag faster than what you've been seeing.

Do you have any of your old pre-sagged leaf packs leftover? Add some leaves to your existing pack, that will help keep it from sagging further. Make up lost height with a shackle, and see how long it'll last.

Any leaf spring will wear out, but if you can get a reasonable amount of time between replacements it might be acceptable to keep what you have.

This is my vote.

 

[DaveB]

I don't have any old springs laying around but I could probably find something that would work. My current springs don't have that many miles on them but I do pack the scrambler up pretty good when we go camping. I have to do something since the new 33 KM2s are rubbing a bit on the trail. I wonder if some air bags above the springs would work ?

 

[Kirk]

I've got the same springs on my stretched cj7 - and my rears are sagging - mine have held up ok for 5 years. My fronts have held up fine - and I've weighed both axles - and they are similar empty. I am probably heavier than most - 3 kids in the back, a 37" spare, and usually a couple coolers. My brother has a similar cj 6, and he has had worse luck than me - his rears seem to last a couple years. He opted to have his last set re-arched, and added a leaf or two, but they are still sagging..... not sure what the answer is.

 

[I Lean]

I wonder if some air bags above the springs would work ?

I can't think of any reason they wouldn't. That might be a really great solution, especially since it'd be very adjustable also. (for different load conditions, etc)