I'm new to the forums and just bought my second car which is a 1990 yj base. The jeep is lifted and I believe it is body and suspension lift but would love an explanation from someone who understands it better than I do. I'm looking to make my jeep ride a lot softer as I use it as a daily for getting to school and hanging around town. I have what I've learned, Sen sen shocks that are nitrogen filled. I am planning to change out my leaf springs as I ha r what I think is a 5 leaf set up (not stock). I want to chanhe leafs add bags and get dfifetent shocks. Any help would be appreciated. Pictures have been added as reference.
You can certainly dial in your suspension slightly to your needs. Heavier duty for more weight, longer travel for crawling etc. But be warned that you will never make her ride very smooth, that is the nature of a 4 leaf spring vehicle. But those leaf springs that make it ride pretty rough are also what help make it a capable off road machine
I've never ridden in an old jeep that rode that great, bouncing around Is part of the fun! I have a friend with a rubicon express lift and it rides alittle better I guess, I would imagine the best way to get a softer ride would be to put it back to stock suspension and just keep the body lift
My YJ has a 4 inch lift kit (Rough Country) along with an 1 inch body lift kit to help keep things aligned. This is my third Jeep and I wish I could tell you it rides like a car or truck. But the truth is its a older Jeep with spring suspension. It can help the ride some by putting some good quality shocks on your Jeep. But remember your YJ was designed to be both an OFF ROAD vehicle and a concrete pounder too. Good luck and welcome to the Jeep family.
Any suggestions on the shocks? I've heard old man emus are good but expensive and skyjackers weren't as good but a better price? I'm pretty sure I'll get different leafs as 4 will be better than 5. I have a bud with a 95 yj and his is on stock suspension with a 4 leaf set up which handles WAY better than mine. Any reasons besides the obvious?
Replace your steering damper, with a Monroe SC2928... it won't break the bank and will do the trick.
From the look of yours it's looked to have leaked for some time, you will be amazed the difference it makes in your jeeps handling.
If you plan on going back to stock suspension/height as you say I would recommend Bilstein 4600 series, I run them with new normal duty mopar springs and the ride is quite nice.
But have no illusions it won't ride like a newer car no matter what you do, I will also add those mud terrains won't help your ride comfort on the road... going with passenger rated (non LT) tires along with stock springs will be as good as it will get.
Where's the best place to get this stuff? I'm planning to do all the suspension/tie rods/ bushings/shock absorber at the same time so I can get an alignment after. I want to keep the wheels and possible the lift. I don't fully understand lifts and am wondering if the lift is because of the springs? Or just a lift kit? Thanks for the help
A few things:
1 Spring bushings appear to be worn- bolts not centered in eye. If the shackles can't rotate, the road impacts transfer to the frame and then to your butt.
2 Sway bar links are stock not extended to get the bar parallel to the frame.
3 Rear track bar still in place ( can't tell from the pics if the front is still there) ditch both of them.
4 Make sure the shackle bolts are not over tightened. When you tighten them, make sure the jeep is on the ground (weight on springs).
5 Steering shock
6 Tie rod and drag link parts. Go Moog, best deal I found was Rockauto.
7 When you do the suspension, remember, it must work(flex) to absorb the road impacts and keep the tires in contact with the road.
8 Tire pressure: Too much, rides like a buckboard. Too little, handles like crap. I run 28 psi all around with 31x1050x15s.
9 Shocks: I'm running what came with my lift kit. Working fine for me.
I got to say I like my Monroe shocks and they were about $40 a piece...agree with Airslot, ditch the track bars! I never reinstalled mine after doing my lift over 4 years ago and had no side effects. Definately replace steering stabilizer, check tie rod ends( I recently replaced mine) and check the leaf bushings and torque values- maybe too tight. After doing all this my Jeep rode much better. I run the cheapo Rough Country 4" lift and really have no complaints. When you replace your shocks check the flex of your springs before putting on the new ones, see how freely they move...or don't move? You may find something. Also, torque to spec, dont over tighten anything.
I got a complete suspension system from Rough Country for about 450. Springs, shocks and hardware. 2.5" lift. Installed correctly, I've had no issues with ride quality.
When you say you want to add bags, I assume that you mean the rubber bags that sit between the spring and frame and are inflated by an onboard compressor.
Why? Is there some benefit to installing these bags that I am unaware of?
Good Luck, L.M.
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