3 inch coil spring help

[lintonm704]

Its time to upgrade coil springs. Im
running a rough country setup now. I was told when I bought it was a 3.25, and came with a 1.25 bl to help clear the 35s. Im in the process of replacing stuff to help with the ride. Ive already replaced the shocks with black maxx's. They made it better when they where new. But now my jeep has sagged something bad. Front coil is 13.5 with no puck or spacer of any kind(NOW I KNOW), rear is 9 in as of now.

Ive been checking out the jks 3in coil package. Will these have a decent ride? And what bump stops? I don't think I have any right now. Planning on installing all new metalcloak arms in the next couple of week. Figured I go ahead and change the springs too. Then I measured them, and I dont have a choice. Not ready for an sye yet. Its after I get the arms taken care of. Dont want a bad rake and I want it sitting level. Some reviews say to use 3in in the front, 2 in the rear for level. But there sold in complete sets right? Any links would greatly appreciated.

 

[Feralkid]

Springs aren't going to have much effect on ride quality so long as they are rated at the proper weight. It's mostly shocks and tires that effect ride quality, the springs just hold up the frame.

I have JKS 3 inch springs on my TJ and was able to level out the rake by stacking additional OEM rubber isolators on top of the front springs that I pulled from a junkyard XJ. The isolators are equivalent to a 3/4" spacer.

I'd make installing an SYE the main priority as far as next steps in the build.

 

[lintonm704]

The springs will affect it on mine. My spring now are so low that my shocks are almost bottomed out before I even hit anything. So jks springs and a front spacer is what I need to have ready. You would do sye before the control arms? I just got done with a regear. Trying to build that fund back up. Was thinking metalcloak arms then sye.

 

[That'll Buff]

Agree with Feralkid. Springs are negligible when it comes to ride quality when comparing reputable brands. SYE should also be a higher priority than arms, and I'd even get both at the same time. If your current arms are "fine" then why be in a hurry to swap them?

Speaking of arms, for your rig since you don't seem to want to do any major off-roading, I'd recommend against the metalcloak arms. Look into Core4x4 arms, especially their cruise series to save a ton of money. If you're set on having the kind of joint that metalcloak has go with savvy instead. It's a few hundred dollars more, but they're going to be better quality and double adjustable rather than single.

 

[lintonm704]

The po replaced alot of front right before I bought it. Everything was almost new, but everything was stock. I dont have any deathwobble or anything. But it does wander at speeds, the springs went in a hurry. I dont have a heavy jeep, I dont even run a spare, or back seat. Everything else is mostly stock, cept for the winch. Ill check out the core stuff again. I choose metalcloak because of the coating really, plus my jeep buddies run them. My jeep is my daily, cant offroad it yet. I did end up putting posi in the rear tho when I had the regear done.

 

[Feralkid]

But it does wander at speeds, the springs went in a hurry.

That's caused by not enough caster. Adjustable arms can fix that.

The reason I suggest you prioritize a SYE and DC drive shaft is to eliminate vibrations caused by misaligned rear drive shaft u-joints that can destroy the drive train. Adjustable arms will allow you set the proper pinion angle to eliminate vibes and with 3 inches of lift it you may not be able to do so with a slip yoke.

 

[The4bangertj]

Its time to upgrade coil springs. Im
running a rough country setup now. I was told when I bought it was a 3.25, and came with a 1.25 bl to help clear the 35s. Im in the process of replacing stuff to help with the ride. Ive already replaced the shocks with black maxx's. They made it better when they where new. But now my jeep has sagged something bad. Front coil is 13.5 with no puck or spacer of any kind(NOW I KNOW), rear is 9 in as of now.

Ive been checking out the jks 3in coil package. Will these have a decent ride? And what bump stops? I don't think I have any right now. Planning on installing all new metalcloak arms in the next couple of week. Figured I go ahead and change the springs too. Then I measured them, and I dont have a choice. Not ready for an sye yet. Its after I get the arms taken care of. Dont want a bad rake and I want it sitting level. Some reviews say to use 3in in the front, 2 in the rear for level. But there sold in complete sets right? Any links would greatly appreciated.

First off all springs will ride the same. There is not a heavy enough spring for a tj to feel the difference. Second, Springs all revolve around weight. My light 4cyl tj is running a skyjacker 2inch spring and I’m getting 3.5inch lift. So there is zero garentee to say if that 3inch spring will give you 3inch of actual lift or if it will have a rake or not. 3inch lift are often right in the middle of shock lengths which dictate bump stops. 2inch lift and under are normally 1inch added bump and 4inch is often 2inch added bump but the whole purpose of that is to get your shock at a 50/50 travel bias. Once your lifted you can really tell how much up travel you have and want.

 

[That'll Buff]

The po replaced alot of front right before I bought it. Everything was almost new, but everything was stock. I dont have any deathwobble or anything. But it does wander at speeds, the springs went in a hurry. I dont have a heavy jeep, I dont even run a spare, or back seat. Everything else is mostly stock, cept for the winch. Ill check out the core stuff again. I choose metalcloak because of the coating really, plus my jeep buddies run them. My jeep is my daily, cant offroad it yet. I did end up putting posi in the rear tho when I had the regear done.

I daily mine too, but still beat the crap out of it on the trails. I recommended the Core4x4 arms because I felt like they fit your situation better. I run the cruise series currently and while I would definitely benefit from an upgrade, they are 100% suited for your needs. No point in paying over double just for looks if you aren't going to use them for the better performance. Nothing against Metalcloak, just better to spend the money elsewhere. Also consider looking at your local Facebook Marketplace, never know what kind of steals may be out there. That's how I've built basically my whole rig.

 

[lintonm704]

I think I might give core 4x4 a chance. If I went with cruise package with track bars. Couldn't I just add there 3 in springs without doing the sye? Im working my way up the sye install. I think I can do it myself. Just scared of it, but videos are helping. Never been a "car" guy but I love doing the work myself! That was one of reasons I picked a Jeep tj.

 

[GregBelleville]

I think I might give core 4x4 a chance. If I went with cruise package with track bars. Couldn't I just add there 3 in springs without doing the sye? Im working my way up the sye install. I think I can do it myself. Just scared of it, but videos are helping. Never been a "car" guy but I love doing the work myself! That was one of reasons I picked a Jeep tj.

A SYE is basically a requirement for a 3" lift, unless you want to do a TC drop instead as a temporary measure.

 

[lintonm704]

Ok I get installing the sye part. What I don't understand is in the axle itself. I get its longer and what not. But when I install/order one now that will work with both sets of old and new springs? Or do I have to reorder and install another shaft? I know ive been looking at the Adam's page and tom woods. There not to pricey. Plus my jeep has a leak i need to look into as well anyways and doing a rebuild kit while im in there.

 

[That'll Buff]

I would call Tom Woods and explain the situation, they're super helpful. I looked back and saw your springs sagged more than I originally thought, so I'm not sure if any measurement you take will be accurate currently. As far as I know the drive shafts from Adams or TW have enough extra built into them that they allow you to be a little off, but cant say for certain how much. Your front can stay the same length no issues. Worst case you can drive around with just the front in while in 4Hi until the correct size DS comes in.

 

[JMT]

Ok I get installing the sye part. What I don't understand is in the axle itself. I get its longer and what not. But when I install/order one now that will work with both sets of old and new springs? Or do I have to reorder and install another shaft? I know ive been looking at the Adam's page and tom woods. There not to pricey. Plus my jeep has a leak i need to look into as well anyways and doing a rebuild kit while im in there.

Do the springs first. Get your ride height set where you want it. For 35’s the traditional build is 4”+1.25”. Then you can get the right shocks with ~50:50 travel. At 3-4” off suspension lift your looking at an SYE. Super short from JB Conversions. Adjustable control arms together your axles and pinion where you need them. When you’re set up, measure for the shafts. Tom Wood is fast and reliable.

 

[lintonm704]

I daily mine too, but still beat the crap out of it on the trails. I recommended the Core4x4 arms because I felt like they fit your situation better. I run the cruise series currently and while I would definitely benefit from an upgrade, they are 100% suited for your needs. No point in paying over double just for looks if you aren't going to use them for the better performance. Nothing against Metalcloak, just better to spend the money elsewhere. Also consider looking at your local Facebook Marketplace, never know what kind of steals may be out there. That's how I've built basically my whole rig.

Went with the cruise package. You were spot on. Finally got the last track bar installed. It is hands down a different jeep! Thanks for the recommendation. Feels solid, tracks well, rides like I wouldn't believe, wife even approved! It made that big a difference. Little under a grand(got a few other goodies) its a no brainer for anybody looking at core 4x4. Install took me a bit, but for a guy thats never done anything like this. It was really a blast in the garage with my son and dad over past two weeks.

 

[That'll Buff]

Went with the cruise package. You were spot on. Finally got the last track bar installed. It is hands down a different jeep! Thanks for the recommendation. Feels solid, tracks well, rides like I wouldn't believe, wife even approved! It made that big a difference. Little under a grand(got a few other goodies) its a no brainer for anybody looking at core 4x4. Install took me a bit, but for a guy thats never done anything like this. It was really a blast in the garage with my son and dad over past two weeks.

No problem. In the maybe 6 years so far I've run Core I've only had 3 major issues, all for the most part caused by me.

1) I allowed a jam nut to come loose, and left it loose for what must have been a long time because it stripped out the threads making it pretty dangerous to drive. I now check them every once in a while and any time I loosen them for any reason I apply blue loctite and crank them down as hard as I can with a pipe wrench.

2) After maybe 5 years being under my jeep and facing a lot of mud and water, the adjustment threads became so corroded that they basically would not move. Took torching it hard and pipe wrench on a six foot cheater bar with the arm in a vice to just barely move them maybe a half turn. Ended up ordering a new set of cruise arms, although that was mostly driven by me already being knee deep in what was supposed to be a cheap 3" to 4" lift. On the new set I applied anti-seize on the threads, so hopefully that will prevent something like that again.

3) After I went to Moab I looked under and saw that nearly every bushing in them was destroyed. This was likely caused by the couple of side by side trails we ran alongside the 5+ minute super bumpy road that we had to take from camp to the main road that we often drove too fast on multiple times a day. This was also likely a big contributor to my locker breaking (whoops). Took my dad maybe an hour to replace every single bushing in all eight arms while I worked on other repairs, its super easy to do.

For my use I am definitely losing out on travel and articulation using them, and will definitely be changing them out at some point for something else, but I have no complaints with how the Cores have held up to my abuse. For just driving on the road though, I can't think of any reason to go with anything else if you need adjustable arms.