Suspension help

jsredlineracer

jsredlineracer

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Miami, FL
This Jeep was a fixer upper which still has a long way to go. It starts and runs but the suspension feels like I’m driving a clunker. I measured the suspension like I read in some of the posts here and it seems to have a 7” lift. I got 19” on the front spring and 15” in the back. This is a surprise gift for my daughters 15’s but don’t know where to start when it comes to suspension. If it is possible to go back to stock without needing a shops help and the current tires would work that would be awesome (1.5” adapters in order to get the rims on). I understand it may seem like a silly question as I keep reading about 33, 32, 30 tires but have no clue what that is referring to.I am on a budget to get it ready and need help finding parts as I have no clue how to word my searches or if there might be more work involved than just changing the shocks and springs.

Long story short what can I do so she won’t have to walk around with a step stool to get in and have a comfortable ride? Would like to spend as little as possible without compromising safety (I would not let her drive in the street the way that it feels right now).

Any and all guidance is highly appreciated.

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OK buddy that thing needs shorter springs- Your tires are probably about right for stock or a 2 inch lift so you need to look at that and a set of shocks that are the appropriate range- Going to need bump stops, Or changes to them most likely, and you’re going to need sway bar links that are appropriate length-

None of this is a mystery, none of this is extremely complicated - we just kind of have to figure out what you’re trying to end up with and help you get a parts list and direction on how to get it done or work through it- Basically it appears that thing is lifted beyond reason - I would imagine at some point someone had larger tires possibly.


You also probably have some parts on there and you don’t even need such as the Pitman arm may be incorrect-

If you’ll be patient take a little bit of time to understand how this thing works underneath and how to figure it out I think you’ll be really glad you did and on top of the world this summer with the top off especially in the evenings down there-

I’ll try to keep an eye on your thread if you’re not getting the help you need send me a personal message and I’ll do anything I can to help you get started-

Everything you need to know can be found on this forum with the guys on here- And probably a few things you really don’t need to know, as well as some classified stuff.
 
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You no longer have the original control arm mounting brackets.
This will make returning it to stock more difficult.
It probably has a custom steering setup to accommodate the huge lift.
So you might be missing some of that original bracketry also.
More and more little things usually get modified as the height increases.
 
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jsredlineracer said:
I understand it may seem like a silly question as I keep reading about 33, 32, 30 tires but have no clue what that is referring to
Click to expand...

Not silly at all. This is simply refers to the height of the tire measured in inches.

The tire in this photo would be described as a 31x10.5x15, or, 31's for short.

tire-size-calculator-hero.jpg


Most tires are measured using metric units, but the same principle is applied.
re-size-Explained_Infographic-Metric_V6-1-1024x768.jpg
 
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More knowledgeable people than me will chime in but that Jeep would worry me. It’s been, in my opinion, radically modified so you have a LOT of work in your future to get everything working correctly. It looks pretty rust free from what I can tell so that’s a good sign.
 
A few shots of the font end so we can get a look at the steering setup would help us help you as well.
 
LONGJP2 said:
You no longer have the original control arm mounting brackets.
This will make returning it to stock more difficult.
It probably has a custom steering setup to accommodate the huge lift.
So you might be missing some of that original bracketry also.
More and more little things usually get modified as the height increases.
Click to expand...

This is exactly what I was afraid of. This thing had all sorts of mystery wiring and taps into the harness under the steering wheel. There is still one cable I haven’t figured out what it’s for and it was just placed into the fuse box. 😔
AndyG said:
OK buddy that thing needs shorter springs- Your tires are probably about right for stock or a 2 inch lift so you need to look at that and a set of shocks that are the appropriate range- Going to need bump stops, Or changes to them most likely, and you’re going to need sway bar links that are appropriate length-

None of this is a mystery, none of this is extremely complicated - we just kind of have to figure out what you’re trying to end up with and help you get a parts list and direction on how to get it done or work through it- Basically it appears that thing is lifted beyond reason - I would imagine at some point someone had larger tires possibly.


You also probably have some parts on there and you don’t even need such as the Pitman arm may be incorrect-

If you’ll be patient take a little bit of time to understand how this thing works underneath and how to figure it out I think you’ll be really glad you did and on top of the world this summer with the top off especially in the evenings down there-

I’ll try to keep an eye on your thread if you’re not getting the help you need send me a personal message and I’ll do anything I can to help you get started-

Everything you need to know can be found on this forum with the guys on here- And probably a few things you really don’t need to know, as well as some classified stuff.
Click to expand...

Thank you. I have definitely learned a thing or two here and I can tell there is a world of knowledge to gain here.
Obi-Wan said:
Not silly at all. This is simply refers to the height of the tire measured in inches.

The tire in this photo would be described as a 31x10.5x15, or, 31's for short.

View attachment 404420

Most tires are measured using metric units, but the same principle is applied.
View attachment 404421
Click to expand...

amazing. I was so lost when I kept reading those numbers

And I can’t find the comment to reply to but it had wider tires but they may have been 1” taller

F34790D8-2118-4340-80EC-D963964C5797.jpeg
 
Link said:
More knowledgeable people than me will chime in but that Jeep would worry me. It’s been, in my opinion, radically modified so you have a LOT of work in your future to get everything working correctly. It looks pretty rust free from what I can tell so that’s a good sign.
Click to expand...

Thankfully it does seem to be pretty rust free as far as the frame is concerned. And while I was fixing the interior I sanded and put rust prevent paint on any and all rust spots before putting the carpet on.
 
Going back to stock on a budget isn't happening. 7" of spring lift is also absurd. Most will top out at 4". Reducing the height is doable, but will require a lot of detective wok and understanding to do well.

If the goal is to lower as much as possible, I would remove the springs, any bump stop extension, and shocks to bring the frame down with floor jacks as much as it will go. This will tell you where the upper limits of the suspension travel will be. Then you can work backwards to figure out what the new ride height can be.

For reference and as an example, stock shock travel was about 7.5" with half of that being up travel. So, once you find the upper limits of travel, raise the frame up 3.5". Then measure the distance between spring seats. Now you know about what the final ride height from the springs you are looking for.

My immediate question about those arms is if they have enough length adjustment to set the pinion as a significantly lower ride height. If not, then that limited range of adjustment becomes a determining factor in how low the desired ride height will be.
 
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jjvw said:
For this specific Jeep, yes. At minimum, you need springs and shocks. Very likely you will need shorter drive shafts.
Click to expand...

Is there a way to maybe not have to go much lower but it just drive better? Right now it yolks on minor road bumps doing 20-30mph so I am concerned about this thing going on the highway.

At the end of the day I’m more worried about safety than height.

This lift was definitely completely absurd but the person I got it from bought it like this so he can’t really help me describe any of the mods that were done.(minus the rims/tires which I replaced because it came out cheaper to get almost new set of 5 tires with rims than replacing the two bad tires it had without a spare
 
Someone has some stock springs out there free- then some pucks-

There are no rules , and remember this is all changeable later-

People will always take your money later-

Either go crazy cheap and get it down or do it right and pay- just try not to do it halfway - does that make sense?

I’m trying to say bad good stuff or just try not to spend much at all so you can get the good stuff later.
 
jsredlineracer said:
Is there a way to maybe not have to go much lower but it just drive better? Right now it yolks on minor road bumps doing 20-30mph so I am concerned about this thing going on the highway.

At the end of the day I’m more worried about safety than height.

This lift was definitely completely absurd but the person I got it from bought it like this so he can’t really help me describe any of the mods that were done.(minus the rims/tires which I replaced because it came out cheaper to get almost new set of 5 tires with rims than replacing the two bad tires it had without a spare
Click to expand...

Post pictures of the steering and track bar. Do a steer test with the engine running where someone quickly turns the steering wheel side to side from about 10-2. You reach in and grab each and every bolted connection in the steering links, suspension, and ball joints. If you feel any clunking in any connection, you fix it.
 
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I've got no idea where the previous owner was going with that build. Probably ultra mall crawler. Your daughter will definitely love it though. Can't help much on the mechanical side, but this is my rig with roughly the same size tires just with smaller wheels if its any help. It's got a 3.5 inch combo lift (2.5" suspension, 1" body).

20230206_172624.jpg
 
jsredlineracer said:
This Jeep was a fixer upper which still has a long way to go. It starts and runs but the suspension feels like I’m driving a clunker. I measured the suspension like I read in some of the posts here and it seems to have a 7” lift. I got 19” on the front spring and 15” in the back. This is a surprise gift for my daughters 15’s but don’t know where to start when it comes to suspension. If it is possible to go back to stock without needing a shops help and the current tires would work that would be awesome (1.5” adapters in order to get the rims on). I understand it may seem like a silly question as I keep reading about 33, 32, 30 tires but have no clue what that is referring to.I am on a budget to get it ready and need help finding parts as I have no clue how to word my searches or if there might be more work involved than just changing the shocks and springs.

Long story short what can I do so she won’t have to walk around with a step stool to get in and have a comfortable ride? Would like to spend as little as possible without compromising safety (I would not let her drive in the street the way that it feels right now).

Any and all guidance is highly appreciated.

View attachment 404412

View attachment 404413

View attachment 404414

View attachment 404415

View attachment 404416

View attachment 404417
Click to expand...

In the last picture the control arms look like Metal Cloak or similar. The rear anchor point would normally be fixed with a welded bracket on the frame. This set up looks like the aft location is similar to the front end of a CJ leaf spring so is not fixed. Don’t see how this set up would effectively locate the axle. You’ve driven it so apparently works. But looks questionable without some way to fix the location of the axle fore & aft.
 
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