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how to make 6 leaf yj springs

521 views 5 replies 2 participants last post by  szki272 
#1 ·
i know several of you have built 6 leaf packs using 5 leaf packs and some of a four leaf pack springs. what springs did you use, and after using them for a while now how are they working?
 
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#2 ·
I made 6 leaf rears. I took the main leaf out of a 4 leaf pack and cut the eyes of and added it to a 5 leaf pack. So far it has held up great, no sagging yet.Plus it still flexes awsome.I have a fiberglass top on my zuk for the winter and it sits nice and level.I had 5 leafs in it and they lasted about 2 wheeln trips but these 6 leafs seem to holding up and taking the abuse.
 

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#5 ·
Tony, I toasted a set of 5-packs in back pretty quickly due to spring wrap. As an experiment and as a way to tide me over until I could afford a traction bar, I assembled a pair of 6-packs by using all 4 leaves of 4-leaf packs, and then added 2 leaves from a pair of 5-packs.

In thinking about how to best do this to address the problems I was having (too low of a spring rate, and too much spring wrap) I figured that I needed to do 2 things: One was to increase the spring rate slightly (without going overboard) and the other was to help minimize spring wrap. Adding a long leaf would increase the spring rate, while adding a short leaf would help keep the torque coming from the axle from twisting the springs.

So what I did was added the 2nd-longest leaf from the 5-packs, and the 2nd-shortest leaf from the 5-packs to the set of 4-packs, obviously with the leaves arranged from longest to shortest. This required a new spring centering pin, which I made with a Grade 8 bolt.

I was expecting this to be a temporary fix, but it has worked out so well for about a year and a half that no longer am I munching springs, no longer is my back end too softly sprung, and no longer do I have excessive spring wrap. My problem is 100% solved, and I didn't have to spend all the money to get a traction bar. This mod is highly recommended for those whose Samurai is heavier than most (like mine) in back.

As a side note, I have had zero problems with the 5-pack springs installed up front.

-- Geoff Beasley
Suzuki Tech Editor: www.Off-Road.com
 
#6 ·
was just looking for a quick fix and to suplement my traction bar it is seroiusly built but still i manage to have problems with it it the old mount was a piece of pipe cut in half welded to the axle tube to thicken the wall (i punched the first one i did thru the axle tube itself) then a spring perch is welded to that then another perch is inverted and held in place buy 2 u bolts around the axle and 2 3/8 bolts just to keep things from sliding i had to remove all this when i trussed the axle and it was a pain to do so after i removed the mount i inspected the parts to find it was tearing itself apart again the welds and perches had formed stress fractures the new mount cant have the u bolts so i am worried about tearing this one off as well
 
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