Shackles, Bushings, and Spring Packs, OH My

[BUKI]

calling all you yj and cj owner/operators.  I need some opinions.  If you were to run a lift, making it as you go what brands, lift sizes would you go with, and Why???  how much total lift?? how much shackle lift?? how much body lift (tummy tuck)?? Who's spring packs?? and rubber or poly bushings?? No answer is right or wrong Hypothetical.

[JackstandJohnny]

boomerang shackles, for 1/2" lift.  3" lift springs that are military double wrap (rubicon express, BDS for two) a decent shock. ditch swaybars and trackbars.  1 or 2" bodylift, motor mount lift, no tcase drop. 

[BUKI]

ah but you forgot the why, and which brand shackles is there a better brand.

[BlackYJ]

I would do exactly the same thing that I currently have

Springs - Alcan custom springs to whatever lift you want.  They will build the spring however you want taking into consideration absolutely everything about your vehicle to build the best shock for your rig based on your requirements.  My leaf packs each have 6 or 7 leafs.  I know Eric RTI'ed his YJ next to mine and mine flexed a lot more.  It took a bit for my springs to break-in but now they are great.  A very good balance between flex off-road and good ride on the street.  I would never go with another spring

Shackles - No question about here - MORE Booms both front and rear (5/8" lift).  In the rear they allow the for more movement and flex.  In the front they prevent shackle inversion which can kill springs.  In addition, the shackles are UBER beefy

Shocks - You did not mention this, but shocks can be the most important aspect of the suspension.  Even procrap or rancho springs paired with a high quality shock with still perform very well, and the opposite is entirely true as well.  Great springs with crappy shocks will perform crappy.  I went with OMEs again because I had the OME lift kit on my YJ before.  I have thought about changing to Bilsteins, but definitely DO NOT cheap out here.

Body Lift - I am sold on a 1" body lift as I think that size is great and provides lots of benefits.  A 1" BL will allow for a engine lift which improves driveline angle, extra room in the wheel wells, allows for high clearance skid plates, etc

I hope that answers your questions

[morerpmfred]

I would go rubber bushing where ever possable. I have never had a poly bushing last more then a year, with our mud and water it acts like grinding compound. Have had good luck with greasable poly bushing , but then i grease them after every run or every 1000 klics or so. I have gone up to five years or more on rubber bushings.

[BUKI]

holy crap, this is awesome good info guys.  i saw your boom fronts and was going to ask you about them yesterday, but forgot to.  how much were the springs, and where did you get them made? Shocks ya totally forgot to put that in the first post but was on my mind.  now do you remove the front trackbar?  This is a streeted jeep after all. And i was thinking rubber bushings too.

[Raspberry]

Definitely rubber bushings as opposed to poly. They give a more comfortable ride for street-friendly jeeps.

[BlackYJ]

Alcan is the company, http://www.alcanspring.com/, and as for price they were not cheap.  I think they cost me $250 per spring including shipping.  As for the booms in the front, when you amount them like a 7 from the side, the center support bar will hit the frame first, thereby preventing shackle inversion.

I drove around without my my trackbar for about a week and did not like it, it had too much body roll for my liking.  So I got a JKS adjustable trackbar and it works great.

[w squared]

The answer to "how much lift" is always "as little as possible to run the tire size that you want to end up with.

[BlackYJ]

Also I wanted to add that do not go anymore than 1/2-5/8" of shackle lift because any more and the shackles just get too long and you land up hitting them against obstacles.  I used to have 1" lift shackles and I hit them regularly

Finally the MORE shackles made the RE ones look puny as they are 50% thicker

[hps4evr]

i would find a 2"-3" lift spring, bds, rubicon express and old man emu each have a leaf pack in this range. Scott mentioned alcan springs and they are the cats meow. but if you just want to click and order then the other 3 are the cheaper and easier route. i had rancho 2.5" leaf packs and they were pretty decent for flex and ride. the lower the lift on a leaf spring pretty much means less arch to the pack. which will help in ride quality and flex. double military wrap as they call it is nice too. which means the second spring under the main spring in each pack wraps around the spring eye as well for extra strength and support.
shackles, again, as mentioned, 1/4"-5/8" lift tops. get greasable bolts. that makes a huge difference. dont over torque the bolts too, the tighter they are the less they let the shackle pivot.
rubber bushings if you can get them. you'll fine more options for poly, if you use greasable spring and shackle bolts then the poly can last longer and flex pretty well.
daystar makes a nice 1" body lift that replaces the entire body mount with a complete poly bushing top and bottom. no spacers at all. gets rid of your original worn out rubber mounts.
so, the tally. if it was me. 2.5" leaf packs, 1/2" lift greasable shackles, 1" body lift. equals about 4" total. 1" lift motor mounts. room for tummy tuck. drive train isnt super high so driveline angles are on the tame side of things. i ditched my track bars and front sway bar. it rides and flexes much better. with a good set of cross braced boomerang shackles you should be comfy without the track bars. your choice on the sway bar. id ditch each one at a time and see how it handles after each as removed.
another thing to consider is trimming fenders or highline type fenders. more room for a larger tire on less lift. less lift helps because it keeps the centre of gravity low. so with 4" of lift and stock fenders and flares a 33" tire on an 3.75" backspaced rim will fit nice and shoudlnt rub at all. now. if your axles are up to the challenge, use a highline fender set-up and a 35"-37" tire could fit and flex pretty well.
so... what do you want to do now?

[BUKI]

Holy info. Thanx guys. You guys are awesome

[Black Betty]

I have no experience with this, but I own a yj and am picking up an ome hd lift this week.  I'll have ordered booms for the back.

I will run this lift for awhile, and eventually go to a springover.  But if I like how the lift performs sua, then I'll probably just add some metal cloaks and call it a day.

When the lift is installed you are more then welcome to come for a ride/drive to see how you like it.

Cheers.

[BlackYJ]

I have no experience with this, but I own a yj and am picking up an ome hd lift this week.  I'll have ordered booms for the back.

The OME kit is a GREAT kit and I had one in mine for 4-5 years.  The only problem I had was the front springs started to sag and I wanted to go taller so I had to go a different route.  My Alcan's are close the OME on-road performance but the OMEs are better.  You will not be disappointed with that kit

[LLYJ]

Much of the same, but this is what I run

4" BDS springs with sliders and the double military wrap, I have 1" lift shackles (6") 1/2" thick with welded in C-channel cross members, I can see how clearance might be a concern but if your hitting things with them you also may be hitting the clamps/springs which I would try to avoid anyway.  I have poly bushings with greasable shackle bolts but keep in mind the x-membered shackles have more play then most between the side plates and messing around with a loader under one wheel they seem to flex just fine, I still have a set of rubber bushings if I decide to switch back.  I bought the shackles years ago so I am going to try them if they prove annoying I'll go with 1/2 boomerangs instead.  I don't run sway on the front and also have a JKS sliplock trackbar - nothing but springs on the back. No T-case drop and I run a SYE and Tom Woods shaft with gold seal u-joints.  Was considering 1" body/engine lift but I have a set of TJ flattie fenders that require some signifigant trimming to fit and it looks like 35's will fit no problem, building some tubes for the front (got 33X13.5 ltbs right now) very happy with the springs, been on at least 5 years and no sag yet.  The BDS shocks that came with the original kit still work great.  Even with the rubber bushings and no sway bar/rear trac bar mine streeted fine both highway and town.  Don't forget the pitman arm (I have a 4" drop) and brake lines need lengthening, which is a good time to toss on steelbraids - I have lockers so flex isn't as huge a concern as it is for those who are running open or limited slips.  I put durability and dependability just a bit ahead of capability when deciding how to go since I am generally out alone.