Stretching the Rear Axle?

[Brad 96XJ]

Hi Guys,

New to the XJ Talk Forum, but not new to Xj's. Im working on building my third jeep but this is the first I built a bastard pack with the s10 leafs. I used my top XJ leaf and the entire s10 pack. I also built a set of shackle relocation brackets. The jeep came with the 2 in shackles. As you can probably tell from the pictures, my axle seems to be pretty far forward now. thinking about drilling new holes in the spring pad on the axle and ubolt plate to get about 1.5 in of stretch. Any thoughts or other possible remedies? thanks!!
14513
14514

[4.3LXJ]

I have a few thoughts. Your axle being forward now is because the spring gets shorter as it arches and you have changed the angle of the spring significantly with that really long shackle. If you did move the spring back, I think that when you stuff the tire it will be hitting the rear of the fender well even with the cut and fold you have

[Brad 96XJ]

I have a few thoughts. Your axle being forward now is because the spring gets shorter as it arches and you have changed the angle of the spring significantly with that really long shackle. If you did move the spring back, I think that when you stuff the tire it will be hitting the rear of the fender well even with the cut and fold you have

I flexed the rear axle as much as I could with the jeep sitting there with my hi-lift. It didn't seem to move rear ward much. Do you think a shorter or stock shackle would help me? My front suspension is not finished yet so i am flexible with the total amount of lift I settle on. Just need to clear 35's

[4.3LXJ]

Yes, I think it would appear to move toward the back. As it is now, all the motion is forward

[denverd1]

ruff stuff makes offset spring perches IIRC if you want to push it back and inch or so. I wouldn't flip leaf springs as that really changes the way the spring reacts to the terrain and can create axle wrap. looks like you can add a traction bar to help with it wrapping.

curious what you end up doing, got a similar situation and haven't settled on a solution. What size tire will you be running?

[prerunner1982]

Off Road Designs makes a block they call a Zero Rate. http://offroaddesign.com/catalog/Zero%20Rates.htm
Looks like a small lift block, but they bolt to the leaf pack.
You can move your axle 1'-1.5".

Actually it looks like ORD now offers Axle offset plates specifically for this with only 1/4" of lift: http://offroaddesign.com/catalog/Axle%20Offset%20Plates.html

[denverd1]

Off Road Designs makes a block they call a Zero Rate. http://offroaddesign.com/catalog/Zero%20Rates.htm
Looks like a small lift block, but they bolt to the leaf pack.
You can move your axle 1'-1.5".

Actually it looks like ORD now offers Axle offset plates specifically for this with only 1/4" of lift: http://offroaddesign.com/catalog/Axle%20Offset%20Plates.html

be sure to ask about Holiday special pricing! :crazy:

[Brad 96XJ]

Off Road Designs makes a block they call a Zero Rate. http://offroaddesign.com/catalog/Zero%20Rates.htm
Looks like a small lift block, but they bolt to the leaf pack.
You can move your axle 1'-1.5".

Actually it looks like ORD now offers Axle offset plates specifically for this with only 1/4" of lift: http://offroaddesign.com/catalog/Axle%20Offset%20Plates.html

This is interesting. I'm assuming you would need to drill a corresponding hole in the u-bolt plate...?

[denverd1]

This is interesting. I'm assuming you would need to drill a corresponding hole in the u-bolt plate...?

yes, although I'm not a fan of this approach as it doesn't keep the pin centered. the offset perches I mentioned keeps everything centered and keeps the leafs flexing evenly. I'll find a link

[Brad 96XJ]

I've come to the conclusion that simply by doing the bastard pack it greatly shortened the length of the spring pack. I removed the shackle and cycled the axle up and down and the axle only moved back about 1/4-1/2 an inch at best. I am thinking about removing some of the leaves in the pack to lessen the arch and keep the shackle because that works nicely with the relocation brackets. Any idea how the length of the whole pack is effected by doing a s10 bastard pack?

[4.3LXJ]

That would be very subjective. I would need to see how much arch is in the spring to even make a bad guess.

[Infidel Edition]

My thought is, pending tire size, when it flexes back, it'll push into the stock line.
The only issue is if the tires you pick are big enough that they hit the front of the wheel well.

[denverd1]

Brad what tires you running?