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[tonaz]

hi all. i just had my jeep for a wheel alignment check today and whilst it was there it was pointed out to me that ist sits bout 20mm lower on the driver's side both front and back. i can't imagine it is meant to be like this, suspension appears ok at first glance. anyone got any ideas what might be causing this?

thanks, tony.

[wildrover]

My Cherokee was the same , but it was the passenger side that sat lower....

After a trip to Ukraine wrecked one of the springs , i put two new ones on the rear....   it sits level now...

[eastryjeep]

Tired springs on the drivers side of the Cherry are common.
Replace your rear leaf springs with a new set meant for a diesel, they are more heavy duty.
It's a simple enough fix if you soak all the threads with penetrating oil for a couple of weeks before doing the job!
Have heard all kinds of stunts to remedy the front but new coils are the common sense way to go in my view.
But then again you could look upon it as an oppertunity to fit a lift!

[tonaz]

Tired springs on the drivers side of the Cherry are common.
Replace your rear leaf springs with a new set meant for a diesel, they are more heavy duty.
It's a simple enough fix if you soak all the threads with penetrating oil for a couple of weeks before doing the job!
Have heard all kinds of stunts to remedy the front but new coils are the common sense way to go in my view.
But then again you could look upon it as an oppertunity to fit a lift!

cheers for that, anyone any ideas how much it would cost approx. for a set of xj diesel leaf springs and new front coil??? last thing i want to do is spoil the ride but would really prefer a lift kit if i could get one that would be suitable for decent money. again, anyone any idea how much i would be looking at spending for a lift kit for the xj that isn't gonna ruin it? thanks again, tony.

[Dave69]

lift kits start off small and then you get carried away.

diesel springs around the £90+ bushes will need to be added then possibly vat.

coil springs to suit or you could add a spacer

[tonaz]

will spacers not ruin the ride though? i wouldn't be looking for a massive lift

[tonaz]

how quickly do i need to get this sorted you reckon?

sorry, forgot to mention i noticed one of the metal bracket things that goes around the leaf springs on the driver's side seems to have somehow come loose and moves about a bit now.

[wildrover]

Mine was the same...

the bracket round the springs was hanging loose , and one of the leafs was broken...  rattled like a bugger on the Polish roads...

Mine was in that state for quite a few kms , but really you need to get it done before too long...

If you were to have an accident , even if it was not your fault , you could be liable to be prosecuted for driving an unroadworthy vehicle...

[Dave69]

the brackets are there to keep the spirngs inline. Spacers are a cheap way of lifting a vehicle but it is always better to use longer springs.

spacers and addaleaf springs when combined with old worn suspension doesn't fix the issue.

diesel xj springs on the back give +1" lift
grand cherokee front springs are longer but not sure by what amount and do fit.

a cheaper way to get +1 or 2" lift

[tonaz]

the brackets are there to keep the spirngs inline. Spacers are a cheap way of lifting a vehicle but it is always better to use longer springs.

spacers and addaleaf springs when combined with old worn suspension doesn't fix the issue.

diesel xj springs on the back give +1" lift
grand cherokee front springs are longer but not sure by what amount and do fit.

a cheaper way to get +1 or 2" lift

that's great thanks for that. what year grand cherokee springs will fit? i will definitely try to do this i think. are the later year diesel springs better? what year onwards should i go for?

[JamesH]

Get the brackets fixed ASAP.

Then look at and measure your suspension on all four corners. The rear was 17" from centre of wheel to lower edge of plastic wheel arch trim from the factory and the front is 17.5" for the same measurement. This will tell you how much it has sagged and what the measurement of any difference is.

You probably do have worn springs and shocks all around so upgrading with new kit would be a good idea if you plan to keep the vehicle for any time. If you sell it I think it's a plus point for buyers but unlikely to get back the full cost in a sale price. I've heard people say that Mansfield 4x4 do replacement springs and even their non heavy duty replacement will lift the Jeep up a bit higher than stock. I'd get new shocks too, even the cheapest ones, just to feel the benefit of replacing so mush of the suspension. Keep a bit of money aside for new bushes too in case they are needed and not supplied with the springs.

I wouldn't be so concerned (safety wise) with a slight lean, mine has always had a tendency to lean to the drivers side and so have other XJ owners told me that there's do. I've swapped new lift kit springs from one side to another only to find that the lower corner still stays as the drivers side rear. This was the low point on my XJ and I fixed it by putting an extra leaf (long one) into my leaf spring pack to level it with the other side. I do have big lift leaf springs though with 9 leaves in the drivers side pack so adding one extra doesn't make much difference to the comfort of the ride! (In theory it would make the ride a bit stiffer)

Using spacers on the front coils and longer shackles or extra leaves on good suspension components is fine up to a point - I would say 3/4" to 1" is about what I'm comfortable with - it's not something to do for lift in my opinion but for levelling side to side and/or front to rear it's a sensible way to go.

[tonaz]

Get the brackets fixed ASAP.

Then look at and measure your suspension on all four corners. The rear was 17" from centre of wheel to lower edge of plastic wheel arch trim from the factory and the front is 17.5" for the same measurement. This will tell you how much it has sagged and what the measurement of any difference is.

You probably do have worn springs and shocks all around so upgrading with new kit would be a good idea if you plan to keep the vehicle for any time. If you sell it I think it's a plus point for buyers but unlikely to get back the full cost in a sale price. I've heard people say that Mansfield 4x4 do replacement springs and even their non heavy duty replacement will lift the Jeep up a bit higher than stock. I'd get new shocks too, even the cheapest ones, just to feel the benefit of replacing so mush of the suspension. Keep a bit of money aside for new bushes too in case they are needed and not supplied with the springs.

I wouldn't be so concerned (safety wise) with a slight lean, mine has always had a tendency to lean to the drivers side and so have other XJ owners told me that there's do. I've swapped new lift kit springs from one side to another only to find that the lower corner still stays as the drivers side rear. This was the low point on my XJ and I fixed it by putting an extra leaf (long one) into my leaf spring pack to level it with the other side. I do have big lift leaf springs though with 9 leaves in the drivers side pack so adding one extra doesn't make much difference to the comfort of the ride! (In theory it would make the ride a bit stiffer)

Using spacers on the front coils and longer shackles or extra leaves on good suspension components is fine up to a point - I would say 3/4" to 1" is about what I'm comfortable with - it's not something to do for lift in my opinion but for levelling side to side and/or front to rear it's a sensible way to go.

thanks for all the advice. can i just get a new bracket and fir it to the existing leafs in the meantime while i decide what to do with it? i think i will be keeping it as long as it keeps going really.

[tonaz]

are leaf spring brackets the proper name for them?