Springs

]I have just acquired a 1964 CJ5 that was a supposed to be a frame off restoration. For the most part it was. I had to rebuild the steering gear box and the brakes had a problem. Got that done and it drives well except for the ride.

I was told it is lifted two inches and that was with the springs. I want to lower it back and soften up the ride. I am thinking about taking a couple of leafs out of the springs. Do any of you with more knowledge regarding these Jeeps have any suggestions?

By-the-way; Love the jeep

Thanks

Sorry cannot get photo to show.

 

First off, Jeeps are not known for their ride, that's for sure. It's not uncommon for people to remove leafs from the spring pack to soften the ride up a little. You should also check your tire pressure. I run my tires around 20 lbs on the street. If yours are up around the recommended 35 lbs. you will feel every pebble on the road as these vehicles are pretty light. Check the shackle bolts too. The PO may have overtightened them and that can make the ride seem rough too. Try the Search function, there may be a lot of info about removing spring leafs. Nice looking Jeep by the way.

 

I would heartily second the comment about tire pressure.

The pressure given on the tire sidewalls is the maximum inflated pressure. I would suggest that you can run even lower pressures than 20 psi. You only need enough pressure so that the inflated geometry of the tire is correct, and that will vary with the weight of the vehicle. Jeeps are light compared to most vehicles, so lower pressures are appropriate.

You can determine the ideal inflation pressure for your tires by looking at the tire contact pattern on the ground. If you have a concrete garage floor, make a water puddle and drive through it, looking at the resulting footprint. Or try spreading some talcum powder or flour or such and look at the pattern. You should end up with less pressure in the rears compared to the fronts, since the weight distribution of an unloaded Jeep is very front-heavy.

Good seats help a lot too. The original bucket seats are very comfortable, and help to make the ride more comfortable. If you have replacement seats, that might be an issue.

If I may make a comment - everything you change on the suspension on these Jeeps will be a compromise. Stiff springs make for a stiff ride, but they also limit body roll. That's part of the design - the springs are way inboard, but stiff. So if you soften up the spring rate a lot, you may not like how much the Jeep sways when you corner. The more you lift a Jeep, the worse this becomes - so lift is part of the equation. Rigid leaf springs are part of the overall stability of the vehicle, and are to a degree something you'll have to live with if you don't want to make radical changes in the factory configuration. There is lots of discussion of this in the older posts on the forum.

First post - welcome from Boston!

 

Nice looking Jeep and welcome from Va. As said, lower tire pressure will help. What type of spring lift do you have, some brands of spring lifts are softer than others. Yes you could remove a couple of leaves and it may help. Good luck.

 

Shocks can make a big difference as well.


Sent from my iPhone

 

Mine has the 13 leaf spring pack,

And I crap you not, when I set the big block in it didnt even sag one bit LOL..

 

Very few vehicles have such a short wheelbase, and that makes a choppy ride - no matter what springs you have. Also makes it able to climb like a goat.

If this is your first Jeep, I'd say wait a while until you get used to it.

 

X2 on learning how it handles . and yes lower tire pressure will help . I wouldn't remove any springs . these old jeeps don't use a track bar like newer vehicles have . so the spring packs help hold axles in line . without twisting sideways

 

Like Nick says, shocks can make a big difference.

Google the "Chalk method for determining inflation pressure" which should let you adjust psi to improve ride. My '44 and '52 are off-road only and get 10 psi in them and it's amazing how much improved the ride is.

My '72 Jimmy weighs almost 5000# and I ran the 35" radials at 25 psi and the 36 bias tires at 22. 25 should be a good starting point if you those are 31" tires on your ride. Oh, and nice jeep. Welcome.