J spring concerns (1 Viewer)

[Jerome3]

alright so i did a search and didnt exactly find what i was looking for im awaiting some j springs and am traveling to martha's vineyard for the summer. i will not be donig any wheeling besides trails in the dunes which require zero modifications. I was wondering if there is anything else that i should replace immediately besides using the caster kit. i am going to drop the sway bar brackets after i return/before i do any serious wheeling are there any other limitations or concerns i should worry about?
thanks in advance

 

[Jomama]

I'm not positive, because I didnt try it w/out them, but I doubt you'll get the sway bars bolted back up without drop brackets. I skipped the caster bushings and drove for a year like that. I ordered the caster plates from Slee last week.

 

[cruiserdan]

What shocks are you running?

 

[ryanjl]

Brake lines and diff breather hose will probably be an issue too, especially if running the L shocks.

 

[cruiserdan]

I'm running J's in the front with regular OME shocks and Slee sway drops. The stock front hoses are OK with OME regular shocks. The rear hose is marginal with OME standard length shocks. I have a T100 rear brake hose on mine with a spring-loaded holder in the center to keep it away from the exhaust pipe when I am heavily loaded or in severe atriculation conditions.

 

[MADDEN72]

I would get the caster plates with j's. The bushings didn't seem to do enough for my caster.

 

[Bob_Garrett]

Going to J springs *may* cause vibration in the front driveshaft due to the change in pinion angle, which would be annoying on a long trip if it's very bad.

Bob

 

[cruiserdan]

The caster plates correct too much for just J springs. That lift is in between the available off-the-shelf corrections.

I have J's and OME bushings and a stock driveshaft. The steering is OK but not perfect and I have no vibration issues. It also depends on how much extra weight you are packing up front.

 

[Jerome3]

ill be getting an arb bumper but not for a few months maybe after i make some more money this summer. truck will loaded with surfboards, a few bikes on the rear hitch and maybe 200lbs in the trunk.

im ordering 850j and 863j springs and n73L and n74L shocks as well as the caster correction kit and steering dampner, and ss extended brake lines. so my question is what else must i do now inorder to not screw things up by driving 1400 miles each way thanks again guys

 

[cruiserdan]

Lower the bump stops so that you do not bottom-out the shocks on full compression.

 

[Jerome3]

so dont worry about the sway bar brackets with this amount of lift? also how much should the bumpstops be lowered?

 

[cruiserdan]

Sorry, I thought you had the drops. Yes, you need those especialy the front ones so that the front driveshaft doesn't hit the swaybar. I do not know the specifics on the bumpstop lowering but I think and inch and a half to 2wo inches should do it.

If you measure the compressed length of the original shock vs the compressed length of the OMEs' that will tell you how much you need.

 

[Jerome3]

you're the man dan

i called today to order some brakes and got your machine whens the best time to reach you

 

[cruiserdan]

Leave a message and I will call back as soon as I am able. We are on MDT.

 

[e9999]

what would be the symptoms if you over correct for caster, i.e. the plates on a 2.5" J?

 

[cruiserdan]

Higher steering effort and a more pronounced "return to center" when exiting a turn.

 

[motherhucker]

The caster plates correct too much for just J springs. That lift is in between the available off-the-shelf corrections.

I have J's and OME bushings and a stock driveshaft. The steering is OK but not perfect and I have no vibration issues. It also depends on how much extra weight you are packing up front.

Hmm.... Do you think it is too much correction if you have a factory bumper and no winch? A rather well known seller of accessory parts on this board recommended J's to me with castor plates. Has anyone out there actually done J’s with castor plates and had the castor measured?

 

[CruisinGA]

I have J's with a 1" spacer and caster plates...

It works well...

YOU MUST RUN SWAYBAR DROPS WITH THIS SETUP!!! Or the front driveshaft WILL contact the swaybar.

 

[Jomama]

Hmm.... Do you think it is too much correction if you have a factory bumper and no winch? A rather well known seller of accessory parts on this board recommended J's to me with castor plates. Has anyone out there actually done J’s with castor plates and had the castor measured?

IIRC someone here did do just that. It over corrects, but it was his comment that it drove better/straighter. T Y L E R also just added the plates, and I dont think is running anything but J springs(?) Will find out myself next weekend. Currently its driveable, but real sloppy when switching lanes and crossing all the ruts in the asphalt up here.

 

[Tools R Us]

If the caster is too much with the plates, putting OME correction bushings in upside down will reduce the castor? Doing just the rear two will reduce it some, all four will reduce it more. They would also add clearance between the tie rod and arms?