Question for a Flexologist

[Rocked-N-Locked]

Been 4wheeling and offroading for years but am still a little green when it comes to hardcore jeeping. About a year ago I took the plunge and bought a 94 YJ that someone had already done extensive work to. It has a 4.5 inch currie lift, lockers front and rear, currie 9" rearend with disc, currie tailshaft conv. with added two low index. So overall it does very well on the trail, but for some reason I have very little flex compared to other YJ's that I go out with.
One other thing, it came with "axle plumbed air shocks", and I was told that when one tire is collapsed up into the fender the air transfers to the other side.....not to sure about this. I think this may be my problem.....If so, what is the best shock set up for a YJ???

[Jason]

When you are off road do you disconnect your sway bar? Are your front and reat track bars still there? Those two really limit flex in the YJ's.

[RAT]

Been 4wheeling and offroading for years but am still a little green when it comes to hardcore jeeping. About a year ago I took the plunge and bought a 94 YJ that someone had already done extensive work to. It has a 4.5 inch currie lift, lockers front and rear, currie 9" rearend with disc, currie tailshaft conv. with added two low index. So overall it does very well on the trail, but for some reason I have very little flex compared to other YJ's that I go out with.
One other thing, it came with "axle plumbed air shocks", and I was told that when one tire is collapsed up into the fender the air transfers to the other side.....not to sure about this. I think this may be my problem.....If so, what is the best shock set up for a YJ???

I'm not a YJ guy (round headlights here) but there is one thing that seems to be universal when it comes to Jeeps. MORE flex! Thats all fine and good, but you just bought that Jeep, and it sounds like a pretty nice set up. Why not wheel it a little more before you worry that it's not working like other Jeeps. If you are comfortable with the way it feels and wheels, who cares if it doesn't flex that much? Work with what you got, it's a lot more fun. I wheeled mine until the wheels literally fell off before I started changing things dramatically. My :2:

[lakev2]

some reason I have very little flex compared to other YJ's that I go out with.
One other thing, it came with "axle plumbed air shocks", and I was told that when one tire is collapsed up into the fender the air transfers to the other side.....not to sure about this. I think this may be my problem.....If so, what is the best shock set up for a YJ???

Axle plumbed air shocks? I gotta see a picture of that.

Good way to check if your schock travel is limiting your flex is to first do a visual check. you can see uptravel easily by looking for the clean spot.
to check down travel on shock. remove bolt from lower mount and jack the frame of the jeep as high as you can get it and see if the extended shock is to short to reach the shock mounting tabs.

to cure a limit in travel by the shock, either adjust mounting locations, or change shocks if their overall travel is too short for the jeep.

I would suspect that the previous owner installed shocks that are too short for the application and you have little to no droop.

really wanna see those axle plumbed air shocks.

[Rocked-N-Locked]

It has the front sway bar is still there, track bars gone.......And Rat Patrol, you are correct , it does as well as any jeep we go with, even on some very difficult trails I have just noticed lately, especially yesterday, that at times I have a tire 3 or 4 feet off the ground before my weight transfers. Which I guess is no huge deal, just a little more comfortable with all four down.

[Rocked-N-Locked]

Lakev2.....Let me clarify, when I say axle plumbed, I mean fronts are tied together as one...with one air chuck and the same with the rear. This being done with air lines from shock to shock through the frame. I can actually hear the air transfering when I am wheeling.

[Zoobi]

I'd be a little concerned about the shock set up. Whats in place to keep the high side from rolling you over on a side hill? When I first put the airbags on the rear of my truck, I hooked them like that. The sway was horrible. It did exactly what your describing in a bad way and would try to push me over on corners and high winds. Your case it would be side hills. The concept is good for straight line crawling but im my opinion, that's about it.

As for the flex, like lakev2 said, shock travel or sway bars could limit you. Too much travel can hurt you as well. The lower axle has no weight on it and that means no traction.

[Rocked-N-Locked]

Zoobi.....My thoughts exactly and if this was such a trick set up it would be widely known and used, the more I think about it I don't really like it.

[Tumbleweed13]

I had, and wheeled a YJ for 14 years. Just get a shock thats the right length. Bilstiens are about the only ones that are valved with the weight of your jeep in mind. All the other popular brands are a generic valve setting. You don't need high dollar external resivours ( can't spell). I removed the rear track bar, and the front swaybar. I left the front track bar, with a modified mounting bracket. Another thing that effects flex is the leaf springs. I went thru 5 different brands of springs and they all flexed different. I never used Currie's. My RE 4.5 extreme duty's flexed and road the best.

Remember, finding the solution is half the fun. Good luck.

[lakev2]

Do you have a disconnect setup on the swaybar?

Disconnecting that will help a bunch offroad, I have set laying in the garage somewhere for yj swaybar. I completely removed my swaybar after leaving it disconnected for a couple days and not noticing a difference onroad.

Are the shocks the air adjustable rs9000's just plumbed together instead of to the adjuster controls that rancho sells?

Best bet would be to check shock travel, maybe remove plumbing system and run a set pressure in each shock. If shocks are not able to be modified find a different set perhaps.

[Rocked-N-Locked]

I think I am going to completely remove the sway bar and as for the shocks, I have tried to figure out what make they are and when I cross reference numbers I think they are Gabriels. Just because it is interesting I found the original discription from when I bought the jeep.......
"Suspension – There is a 1” body lift. The front spring hangers have been upgraded. The suspension is a Currie Custom 4” lift. The jeep can also be lifted an additional 2” via air lift shocks. These are not lame Rancho dial-a-hardness shocks. The shocks are plumbed by axle, so as the left goes over a rock, it increases pressure to the downhill side, keeping you more stable. The best part is you can adjust the drivelines depending on how many people, gear, dogs, ect… you piled into the jeep – to minimize driveline vibrations".....
Thank you guys for the info. very very helpful, I will check my up and down travel and see what I have and will probably just get some regular shocks

[Jason]

Dont remove the saw bar just yet. You may not like the ride at first. Some feel much more comfortable with them attached. Get some disconnects first.
I removed mine after a wheeling trip where I thought I had reconnected the disconnects. Nope. Drove for about a week and thought something was different. The steering felt loose. The Jeep being a 4 banger, she doesn't go fast and I don't take the corners too fast. <insert disclaimer here> You have to keep in mind the fool who cuts you off in traffic.
Probaly most important, mine is not a daily driver and I usually tow the the trail.
That being, I just removed it. I may even have the disconnects in the gargage if you want them. Where about in So Cal are you?

[NAILER341]

It sounds like those are just "Air Shocks" like you would find on an old wanna be hot rod.

Throw those away and get some real shocks.



If the budget permits, look into some Fox shox.

[avjeepfreek]

I've also been on the "Quest for more Flex!" I have a '93 YJ that I have tried a number of things to get it to flex more. I run a 4.5" Superlift kit and it probly has one of, if not the stoutest sets of springs you can get on a lift kit. (I got the kit for free so, I'm not complaining!) I run a set of Rancho RS5000 shocks that are matched to my lift kit. I have removed the front sway bar completly. I found that I didn't notice the differnence in having the front connected or disconnected at all. I did purchase an adjustable front trac bar from JKS which I can unhook while on the trail and it gives the front end a lot more flex. I've recently been toying with the idea of removing the lower metal bump stops on the front axle (2" metal stoppers that came with my lift kit) and only leaving the BIG rubber upper bump stops in place. I've been looking at it closely and find that I only have about 2 1/2"s of space between the two stops before they bottom out against each other. Some of the other guys that have YJ's with those stops removed or not installed are out flexing me by a mile! I also bought a set of bommerang shackles from Rough Country (Found'em for $34 a set on ebay) and they were a huge help as well! They let the springs flex a lot more. All of this stuff helped mine and gave it some great flex!



My :2:

Scott

[NAILER341]

I've also been on the "Quest for more Flex!" I have a '93 YJ that I have tried a number of things to get it to flex more. I run a 4.5" Superlift kit and it probly has one of, if not the stoutest sets of springs you can get on a lift kit. (I got the kit for free so, I'm not complaining!) I run a set of Rancho RS5000 shocks that are matched to my lift kit. I have removed the front sway bar completly. I found that I didn't notice the differnence in having the front connected or disconnected at all. I did purchase an adjustable front trac bar from JKS which I can unhook while on the trail and it gives the front end a lot more flex. I've recently been toying with the idea of removing the lower metal bump stops on thee front axle (2" metal stoppers that came with my lift kit) and only leaving the BIG rubber upper bump stops in place. I've been looking at it closely and find that I only have about 2 1/2"s of space between the two stops before they bottom out against each other. Some of the other guys that have YJ's with those stops removed or not installed are out flexing me by a mile! I also bought a set of bommerang shackles from Rough Country (Found'em for $34 a set on ebay) and they were a huge help as well! They let the springs flex a lot more. All of this stuff helped mine and gave it some great flex!

My :2:

Scott

For a YJ, there are a limited number of things you can do to enhance your flex without fabbing stuff up.

Start with your shocks.
The rancho 5000 shocks are garbage, that is why they are like 30 bucks each. try running your jeep over some obstacles with and without the shocks on there and see the difference. You can do this on a leaf sprung YJ.

Be sure your bushings are all very well greased, and not over torqued at the shackles. I kept mine torqued to about 25# using Distorted thread lock nuts.


Disconnect the sway bar for off road, and remove the Track bar or "Pan Hard bar".