Old Man Emu YJ

#1
Wow. That was my reaction. I had been looking for a bumper/tire carrier for my wife's Jeep to get the 33 off the tailgate and replace the angle iron/bumperette mess that it came with. After some thought I decided the money would be better spent making the Jeep ride better.

When I bought the Jeep, it had some 2.5" skyjacker CJ springs. At the time I didn't want to buy new springs so I just got some offset shackle plates for the front and called it good. To put it lightly, they rode like hell. Very harsh on any bumps. I figured the springs plus Rancho rs5000s were the issue.

In pursuit of an improved ride I ordered 4 OME 36r springs and bushings. Quadratec had everything to my house in about 3 days.

I also needed new front shackles since I was going back to YJ springs and figured it would be worthwhile to get greasable shackles. I picked up a complete set from Crown for $50 for all 4. The shackles are 1/4" plates, 5-3/16" center (~1/2" lift), came with grade 5 greasable bolts, and a center support. They also came with rubber bushings and sleeves, but I didn't use the bushings. I wouldn't use them for any hard wheeling, but for a street Jeep like my wife's, they are a great option.

Since I was already lifted this was a simple spring swap. Nothing worth taking install pics. I did the fronts first, then ran the Jeep around the block since I needed to turn it around to start the rear. Even with just the fronts swapped the improvement was remarkable. Gone was the harsh, jarring ride. Neighborhood speed humps where nothing where before it would rattle your brain.

I finished the install and I can say this is the smoothest riding Jeep I've ever driven. Better than my brother in law's stock LJ Rubicon. I've seen lots of threads over the years about how good the OME springs ride, and I'm telling you they were all correct. I was expecting an improvement, but damn.
 
#2
Here are some pics. I didn't take a before shot, but here's an older pic to show the offset shackles I used to work with the CJ springs.


The Crown shackles. These were by far the least expensive option I found to get greasable shackles.


After the install. The Jeep is maybe 1/2" taller than before, but I expect that will settle.


Still using the same shocks. I've got RS5000s in front, and some cheap Rough Country shocks in back.




And the take offs.
 
#4
Thanks Dan. It's been a bit of work to get it looking the way Amy wanted. Here's a shot from 2 years ago (after I had removed the terrible tint that was on it). Note - The paint looks much better in that pic than it actually was.

 
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