Seeing as how the bumper/winch combo weighs a shit ton i was hoping to get some good ideas to tighten back the front end so it doesnt dive upon breaking. Im guessing tighter springs? I have bds on there now as part of my lift.

 

I have good luck with teraflex coil lift. You will alway get this with any lift but with teraflex it's way better than stock. It has to do with your shocks too.

 

<lol> Exactly how much more is a shit ton as compared to the average ton?

 

Roughly two buttloads

 

It's less than a f@ck ton lol

 

But probably more than a crap load

 

Depends, metric or English?

 

i don't know. Smells like bullsh!t to me.

 

I went down this path this last week...

08 Sahara, 2 door, six speed, stock suspension will bilstein shocks...

I gradually added a Rockhard front plate bumper and a warn 9500lb winch, and the front end sagged a bit. The selection of aftermarket stock length front springs that are a just a bit stiffer is limited to non-existent. The Jeep shop in Boone, NC, Rubitrucks (our neighbor bought an awesome Rubicon 4dr conversion from them, 35" BFG M/T, lift, winch and all the off road goodies) recommended Skyjacker 3/4" rubber springs spacers. I got them, and they sat on the shelf for a long, long time since I really didn't have a good procedure for install.

After reading a few discussions about the "best" way, I started the process yesterday morning...

1) Jack up jeep on frame rails, with stands, pull front wheels and tires
2) pull brake and rotors, separate ABS connectors from brake line, tie calipers to frame.
3) with TWO floor jacks on either side of the front axle, pull bottom shock bolts, and sway bar bolts
4) pull top track bar bolt
5) lower axle until there springs can easily be removed, pull springs, one at a time, insert spacer on top, replace spring.
6) using jacks for alignment, put everything back together starting with track bar, using plenty of anti-seize
7) park on level surface and verify front ride height
8) test drive for clunks.

It took me two hours start to finish, include a few miles of washed gravel for a test ride.

The key was good floor jacks and jack stands, and the cheap HF racing jacks do not have enough lift for a jeep. An air gun and 18mm and 21mm impact sockets made the job go faster. Prybars and spring compressors, while available, were not needed, but lineup pins were useful.

Consumables:
skyjacker rubber spacer rings
zip ties to hold brake caliper up and reattach ABS wire
brake cleaner
penetrating oil
anti-seize

Due to this being front end work, I do not recommend this job for a novice mechanic, some of the fasteners needed either an airgun or a 1/2" breaker bar to remove, and if you don't know how to properly use jacks and jackstands, you can drop the truck while under it. While the brake cleaner is not mentioned in the procedure, I always clean my pads and rotors during reinstall, it saves problems down the line.

While I have been buying Rancho shocks for decades, it seems that Skyjacker has a good product line for Jeeps these days, I put on a Skyjacker steering stabilizer recently.

Howard

 

What type of springs do you have on there now with the bds? If they are factory jeep springs you can install a higher number rated spring to make up for the weight. For instance; if the springs you have now end in 17, install a 19.