Topic: Bastard Pack?

[bigal389]

I've read a few different places about a bastard pack leaf springs to  restore the lift of the stock springs. Has anyone here done it and what is needed (u bolts, ect.)? Ineed to do something all of the leafs on my Yj have no arch to them at all.
Thanks, Al

[sharpxmen]

stock leafs i think were just straight (no arch) with the Jeep on wheels.

[bigal389]

Well that explains part of the ride quality. They're completely flat so when they flex they have to reverse arch.
Thanks, Al

[sharpxmen]

stock ones are better than any of the lift packs, you can try a 1'' lift (i don't know if anyone makes them though, i thing 2'' is the starting point). I have a Rough country 4'' lift kit, they are better than the previous 2.5'' kit i had but still stiffer than stock.

[bigal389]

I may try the bastard pack idea, the local pick and pull here has a 1/2 off sale this weekend. That would put me with $25 in a set of springs to build them out of. That way if  I don't like them afterwards I've just lost my time and a little cash.
Al

[Jeffy]

I've never heard of them called 'bastard packs'.  Swapping leafs is very common.  When building leafs you can go about it two ways.  One is to have thicker leafs with more arch.  The other is to have a bunch of thinner leafs with more arch.  In any case you are raising the spring rate.  There's no way around this.  More spring rate will equal stiffer ride.  The trick to to add the minimum about to get the job done.  This is why custom leafs like from National Springs have 8 leafs or more in them.

Honestly, I'd probably swap out the leafs all together then to screw around with having to unclamp leafs and clamp them again. Stock YJ leafs do have some positive lift to them when new but not much.  If your leafs are old you can take a main leaf from another YJ leaf, cut the ends off and slip that into the pack for about 1-1.5" of lift.  This is commonly done when people go SOA.

Another option would be to use SJ front leafs.  The leafs are offset so you can either get stock wheelbase or add 2" and 2" of height. CJ-7 rear leafs are 1" taller then YJ's.

And yes, if your U-bolts are stock you will want to replace them.

[bigal389]

Thanks Jeffy. I read about it on another forum and that was what they called them so I assumed it was the common name for them. Naturally I can't find the thread again.
Al

[chardrc]

remember to remove the track bars from your jeep (at-least the rear) if you want the suspension to move. definitely helped on my yj on and off road.

I'm too lazy to search for it now but I think someone on here made a leaf pack out of various junkyard leafs (some from an s10 or durango or something).

[bigal389]

The on I read about was from an s10 but I couldn't remember if they used the u bolts from the s10 or what. How did it handle and drive without the truck bars?
Thanks Al

[sharpxmen]

i removed mine in the rear but didn't like it, not steady at hwy speeds and really funny on the corners. I took the swaybar out of the front and helped a lot with flexing. greased poly bushings all around helps a lot with the ride quality (incuding the track bar bushings).

[Bounty Hunter]

I've made several sets of bastard packs and they turned out great.  I start with an extra pair of front YJ leaf springs.  Cut the spring eyes off and use the top two leaves from each pack as an add-a-leaf in each of your stock packs.  It adds 1.5" of lift without making the ride more harsh.

You'll need new center bolts for the spring packs and new ubolts.  Pry the spring clamps open and leave them open.  Or hammer them back closed once you're finished.

[VA_YJ]

Bounty, can you provide a bit more detail on the YJ add-a-leaf bastard pack?  Does one set of YJ front leaves lift both the front and rear?  You could add some boomerang shackles, Ford truck front shock mounts, longer Bilstein shocks and get a couple of inches lift - just right for 31s with more articulation and a great ride for not too much money.  You could drop the transfer or modify rear driveshaft (SYE/modified XJ front).

[Jeffy]

Bounty, can you provide a bit more detail on the YJ add-a-leaf bastard pack?  Does one set of YJ front leaves lift both the front and rear?  You could add some boomerang shackles, Ford truck front shock mounts, longer Bilstein shocks and get a couple of inches lift - just right for 31s with more articulation and a great ride for not too much money.  You could drop the transfer or modify rear driveshaft (SYE/modified XJ front).

You need four leaf packs since your taking the main leaf and in his case the second leaf out of each pack.

[sharpxmen]

i don't know if it's worth the effort (for the money you can get a new set for i mean). Is it better ride quality this way?

[Jeffy]

i don't know if it's worth the effort (for the money you can get a new set for i mean). Is it better ride quality this way?

Honestly, I don't think so unless you're set on using stock springs and have access to some leafs already.