Topic: skid plates for YJ

[oldjeep]

If the Jeep is a daily driver, I would not recommend a shackle reversal.  If you install it on the Jeep, and you have to make a sudden stop while driving at highway speeds, the nose of the jeep will dive in much more than with the current shackle configuration (the axle moves back as it compreses with shackle reversal).  I personally would go with the tube idea...

Yup, dive will increase - the extent will be defined by how soft your springs are and how long the shackles are.  However the on road ride is a lot better with reversed shackles.
Pretty decent writeup on the forces involved here:  http://www.jeeptech.com/susp/elkcahs/

That being said, there are plenty of vehicles that had the shackles on the rear of the front springs - and somehow people survived driving them

[Jeffy]

Yup, dive will increase - the extent will be defined by how soft your springs are and how long the shackles are.  However the on road ride is a lot better with reversed shackles.
Pretty decent writeup on the forces involved here:  http://www.jeeptech.com/susp/elkcahs/

That being said, there are plenty of vehicles that had the shackles on the rear of the front springs - and somehow people survived driving them

M38 and M38A1 being a few.

[chardrc]

Yup, dive will increase - the extent will be defined by how soft your springs are and how long the shackles are.  However the on road ride is a lot better with reversed shackles.
Pretty decent writeup on the forces involved here:  http://www.jeeptech.com/susp/elkcahs/

That being said, there are plenty of vehicles that had the shackles on the rear of the front springs - and somehow people survived driving them

M38 and M38A1 being a few.

m38 having the shekels in the rear. doesn't look that way in this pic (http://www.cj-3a.com/m38.jpg) or when i saw one for sale this summer.

but i guess you are right about the m38a1 (http://www.surplusjeep.com/images/M38A1F-B.jpg)

[Jeffy]

m38 having the shekels in the rear. doesn't look that way in this pic (http://www.cj-3a.com/m38.jpg) or when i saw one for sale this summer.

but i guess you are right about the m38a1 (http://www.surplusjeep.com/images/M38A1F-B.jpg)

Fine replace the M38 with a M-170 then.     Most trucks that used leafs up front had shackles in the rear.  The only ones that insisted on having shackles up front were Jeeps and the early TLC's.  Even Land Rover who also copied the jeep design corrected the problem.

[scarabchuck]

Well I definetly know I'm not going to do most of the stuff you guys are talking about, hell I don't know what most of the stuff you guys said is....
 I will probably have to fab something , like the bar thing.  I don't know seeing those shackles and stuff right there under the bumper really bother me... they just seem so vulnerable.
What's funny is in the Chiltons manual they actually show a skid plate that mounts under the bumper , I've done some searching though and can't find anything.

[oldjeep]

Well I definetly know I'm not going to do most of the stuff you guys are talking about, hell I don't know what most of the stuff you guys said is....
 I will probably have to fab something , like the bar thing.  I don't know seeing those shackles and stuff right there under the bumper really bother me... they just seem so vulnerable.
What's funny is in the Chiltons manual they actually show a skid plate that mounts under the bumper , I've done some searching though and can't find anything.

That would be interesting to see.  Can you scan it or take a picture of it and post it up? 

[Jeffy]

Well I definetly know I'm not going to do most of the stuff you guys are talking about, hell I don't know what most of the stuff you guys said is....
 I will probably have to fab something , like the bar thing.  I don't know seeing those shackles and stuff right there under the bumper really bother me... they just seem so vulnerable.
What's funny is in the Chiltons manual they actually show a skid plate that mounts under the bumper , I've done some searching though and can't find anything.

That would be for the 1990-1993 Jeep Renegade.  It wasn't much though.  Honestly, the shackles are the least of your worries really.