Still Need Coil Perch Help!

[jeepFREAK]

I have been looking on the internet forever on how to fabricate a set of my own coil spring perches. I really never have seen how the manufacturers mount coils onto their axles and frame brackets. Here is how I think they do it, correct me if I am wrong.....

Weld some leaf spring type spring perches to the axle. Weld a round flat plate on top of the perch. Weld some pipe or round tubing on top of the round flat plate. The pipe or tubing will be of the right diameter to allow the coil to fit snuggly around it. Purchase a Coil Retaining Bracket and bolt it to the round plate, therefore clamping the coil. Here is a pic.... Notice the Gold Coil Retaining Bracket.......

I am assuming the same procedure can be used for the frame brackets that hold the coil as well?

P.S. I am open to suggestions, anything!

http://www.4x44u.com/newproducts4u/ranchotj/TJk.jpg

[Ryan]

I 've got 2 brackets that i cut off of a rear end like and suv with coilsperfect for a custom instal , the way you attach the spring and retain it, is by cutting a small hole then bending it up, then you just twist the coil right in looks good and really works... the brackets are yours if you want them....

[jeepFREAK]

Im not sure what you mean by drilling a hole and bending it up. But it sounds great. If the brackets are free ill take em off your hands or you could give them to Rhys to take to school. If they are not free, id like to take a look at em and get an idea of how to make em (if they are easy to make). Or if you have any pics that would be great also. Thanks. Do you know if the spring retainer way is, too, effective? This sounds like a pretty simple way to bolt your coils in and all...

[desteurm]

Ford used a simple design on their coil sprung 1/2 tons/Bronco up until the IFS made its way into most truck lines. Why not go climb under neath some broncos or some Jp TJ's and maybe there is a factory component that you can by from a wrecker that will work, if not maybe a slight modification would make it suit what you have in mind. Why re-invent the wheel on something that is already perfected...:soso

[Chris S]

Yeah, that's pretty much it.

If you care about noise and vibration you want some kind of isolator between the spring and the pad on top.

In this pic you can see that on the stock TJ setup the section that the coil fits snuggly arround is not much taller than one coil of the spring, then it tapers inward to the next coil warp won't catch on it.

http://members.shaw.ca/mudpup/tj/tjtech/discos/disco2.jpg

On top the spring "tower" tapers inward then continues downward and holds the bump-stop. This allows the spring to slide down the tower at full droop and still re-seat when the suspension compresses again. This eliminates the spring trying to lift the axle when it gets past it's static length.

[Chris S]

Originally posted by jeepFREAK
Im not sure what you mean by drilling a hole and bending it up. But it sounds great. If the brackets are free ill take em off your hands or you could give them to Rhys to take to school. If they are not free, id like to take a look at em and get an idea of how to make em (if they are easy to make). Or if you have any pics that would be great also. Thanks. Do you know if the spring retainer way is, too, effective? This sounds like a pretty simple way to bolt your coils in and all...

OK, imagine a hole in your base plate slightly larger diamet than your coil is. Now stick a pry bar into the hole and bend the plate so that one side of the hole is stretched upward. Stretch it enough and you can tuck the end of your coil into the hole and it will stay there.

The coil spring retainers the TJ uses are cheap and effective. Only drawback is that the coil sometimes twists under compression. TJs have a channel with a stopper at the end that the coil sits in so the coil can't rotate. Just weld a tab onto your lower plate to butt the spring up against.

[jeepFREAK]

I also noticed 4 offrd's spring retaining clamp on their TJ2K. Seems that they used a u bolt style clamp and bolted it on the bottom?!?!?! How?!?!?! I also notice the channel with the stopper fabbed up just like Chris S said to prevent the coil from turning clockwise if you were looking at it from the top. (Thanks Chris for this tip by the way!!!)

http://www.4offrd.com/tj2k/testflex_coilstretch.jpg

[lars]

You're swapping in 'Mog axles and you don't have any ideas on how to use the u-bolt to attach the spring to a plate? :p

Seriously, it's not that hard. You could just drill a hole so and use a kind of S-bend in the U-bolt so you can fish it into the hole and bolt the other end down somewhere in the center of the coil plate.

Or more simply, use some flat bar that has been hammered into a upside-down U and bolt the flat end into the center of the spring plate so the inverted U holds the spring down.

Or you could put the threaded bolt hole on the outside of the spring so make it easier access the bolt.

Or sleeve the vertical "can" that center the spring so you can slide a bolt into it and leave part of it sticking out. This will act like the sliding bolt on a door and keep the coil attached to the axle. Add another tab w/hole on the outer side of the spring so the bolt is in double shear for strength. Depending on the amount of time the spring's length is maxed out, there may not be any appreciable wear on the side of the bolt.

If you want to make a plate that fits the bottom profile of the spring, cut out a round plate, and then cut out a circle. That leaves you with a flat "O" shape. Then make a cut through the "O" and bend it so that it has a slight rising curve like the spring. Then cut triangular strips out of thin flat stock and weld it to the sides to support the "ramp" and then weld the whole thing onto a heavy duty plate.

...lars

[Ryan]

Ya they are free. I forgot to ask what coils you are using?? these are pretty close to a tj diameterof spring, and they are very similar to Al's bracket in the pick......

[jeepFREAK]

Yeah I am using TJ coils.

Here is another pic that i found. Looks really simple!!!!

I wanted to add that i found on POR that a TJ has the bottom spring bolted down fixed, and the top one is able to move clockwise or counterclockwise a bit as it flexes. Is this true?

Also do you think that the sharp C-channel metal that the guy below is using may be hard on the springs?


http://www.alaskaoffroad.com/images/Tech/Rear_Suspension/LowerCoilMount.JPG



http://www.alaskaoffroad.com/images/Tech/Rear_Suspension/LowerCoilMount.JPG