Building a Universal Modified

Hi Jeff,  thanks for sharing the starch results. Very interesting!  Back to a past subject - My brother Ron works at a steel fabricating shop.  We are going to make 4 compete sets of Ubolt skid plates like you made for Stan.  He is going to make drawings with solid works that we can share with others on the page.  I wondered if you had aleady done that - didn't find anything with a search.

Hi Frogkid,

Thanks for the feedback, even with the sway bar, I am significantly more flexible than the other leaf springs flattys I am wheeling with and I have more body roll. That’s what I am seeing and that’s what people who ride with me tell me. An example would be in an off camber ditch, if I follow the same line as others, they make it through but I end up rubbing my cage. I have learned to solve most of this with driving technique but it is still obvious that I have more roll than stock.

Truthfully, I am very happy with the dynamics of the Jeep now and I really don’t notice any situation where it’s obvious that my suspension is a problem. I don’t know if it could be better because I don’t have another similar example to go by but my fun meter is on 11 so I think I’m doing good.

Shocks: I think the bilsteins are pretty good but maybe could be better. Idk. I’m not up in shock science too much. These are valves 255/75. I think. The only thing I notice is when I am climbing a bumpy ledge sometimes I get a little bouncy compared to others. It can be a bit of an uncontrolled feeling that I’m not sure how I feel about but then again sometimes this action will actually pitch me over the hump so I just stay with it.   A sway bar can’t help with that since it’s not side to side.

... in fact, I will probably stick with what I have suspension wise till I see another 82” wheelbase vehicle go somewhere that I can’t. For now, I feel like I’m dialed in.

Hi Bill,

My build thread is a “no flame” zone. In fact, if you have read it you can see that it is a diary of how I went from not knowing anything to learning through experience what a lot of these guys already knew

Yes, putting some sort of bump stop would stop the shackles from inverting but I do not want to limit my travel on side to side flex:



There are lots of pics on page 73 but here is an example: notice the left shackle is close to inversion while the right shackle is fully stuffed the opposite way. The left shackle will not invert on compression because the right spring and shackle are forcing the axle to go backwards, not forwards. I have learned that the shackle inversion problem only occurs when both sides are allowed to droop. I have also learned that full droop does. not help me offroad. The only time both wheels are able to droop is when there is no weight over the axle and in that case you have no traction anyway so that flexibility is useless. This would be if you are jumping out of a ditch with the front wheels off the ground or your belly is hung up on a rock.



... a natural instinct would be to limit the shackle travel but that would also affect your side to side articulation. This is why I use a single limit strap on the hogs head. This allows me full articulation left to right but keeps both side from drooping which helps me get over things easier because the weight of the axle can pull the Jeep over stuff. ....

In this build thread, you see tons of information on spring geometry. I do not claim expertise. I am a hands on student who wants to learn by doing and not reading. I also like to post my results so that people can see what I’ve done and where I’ve been and hopefully save some time and money. For some, it confirms what they already knew and they can say “I told you so” . I don’t give too much advise. I like to demonstrate what I have been through with photos and videos and let you decide for yourself. Some will disagree, but I said all that to say this .....

If you follow my examples you will get very good articulation from leaf springs but in my humble experience, I have learned that it is not what I want. Over 4 or 5 years, I have been shortening my springs, adding a sway bar, e.t.c. And BAM BAM is more capable than ever. I really love my dynamics now. Yes, I am picking tires a lot more now but it’s better to have weight on 3 tires with one in the air than it is to have 4 touching with no weight on them and your body unloaded. That’s my experience anyway.   Thanks for reading.

Edited by jpet - 26 June 2020 at 8:42pm

I would call that home remedy a success!  Thanks for your research and sharing.  Glad you got out to wheel some more.  I'm still planning for mods from lessons learned at Southington.

It will be interesting to see what sort of "staying" power the starch has.  Starch obviously can change form based on temperature.  It is for certain way more cost effective than any of the "sealants". 

jpet wrote: Isn’t cost reason enough?

Yes, of course......I was just commenting on the amount. There seemed to be a balance concern question. I was just addressing the comparison amounts of your mix vs Slime.

I've always used Slime in lawn mower tires with good results. The cleanup I don't know other than excess on the OUTSIDE of the tire cleans up with a water rinse.....now that inflated/flat fix in a can is a different animal. If you want a sticky mess there's what you need.

Glad the starch worked for you, always good to hear home remedies.

Unless I missed something you added about 16oz which is what would be recommended if you were using 'Slime'......I see no difference other than cost.

jpet wrote: .... No noticeable imbalance ....

Is there a noticable fluid mass inside the tire?  This is interesting stuff.  Would you attempt to remove the remaining fluid or add more like ballast weight to the front end?  Just a few thoughts that come to mind.  Where did you come up with this idea?