Springs for snow plowing

Hello everybody, glad to be able to join the club. I just bought a sweet 89 YJ 6 cyl with new everything; motor, trans, hardtop, wheels, tires, etc. Love it! It came with a new Western Unimount plow. The previous owner used it solely for plowing his long driveway. He never beefed up the front springs for the plow addition. I was told, but I don't know if it's true, that the factory springs are rated at 840lbs each for the 6 cyl. General Spring recommends using their springs rated at 1080 lbs each. Of course I would change all 4. I'm not looking for lift just the extra weight capacity. Does anyone have any experience or suggestions on which springs to use with the plow?

 

How many leafs are on your spring pack? The factory ranged from 4 to 6 leafs in a pack depending on the duty of the spring. I don't know the lbs of each but I do know that the 6 leaf spring will beat you to death even with a little weight. The front and rear springs are interchangeable. I think Rocky-road 4x4 sells them up to 9 leaf packs.

http://www.rocky-road.com/jeep-leaf-springs.html

 

Thanks Pete, that's what I was concerned about. While I will use it for a little plowing l'm mostly going to enjoy just driving it. General Spring had suggested putting their rear 1080 lb springs all around but if it's going to ride like a brick I won't consider that option. I think that I'm going to install a new set of OEM front springs for now and maybe supliment them with air bags like I did on my pickup. Do you know who makes a good set? Thanks again for responding to me.

 

By the way I just saw the pic of your Jeep. Nicely done!

 

Thanks it is still a work in progress. I am sprung over axle. Before the lift I ran 4 leaf all the way around. Great ride, but once I lifted, I axle wrapped the springs front and rear. I did not want a track bar so I researched until I found an old magazine article from the 90s on how to make a custom stronger spring without sacrificing ride too much so I made them for the rear (7 leafs) and then put 5 leafs up front. So far I'm very happy with the set up. Another option you might do: The OEM springs from a Jeep Wagoneer are beefier. They are 1 inch longer, and push the axle out 2 inches while giving you a 2.5 inch lift over stock. Means you will have to lift the back unless you like the bulldog look.

Here is the link for Rocky-road 4x4 where I get my springs:

http://www.rocky-road.com/jeep-leaf-springs.html

I have also bought them on ebay and used on craigslist.

 

Thanks again Pete. It just so happens that I was in the auto parts store this morning and talked to a guy who also plows with his YJ. He put the 6 leaf springs in all around to compensate for the plow weight. He said the ride got stiffer but not as bad as he expected. I'm going to give that a try and I'll let you know how it worked out. Keep the shiny side up and the dirty side down.