rear coils and shocks

[4x4illustrator]

Hi Guys, please help me out here. I've been reading all there is on suspension parts and I still have questions. I have an 07 Liberty with 110,000. Time for new coils and shocks/struts. This is strictly a street car so I'm not interested in any lift. I'd like to put in Monroe quick struts in front because of economy and to avoid assembly since I'm doing this myself. .So my big question is what goes in the rear? I'm leaning towards OME light coils and rancho shocks. Or moog coils with rancho shocks. Will my jeep be riding with the front lower with OME coils since the OME gives a 1.5" lift? Can you mix the two brands and have a decent riding jeep? I want a smooth comfortable ride, that handles around corners with out body sway. Can anyone give me sound advice on rear coils and shocks?

 

[jeeplib05]

Hi Guys, please help me out here. I've been reading all there is on suspension parts and I still have questions. I have an 07 Liberty with 110,000. Time for new coils and shocks/struts. This is strictly a street car so I'm not interested in any lift. I'd like to put in Monroe quick struts in front because of economy and to avoid assembly since I'm doing this myself. .So my big question is what goes in the rear? I'm leaning towards OME light coils and rancho shocks. Or moog coils with rancho shocks. Will my jeep be riding with the front lower with OME coils since the OME gives a 1.5" lift? Can you mix the two brands and have a decent riding jeep? I want a smooth comfortable ride, that handles around corners with out body sway. Can anyone give me sound advice on rear coils and shocks?

You could just get replacement Moog springs
You'd sit back at stock height with those but it'd be about the same ride quality
I'm not sure of much options for non-lifted springs except Moog
As far as shocks, really any that you want
I'd personally go OME
If the rear looks a little higher once you're finished just throw on some clevis lift to level it out

 

[TwoBobsKJ]

The big misnomer is that OME springs are just "off-road" springs and will be harsh and only suitable fro the trails.

Not so.

Yes, the OME's will lift you slightly but only back to the height your Jeep had when it rolled off the showroom floor. With over 100,000 miles on your KJ you've sagged almost certainly an inch if not more depending on the crap metal used by Chrysler for the springs when they built yours.

The OME springs and their shocks give a much more stable, smooth and comfortable ride than the original factory springs and shocks. The factory KJ suspension was poor from Mile 1 - and moving to OME will give you a different vehicle. I put OME 927 fronts and 948 rears on mine when it had 101,000 miles on it and I couldn't believe the improvement.

Yes, the Moog assemblies are easy to install and you will notice an improvement but I'm not sure of their longevity.

Bob

 

[tommudd]

Hi Guys, please help me out here. I've been reading all there is on suspension parts and I still have questions. I have an 07 Liberty with 110,000. Time for new coils and shocks/struts. This is strictly a street car so I'm not interested in any lift. I'd like to put in Monroe quick struts in front because of economy and to avoid assembly since I'm doing this myself. .So my big question is what goes in the rear? I'm leaning towards OME light coils and rancho shocks. Or moog coils with rancho shocks. Will my jeep be riding with the front lower with OME coils since the OME gives a 1.5" lift? Can you mix the two brands and have a decent riding jeep? I want a smooth comfortable ride, that handles around corners with out body sway. Can anyone give me sound advice on rear coils and shocks?

First forget the Monroe Quick Struts , same as stock or worse
Also forget Rancho shocks they don't have anything worth installing until you get into the adjustables.
Like Bob mentioned even a " street JEEP" has to have a good suspension to handle pot holes etc
NOW you can mix brands, many do but mix OME coils and Bilstein shocks , it will ride better than it did day one.
On my 04 I bought new I upgraded at 20,000 miles and the ride ( on the street ) was 100% better ran that lift for 100,000 miles.
Now back to the quick struts, I had a guy " trade in a full set of front and rears. I bought a 03 last fall as my next build so thought I would throw them on until my new lift came in. ( it was sagged almost 1.75 inches at 80,000 miles. Installed and ran for one week, hated driving it, ride and handling was terrible in my book, Thank goodness Marlin at jeepinbyal got my lift out to me sooner than expected !

 

[4x4illustrator]

thanks for all the responses....I'm still leaning toward moog or monroe quick struts because of economy and ease of instal.I've heard bilsteins can be harsh and not a comfort ride. So if monroe quick struts are same as stock or worse what assembly would you get for the front? Am I limited to OME coils and struts and having a shop assemble them? Starts adding up...I'm putting this in myself to save money.

 

[tommudd]

thanks for all the responses....I'm still leaning toward moog or monroe quick struts because of economy and ease of instal.I've heard bilsteins can be harsh and not a comfort ride. So if monroe quick struts are same as stock or worse what assembly would you get for the front? Am I limited to OME coils and struts and having a shop assemble them? Starts adding up...I'm putting this in myself to save money.

Hate to tell you but you have heard a lot of things wrong as far as Bilsteins.
One thing to remember , you came on a Jeep KJ forum and asked a question. Many of us have been on the KJ forums for years now, myself over 13 years, both here and LOSTJEEPs which started out as a KJ only forum.
We have built a lot of KJs, myself I have installed aftermarket lifts on over 35 KJs alone. I have ran stock, OME , Ironman, JBA coilovers on my personal KJs ( 2 lifted ) , have also rode in ones with Rustys ( terrible) Skyjacker ( weak ) BDS ( sos -so but a lot for no more than what you get) .
We try and give the best advice we can and want the owner to have a good experience after he spends time and money redoing the suspension.
So with that yes it may cost a bit more but in the long run you'll be much happier with an upgraded suspension .
Yes you will have to have a place compress the springs but if it also does alignments they sometimes cut you a deal. ( which you also need no matter what.
So just something to think about

 

[tommudd]

Had to run some numbers for a customer anyways so here you go
Customer wants OME springs and bilstein shocks
so cheapest about i could find and not search for hours was 696, ofr 4 springs and 4 shocks
With using NAPA for the quick struts and shockwarehouse for rear shocks , plus rear springs I get 581.14 , so about 115. difference
of course you would have cost of compressing the fronts

But whatever, just trying to point the unknowing in the direction all of us think is the best .
Thank you and Goodnight
Rev. Mudd is done with his sermon for tonight

 

[4x4illustrator]

I appreciate your time and responses Tom. You are the one with the knowledge and experience.I respect what you have to say and I hear you loud and clear.
Ok so I see the cost diff is nominal. If I go this route with bilsteins and OEM specifically which model #s. Will I have trouble having a shop do alignment with this 1.5" lift? (really only 1.5"??)
I'm nervous about a lift at all. Climbing into my jeep is already sometimes a pain. My small female frame is not into the look. BUT my driving technique most likely will love the corners...give me some courage...

 

[renegade 04]

A good qualified suspension shop will be able to align a lifted liberty. The place that I take my liberty to be aligned has been around for 108 years.

 

[TwoBobsKJ]

I appreciate your time and responses Tom. You are the one with the knowledge and experience.I respect what you have to say and I hear you loud and clear.
Ok so I see the cost diff is nominal. If I go this route with bilsteins and OEM specifically which model #s. Will I have trouble having a shop do alignment with this 1.5" lift? (really only 1.5"??)
I'm nervous about a lift at all. Climbing into my jeep is already sometimes a pain. My small female frame is not into the look. BUT my driving technique most likely will love the corners...give me some courage...

Great questions - and your concerns are similar to what many of us had prior to changing out our suspensions. Especially if we hadn't done it before.

Here are some details for you:

Front Springs: OME #926 (there may be a couple of other numbers before the 926 but as long as those are the last three digits you're good.)
- NOTE: These springs are MEDIUM DUTY and will give you a little softer ride than the heavy duty OME front springs. Though they are medium duty they're still stronger than stock springs.

Rear Springs: OME #948. These are called "medium" but they are the only rear springs that will work with the Liberty.

Front Springs: OME #900009
Rear Springs: OME #132

Without adding any extras that we might suggest for someone wanting to add 3 to 3.5" in height to their Liberty you'll get approximately 1.5 to 2" of lift - depending on how badly sagged your KJ is. But basically you'll be back to the height the Jeep was when it was new on the showroom floor.

Your ride will be firmer and more stable without feeling harsh or stiff and will give you the extra control the factory suspension is lacking.

What many of us have done is stage the purchase of the springs and shocks. For instance, buy the front springs this month, rear springs next month, front shocks the third month, rear shocks the month after. Spreads out the purchases instead of a big hit at once.

Is this helpful?


Bob

 

[4x4illustrator]

Thanks Bob....very helpful with the details So I'll spread out the shopping list...now just have to hunt around for a good suspension shop. Feels good to get it all sorted out.

 

[tommudd]

Great questions - and your concerns are similar to what many of us had prior to changing out our suspensions. Especially if we hadn't done it before.

Here are some details for you:

Front Springs: OME #926 (there may be a couple of other numbers before the 926 but as long as those are the last three digits you're good.)
- NOTE: These springs are MEDIUM DUTY and will give you a little softer ride than the heavy duty OME front springs. Though they are medium duty they're still stronger than stock springs.

Rear Springs: OME #948. These are called "medium" but they are the only rear springs that will work with the Liberty.

Front Springs: OME #900009
Rear Springs: OME #132

Without adding any extras that we might suggest for someone wanting to add 3 to 3.5" in height to their Liberty you'll get approximately 1.5 to 2" of lift - depending on how badly sagged your KJ is. But basically you'll be back to the height the Jeep was when it was new on the showroom floor.

Your ride will be firmer and more stable without feeling harsh or stiff and will give you the extra control the factory suspension is lacking.

What many of us have done is stage the purchase of the springs and shocks. For instance, buy the front springs this month, rear springs next month, front shocks the third month, rear shocks the month after. Spreads out the purchases instead of a big hit at once.

Is this helpful?


Bob

Hate to do this to ya Bob,:help::Bye::icon_razz::icon_razz:
But you have spring numbers listed which is great
but next you have the OME shock numbers also listed as " springs"
So just to keep the confusion down some , note the above numbers etc

To the OP, if you order a complete OME kit they all come together
If you want OME springs/ cheaper Bilstien shocks then those numbers are available to you as well

 

[TwoBobsKJ]

Doh!!

Wow, guess I should've proofread my post before I hit submit. Thanks for catching that Tom :Insane:

Bob

 

[4x4illustrator]

thanks Bob, very helpful with the part #s. As for the bilsteins all I can find are HD. Are there medium duty bilsteins? Feels good to get everything sorted out...

 

[4x4illustrator]

so I've been pricing OME nitrochargers which are significantly less than nitrocharger sport.
Are these something I can use with OME coils?