I have a 90 B2 and recently discovered my drivers side coil spring is busted. I want to put new springs in but keep hearing about explorer spring conversions, or going with springs for a vehicle fitted with A/C(not sure the diff that would make) Anyway I do almost all my work myself but have never tried to conquer this job before can someone shed some light on this job, and what are my spring options. Thanks in advance.

 

Coil springs that will fit, but not sure of the ride height after install:

'91-'94 Explorer / Mazda Navaho / Mercury Mountaineer (rear leafs also fit / swap)
'98-up Jeep Wrangler TJ coils (you just have to reverse them)
Jeep Cherokee / Commanche (truck) coils (rear leafs do NOT swap)

The Jeep coils are usually a little more 'springy' and give you a little more flex, the Explorer coils are a lot stiffer than the BII coils. If you're not looking at doing any lifting and basically wanting to go back to stock performance, you can buy a new pair of coils at most auto parts stores. You will want to replace the coils in pairs, otherwise, you may experience leaning, etc. Hope this helps.

 

Thank you very much that helps quite a bit. Now I just have to figure out how to change them.

 

It helps if you have access to a vehicle lift, but, worst case, a floor jack and jackstands will work. You'll need a spring compressor, a prybar or something to bend the retainer tab(s) back for the top, a 1 1/8" combination wrench (I think it's like a 26mm or some such, either will work), as well as the tools needed to remove your front shocks or at least take them loose on either end, so you have more travel to remove the springs. I already have done the Explorer spring swap front and rear on my BII, and it was an all day affair. You'll also want plenty of penetrating oil and a good sense of humor -- or people around who don't mind "colorful language"... very time consuming process, but if you have all the right tools, it goes fairly well. I think there might be a procedure either in a Haynes/Chilton's manual or on the online repair guide @ Autozone.com. Hope this helps out some more

 

What is the advantage of running explorer springs?

 

Explorer springs front and rear usually give you 1-2" of lift (although it rides a little firm). I did the swap personally because my rear springs were weak and sagging, and I didn't want to pay a lot of money for new springs in the rear. I did the coils so it would sit level, although I have a few kinks to work out still. I'm in the process of getting ready to do a complete axle swap and suspension lift, though... after that is done, I'll be riding on a Dana 44 front solid axle and a Ford 9" rear axle... both out of an Early Bronco. In your situation, if you wanted to spend the $$$, you could probably just buy new BII front coil springs from the auto parts store and put 'em in. Stock springs are under $80 each(or pair, not sure), variable rate ones are under $130 at Advance/Schuck's/Kragen/Checker/Murray's.

 

For what it's worth I had three sets of front coils side by side to compare free stand height. The Sploder coils were the shortest but had the tightist spacing and thickest wire. The tallest free standing set was the 2WD BII coils. The 4wd BII coils were a close second.


If you disconnect the front sway bar you can remove and install stock coils with out needing a coil spring compressor. Just put the truck on jack stands and remove the front tire. Remove or loosen one end of the shock and the sway bar. You can pull the caliper to be sure the brake line won't get in the way. A long extension and socket will work at least on one side through the top of the coil spring to remove the large nut that holds the spring on the bottom. As soon as you get the tire off and let the front drop spray the top of the stud that has the large nut on it in the bottom center of the coil spring with PB Blaster or some such. After you remove the shock, caliper and sway bar scrub the treads on the stud over the nut with a small wire brush and spray it down with PB again. Use a break over bar and socket with a cheeter pipe or if you have a large wrench set you can use the box end of a combination wrench with a second combination wrench hooked to the open end to break the botton nut loose. I could get to at least one side from the top with long 1/2" drive extensions and a socket with an impact or rachet. After the nut and large washer under the nut are out I just put a foot on the steering knuckle and push down a little while I turn the coil spring to rotate it out of the tab. Once it's clear just put more weight on the knuckle and the coil will come out. No need to bend on the tab at all. Install in reverse order.

With air tools it should only take a few hours. 1/2 a day at most if you are showing some one how to do it. To bad you aren't close to me or we'd knock them out in a few hours and then you could give me a hand on some of my stuff.

 

You're kidding, right? Sorry, no offense, but I beg to differ. The Explorer coils I put in are around the same free-standing height as stock lift Early Bronco coils (15-16" high), and my "stock" 4wd BII coils were more like 13-14" free-standing. The coils and leafs I used were 3000lb rear leafs and something like 2499lb front (GVWR). I guess when I do my axle swap, I'll pull my Explorer coils out, and since I still have my original BII coils, I'll lay 'em side-by-side and take a picture and post it.

 

Nope. Not kidding. Thats what I found. The BII springs were softer and will compress more so ride height is less. But they will flex more.

I look forward to looking at your pictures.