Since I'm mounting full-width truck axles in a narrow Jeep CJ-7, I've had to re-work the the spring mounting pads on those axles. Due to a quasi-custom front coil suspension, I only needed to put new pads on the rear axle, but my methods here would also apply to a front leaf-spring setup. I tried to save the old factory spring pads that were on the axle, but they were thin, a bit bent, and didn't really survive being cut off. So, I purchased a new pair of really nice Moroso spring pads from a local 4x4 shop, but new ones could easily be from scratch from a piece of rectangular tubing. The U-bolts I'm using were custom-bent at a local spring shop. I went with 5/8" U-bolts, as they're more than half-again stronger than the 1/2" ones that came with my spring set, and it only ran me a couple more dollars total. I also purchased new center pins for the springs; to swap from a spring-under to a spring-over (or vice-versa), the center pin needs to be turned over.

In the process of putting things together, I decided to re-drill the pads, to mount the rear axle back one inch. This will facilitate cutting the body to fit bigger tires, since there's more room to the rear of the rear wheel wells for cutting than there is to the front. By only moving an inch, I gained some cutting space, but still clear the gas tank upon compression of the rear suspension. As a smaller point, this gives me just a smidge more rear drive shaft length, which we all know is in short supply on a CJ. With custom-made spring pads, it's possible to go a bit more than an inch, but the spring dynamics change too much if you go more than just a couple of inches.

Below is what I started this project with; a piece of 1/4" steel plate and the two Moroso spring pads.

Below is a picture of an original 1/2" U-bolt next to one of my custom 5/8" ones. Notice that not only the bolt is bigger, but the size of the nut is a lot deeper, too.

Originally in the Jeep's construction, I was going to use Dodge half-ton spring plates and square U-bolts, in a stock-style spring-under suspension with mild lift springs. This setup would have put the U-bolt ends pointing up, where they wouldn't snag or get the threads dinged. The Dodge parts are pretty cool to use; they're set up for a 2-1/2" wide spring and have the curve for a 3-1/4" axle tube bent into them.

However, I finally got talked into going spring-over. (Thanks, Lars and Chris W.) The quote from Lars was "Why bother to build something twice?". It's a really good point. Chris backed him up. So did my dad. Then my grampa got on the bandwagon too.

Okay, I can take a hint...

The Dodge spring plates weren't a total write-off; the holes in them were spaced correctly, so I used one as a pattern for drilling out my new home-made spring plates.

Here, I'm drilling out a 4"x5" piece of 1/4" steel, to make the U-bolt spring plate. In the picture, you can see the plate under the Dodge spring plate that I was using as a template.

The next step was to find the center of the plates as referenced by the holes. I did this by first drilling out all of the holes to 5/8", the same size as my U-bolts, then put some temporary bolts into the holes. Using some old drafting tricks, I scribed a set of lines that gave me a set of X's that let me draw a pair of center lines.

After finding the centerline of the pads themselves, I center punched a spot one inch forward from center, then drilled a pilot hole. I then bolted the two pads together (just like I did for the plates), and drilled them at the same time, thus making the spacing a perfect match.

The end result is that I have two pads and two plates with offset holes for the spring centering pin.

Here's what it looks like all bolted up. You can clearly see the grinding marks on the axle from where I took off the old spring pad. (You can also see the overly-long spring center pin sticking up thru the hole in the plate.)

The next step is to make sure the pinion angle is set correctly, and then to weld the pads to the axle. That's going to have to wait until I get the rest of the drivetrain and roll cage in the Jeep, so I know what I'm aiming at, and where the suspension is going to sit. Also, I'll be welding a shock mount onto the spring plate. As you can see, with a plate this size, it would be very easy to add a second shock mount if I decide to set up a double-shock system. I will be doing some clean-up of the plates, including knocking down the sharp corners, but that will wait until after the shock mounts are welded.