I used a set of front coils from a grand cherokee. They were 18" in length to begin with and i cut an additional 2" off. This left me with a lift gain of 5"!!!! More than i wanted, i need to go in and cut some more off. It rides better than before, not so bouncy. Only problem is it's noisy, not sure why though the springs seem to have no play at all. The noise is really annoying and if i can't get rid of it, i'm gonna ditch the springs and go with an add a leaf kit. I don't want a rattly piece of ˟˟˟˟. But it was easy and cheap. all i have for now is an after pic

 

not sure what the overall size of the springs are that you are talking about, but the ones we used had an inside diameter that made them very snug around the top bumpstop. Is that the issue? that they rattle like that? I believe I recall some sort of padding thing used on landcruisers at the top and bottom (almost like a donut). An idea I had was to cut some heater hose to use in the same fashion....but we didn't and did not need to. we get the occasional "twang" if we get the bottom bounced up....other than that, no noise.

it may need to settle in too....I had the kids jump up and down a million times on the back bumper.

link to our ZUK mod is in my sig

 

I got a pair of "black magic" jeep coils for like $60 off ebay, I went with the 100# rated ones while most people go with the 125#. May be a cheap alternative if that doesn't work out for ya.

 

What your rear shackle angle look like at the new height?

 

Take some close up pics on how they are sitting on the stops and stuff.

 

i used some jeep springs origionally just so i could install my 3" lift shocks,anyway i hated em! way too stiff. i like buzzard went with 5"x13" 100lb black majic springs.AWESOME!!! got me my 3" of lift in the rear and rides really good.you should cut those jeep spring down to about 12" for about 3"of lift.or get softer springs.also,put the cut end of the coil against the front or back of the bumpstop,plus it will take a couple of days to settle(quiet)down.

 

i did the same mod on my 98 tacoma but i used the regular black magic springs and just welded a piece of 1/4" steel around the bump stop and put heater hose around the ends of the springs and got no noise what so ever. Try the heater hose idea should work but i believe if they got alot of play in them they will wear down the heater hose in a few months but not so hard to take them off anyways.

Good Luck.

 

There may be no play when tested by hand while the truck's at rest, but when the truck hits bumps, springs compress and expand, rubbing against the bump stops.

High-maintenance.

Regular (3-inch) springs are noisy because edge of cut-off bumpstops "pluck" the spring as it compresses and expands.

I cut my bump-stop down to 0.75 inch, drilled and tapped for capture screws (M6), used 0.125-inch thick rubber to eliminate metal-to-metal contact between spring and frame and between spring and lower bump-stop bracket. Installed capture screws such that:

• They will not be affected by compression/expansion, and
• They hold the spring tight against the frame so there's no play at all.

My mod here.

 

I cut another full coil, or roughly 2" off each spring, so right now they're about 14" in total length. all noise is now gone. still not sure what the noise was, but something was a little over extended i guess. so i now ended up with a 3" total lift. totally happy with this mod now, and for $20 and an hour of time, you can't beat it. i'll get some new pics soon. gonna look right with some bj spacers on it.