sitting in the shop is now a set of 4 rancho 5000 series shocks. back order on the leafs is the 15th to ship. that dosn't mean they will ship the 15th just that the back order will update every 15 days till they ship. with these springs i get 1 1/2" lift over stock, right now i'll guess i'm squated about 1 1/2" below stock, one spring in rear is 3/4" lower than the oposite side. with bad pinion angle due to bent springs

now i have 2 rear leaf springs and 4 shocks sitting in the shop, with no word on the back ordered front leaf's

 Cancel the order on the front springs and get another pair of  rancho rear springs. Put them on the front with missing links or a ruf kit from RRO.

WHY would i want front springs that hard. i can just see the joy in taking a 70 mile drive on washboard gravel roads with a bad spring set up.

Cancel the order on the front springs and get another pair of  rancho rear springs. Put them on the front with missing links or a ruf kit from RRO.

x2.  Like he said.  You will be alot happier at the end.  believe me. 

  Rear springs are softer than front springs, remember that the front end is heavier. Rear springs are also longer which allows for more wheel travel. Why would you not want a softer ride with more travel?

If you have a spare set of springs just pull the longest leaf and add it to your new spring pack for the RUF conversion.  That way you keep a pretty soft ride and it will support the extra weight. 

when you say rear springs are softer than front, not according to the rancho specs. basicly the rancho matched set i bought are light duty front, medium duty rear, for a balanced ride with 1 1/2" of lift over new stock springs ride height, then i bought the matched rancho shocks for these springs. drivability is what i'm after. not articulation, not large tire clearance, not mud bogging ability, just good gravel road stability and high desert 2track ability. and tire chains clearance.

One issue with the RUF conversion is the longer wheel base.  You are basically sliding your front axle 1.5" further forward.  This means you have to replace your shock towers and may have issues with your steering unless you run a high steer kit.

But even though the springs may be designed to hold a bit more weight, the 3" increase in length means the ride becomes quite a bit softer.  That is why YJ Springs are considered such a nice upgrade when it comes to on road comfort.  I know switching to the RUF made a huge difference in my SJ.

when you say rear springs are softer than front, not according to the rancho specs.

  I do not know where you are getting your specs, but they are wrong. I have the rancho catalog right in front of me and I have used said combo on my rig. So I know first hand of the benefits and ride characteristics.
 front rancho springs RS44046: 256 lbs. per inch rating
 rear rancho springs  RS44146: 156 lbs. per inch rating

Which vendor is giving you this info?

the specs came from rancho, but it was a total spring load per spring not a per inch rate. rear springs are higher total load than front. rancho calls the rear medium duty the front light duty, i could have ordered the extra leaf for the front, bringing them up to medium duty. giving them the same basic total weight rating. since the frame of the samurai is not in my opinion a heavy duty structure, i'm not putting heavy duty springs on it. i'll trust rancho's engineers to understand what will work on my 87 samurai. i have them on other rigs. back order is set to ship 4/24- 4/25 on front springs. your rancho book sounds like a great thing to have. it took hours on the internet finding a good deal, once i had all the part numbers i just googled them, picked the best price with shipping included. the parts where shipped from a warehouse in the same location as rancho is located. i have lived near this type of warehouse before, it was nice to be able to walk in and buy direct at the same price the auto parts stores paid

I was playing around with a scale under my SJ last night.  Under the right rear wheel it weights 430 pounds.  But under the rear bumper it only weights 210.  So my axles and tires in the rear corner weighs as much as my SJ. 

Tuesday I plan on actually measuring all four corners and seeing what the rig weighs.

are you using wheel scales like they use on race cars, that would be interesting.

No, I was using an old bathroom scale we use over in the horse barn. 

i'll trust rancho's engineers to understand what will work on my 87 samurai.

This made me laugh.  The leaf they designed... Its nice but way too stiff for me.  That's why I disassembled it added some stock springs to it.  A huge difference.  Better ride quality and hell it gave me 1" more lift.  There's trailtough, they sell bonz springs.  From what Ive seen and rode on my friend's samurai, I was impressed with thier design.  I personally think this is the best route to go instead of Rancho.  And alot cheaper too.  The rancho shocks are supposed to be that good, yet it has failed on me couple times.  That's why most of us use DoesTech shocks.

My point being, you're at a website where it combines all of the experts from all over the world.  Most of people on this board knows what their doing unlike the engineers at Rancho.  I would question the engineers at rancho.