Cheap leaf spring options (I know- it's been covered)

I want to lift the rear about 2-3 inches. My leafs are saggy. I understand that a bastard pack is the cheapest route, however I'd be doing the job after work and would like to get it done with quickly and without too many problems. Plus, my leafs are 22 years old and rusted to hell- I don't really trust the main leafs for many more winters.

I guess I'm looking for full-packs at around 3" that won't break the bank. Rusty's were top of the list until I saw they want something like $80 for shipping.

Here are my thoughts:

Bastard pack: Pros- cheaper, can adjust height, don't mess with main leaf bolts
Cons- take longer, more work, more parts to source, have to clean up/paint and wait to dry, etc

Pre-made pack: Pros- easier and faster to install (especially if I just get new main leaf bolts - can cut off old if stuck)
Cons- much more expensive

Good and cheap and quick don't usually come together. Replacing with full leaf packs probably won't be any quicker to install if your XJ has 22 years of rust. The bolts that hold either end of the leaf pack to the XJ won't come off easily.

Just build a bastard pack. They work very well, I built one with stock XJ leaves and got 2-2.25 inchs and they rode great. That was a stock XJ main leaf and 4th leaf. They do not take long at all, took me maybe an hour a side max. All you will need is the leafs, a new center pin(5/16 allen head screw alreay grade 8 and round), and new longer ubolts.

cjsxj87 said:

Just build a bastard pack. They work very well, I built one with stock XJ leaves and got 2-2.25 inchs and they rode great. That was a stock XJ main leaf and 4th leaf. They do not take long at all, took me maybe an hour a side max. All you will need is the leafs, a new center pin(5/16 allen head screw alreay grade 8 and round), and new longer ubolts.

Click to expand...

Did you clean/repaint your leafs? Did you use liners? And just to clarify: you used an extra main leaf (cut down) and an extra 4th leaf for around 2.25" lift?

I found 2 sets of XJ stock leafs locally- I think I can turn them into a bastard pack set gradually and then throw the whole works on when they're done. Should still be quite a bit cheaper than buying new full-packs...

Search more. This has been written up so many times it's crazy.

There are so many ways to get 2~2.5" of lift on an XJ. You could do a 1.5" lift shackle with a 1" lift block.

Or you could go the springs route or add a full length AAL to create your own "bastard pack". You can also take something like a set of S-10 springs and build your own set.

The possibilities are endless.

Caution: Stay away from using 2X4's as springs. They tend to rot

Ron

Zuki-Ron said:

There are so many ways to get 2~2.5" of lift on an XJ. You could do a 1.5" lift shackle with a 1" lift block.



Ron

Click to expand...

this is the what I had did with mine just to get some lift, but I used a Bronco II 4X4 leaf spring pack to build mine.

I'd do Old Man Emu 2" Medium Duty for what you want. Heavy Duty will get you 3-3.5" unless you have a heavy rear bumper etc.

Also, I managed to do the leafs in my XJ in a day (though it was spread across two days, friday night + saturday morning) and my XJ is a real rotbox - apply this amount of rust to the leaf bolts and you have a fairly accurate idea of what I went through:


Start hosing it down with PBBlaster or AeroKroil now...

Buy new nuts and bolts. funjeepsparts has them for fairly cheap, the bolts are 3420 2118 and the nuts are 1150 2814. If you're doing leafs alone buy 4 of each, if you do shackles as well, buy 6 of each. You may not need some of the nuts but if the weldnuts break free and you end up mangling them getting them out, you will be glad you got them. Also pick up new U-bolts meant for your particular axle.

if you have a little time to kill start looking for deals on used full packs

The bible of bastard packs:

http://www.cherokeetalk.com/forum/f64/leaf-spring-compatability-chart-9592/