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How much should I lift my rear?

C

CASEY-R

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Sumner, WA
I'm looking for some opinions on lifting the rear of my XJ a little more. It's a '98 Sport with the AW4 and NP231. I bought a used 3" Skyjacker lift off of Craigslist a couple months ago and got it installed. It came with the fixed control arms, coils and leaf springs. The front went up about 3.5"s but the back only went up 3".
I already have a 31" spare in the stock location and will be adding a fuel tank skid, transfer case skid, rock sliders and tools in the back.
My plan is to get some extended shackles but I'm undecided on the length. So what has been your experience with how much skids and tools and spare parts has affected ride height?
 
MY shackles should work GREAT! I think they give you 0.5", or maybe it was 0.75" lift

or if you really want a rake get something that will give you a 1" lift, so a shoackle that is 2" longer than stock
 
HO shackle relocation bracket..
 
If your going to put alll that extra weight in it, i say add another leaf to the pack.

I had the shackle relocation brackets, and honestly i didnt like them, with my soft leaves, and long shackles, i got crazy axle wrap, if i put the pedal to the floor in 1st gear, id snap the DS i broke 3 ds in a month, i said screw it, sold the brackets and havent broken a DS since.

Some say they make the ride better, i dont believe so, mine rode the exact same.

I also netted an 1 to 1.5 inches of lift.
 
I would do either:

1" shackle and relocation brackets (brackets don't work well with stock shackles FYI)

or

1 or 2 Old man emu AAL's inserted into the sky-packs. You net about .5 to 1" of lift with each AAL and it doesn't harshen up the ride too much. Probably the only decent AAL out there.
 
With my relocation brackets I have skyjacker full length aals. Been good for the last 8 yrs and 2 xjs with no sagging and now have 4 inches with brackets. Rides smoother than my front RE coils.
 
Hadn't thought of going the AAL route.
Was kinda sold on the relocation brackets but if their not going to work with stock shackles too well I'm not sure.
I suppose the good thing about the AAL is that the pinion angle won't change. It looks like the angle is good for when I get the SYE done.
Thanks for the answers.
 
Maybe add 1 leaf and use an MJ shackle, I have a bastard pack + MJ shackle and I wanna say I'm sitting around 3.25" Havent measured it yet tho. Obviously your pack will differ, but just sayin. I beleive the MJ shackle gives approx .75"
The nice thing about the HO bracket is that you can make sure your shackle angle is good.
 
i have only read on here a few (or less) people that had problems with the HD relocation brackets and stock shackles. IMHO i am betting there was something else wrong with their set up, but i cannot be sure. but if you are still worried about it, i see that rough country is now selling a relocation bracket that is completely bolt on and goes inside the factory bracket instead of over. it doesnt interfere with the factory fuel tank skid or the hitch. seems like a cool bracket but i have not heard any opinions or feedback from the rough country ones. though they are a few dollars cheaper than the HD ones, i am still planning to buy from HD to support a sponsor.
 
2stix said:
i have only read on here a few (or less) people that had problems with the HD relocation brackets and stock shackles. IMHO i am betting there was something else wrong with their set up, but i cannot be sure. but if you are still worried about it, i see that rough country is now selling a relocation bracket that is completely bolt on and goes inside the factory bracket instead of over. it doesnt interfere with the factory fuel tank skid or the hitch. seems like a cool bracket but i have not heard any opinions or feedback from the rough country ones. though they are a few dollars cheaper than the HD ones, i am still planning to buy from HD to support a sponsor.
Click to expand...

This is the stock shackle set at 45 degrees and at ride height with no cargo:

DSCF7277.jpg


This is what happens when you load 250 lbs in the rear with that setup (shackle is resting on the bracket):

DSCF7446.jpg


This is my long arm kit flexed out. Notice the rear's limited uptravel. The shackles are hitting the brackets preventing any more uptravel.

DSCF7434.jpg


The shackle ends up hitting the bracket because of it's short and wide construction. Most people use relocation brackets with longer shackles and do not have this issue. I wanted to use the standard 45 degree angle but it just doesn't work with stock shackles so I ended up with 70 degrees to get full range of motion. I'm in the process of swapping out the shackles and also the leaf springs to achieve a better flexing setup. Probably will end up with OME leaves and 1" extended shackles.
 
Last edited:
I looked at the Rough Country re-location brackets http://www.roughcountry.com/install/1117.pdf . They are close in appearance and design to those of HO. I like these better because there is no need to cut and weld on the XJ. They are all bolt in.
 
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