Mini-lift

I am wanting to get a touch more clearance, articulation, and improve the ride in my '99 XJ (4.0, AW4, 242, D30 aussie, AMC 20)... and maintain a fairly factory stance/look.



I want to fix the sagging butt, and doing so I was going to pick up an Upcountry spring set. Then I figured I could just throw on a set of 1" shackles to compensate... then I, ran across the RC, and later HD v.2, shackle relocation brackets... 1.5" of lift, is just above perfect! I tried to search, but all comments related involve lifts.

So, I understand the minor lift would occur, and that is fine, but will the relocation of the shackle pivots have the same effect (better ride/articulation) on an otherwise stock XJ?

I understand a 2.5" or 3" would be the way most would go, but I am only trying to fix the sag, and maybe get a better ride and more twisty action along with it.

discuss

[if this belongs in the stock section, please feel free to move it]

I had mine stock with v.1 relocation brackets and my leafs quickly became S shaped. It rode great though.

What size tires? Are your rear springs looking sort of flat? (I can't tell by the photo).

My old rear springs looked mostly flat.., towards a slight 's' shape. Rather than an extra leaf, or a extended shackle band-aid fix.., I went with Old Man Emu rear leafs replacements using the stock rear shackles. New springs are awsome! Additionally, (although under normal circumstances keeping the stock front bumper would've been ok to use the old stock coils), I opted for OME front coils in order to uphold an ARB bull bar 'roo bumper with Warn M8000 winch.., a lot of extra weight. (New OME shocks too). Thing is.., if you want a bit more of "twisty", and/or "articulation", you might want to cut out your rear sway bar. Me thinks if you do so, you might want to 'balance' out that deed with the addition of front end disconnects as well. What will it look like? Like an XJ! OME systems are matched, and are available for soft, medium, or heavy duty performance, and thus are 'matched', or 'tuned' together so the guess work is minimal. Plenty of other options of giving your XJ a 'solid' look will be available suggestions from others who have really done some hard homework, or from trial and error efforts, and will no doubt give you some good suggestions. One thing of note: A good suspension, stock, or otherwise, is really important for proper emergency braking on icy roads, fast turns in same, gravel, etc., for any DD. Tail dragging really, when you think about it, shifts more weight towards the rear end, and lightens up the front. Not much fun if you want to depend on correct functioning.:lecture: Good luck, happy trails.

Alaskan89XJ said:

What size tires? Are your rear springs looking sort of flat? (I can't tell by the photo).

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I am running 235/75-15, and the leafs are currently flat as a board. Bottom of the stock flares are 18"F/16.5"R, so I guess a 1.5" rear lift would bring things back to even with the fronts. This is with nothing in rear sans a full size spare on stock alloy.... meaning a 2" spring would give me 2" over stock, or 3.5" over the current stance, requiring new front springs to compensate.

My old rear springs looked mostly flat.., towards a slight 's' shape. Rather than an extra leaf, or a extended shackle band-aid fix.., I went with Old Man Emu rear leafs replacements using the stock rear shackles. New springs are awsome! Additionally, (although under normal circumstances keeping the stock front bumper would've been ok to use the old stock coils), I opted for OME front coils in order to uphold an ARB bull bar 'roo bumper with Warn M8000 winch.., a lot of extra weight. (New OME shocks too). Thing is.., if you want a bit more of "twisty", and/or "articulation", you might want to cut out your rear sway bar. Me thinks if you do so, you might want to 'balance' out that deed with the addition of front end disconnects as well. What will it look like? Like an XJ! OME systems are matched, and are available for soft, medium, or heavy duty performance, and thus are 'matched', or 'tuned' together so the guess work is minimal. Plenty of other options of giving your XJ a 'solid' look will be available suggestions from others who have really done some hard homework, or from trial and error efforts, and will no doubt give you some good suggestions. One thing of note: A good suspension, stock, or otherwise, is really important for proper emergency braking on icy roads, fast turns in same, gravel, etc., for any DD. Tail dragging really, when you think about it, shifts more weight towards the rear end, and lightens up the front. Not much fun if you want to depend on correct functioning.:lecture: Good luck, happy trails.

Click to expand...

This, and the comment above are exactly what I was looking for. Although I would argue your statement about the tail dragging.

I do agree with you in regards to a well balanced and properly tuned suspension and chassis (used to do it as a profession many moons ago), the effect would be quickly swallowed up by the slop inherent to the XJ's chassis and suspension. Yes the slight shift of weight from sagging springs will place the bias a bit aft, but this will be negligible on a neutral chassis. So you will only see decreased traction on the front under acceleration or in a turn with no change in vehicle speed (again, this will be very negligible and quite predictable). During braking the weight bias is shifted forward increasing braking ability, while a pliable rear end from softening springs will resist oversteer much better in a breaking turn. So at the limit, the chassis will be prone to a touch of understeer easily countered with throttle enduced oversteer... or feint motion :thumbup:


Looks like I will be ordering either the Quadratrac HD, or the OME HD's and a set of ZJ V8 springs to balance out the lift while carrying a load/towing a trailer... unless there is any other input on the shackle relocation?
Thoughts?

was that AMC20 in the vehicle from the factory? I know they were used in comanches, but this is the first ive heard of them in an xj.`

No.

-Ron

P.S. Explanation is the 1st post, opening line. Hint... '99XJ

xcm said:

was that AMC20 in the vehicle from the factory? I know they were used in comanches, but this is the first ive heard of them in an xj.`

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Wow... that gin was good to me last night... Chrysler 8.25

one of my buddies had the same problem on his 91 xj. we called around on criagslist and located a set of rear leaf springs for only $30 bucks.

if that fails, i would purchase the add a leaf set. it will correct your root problem of the weak leaf springs

From one Twin Citian to another, my solution to weak leafs, with the resulting rear end droop, was to add a used long leaf to my existing pack from another Cherokee leaf set. Got a solid inch of lift (with an extended shackle), and a firmer ride. Without an extended shackle, you will most likely net around 1.5 inches.
Also wanted to add: replacing worn leafs on a Cherokee is a bitch, the front eye bolt will probably just spin the nut. Adding a leaf is easy.

we only had to the chop the frame twice, and make custom shacklels because they rotted out, so he had 5 inches of lift and had no shocks. redneck? yes. but it was a $300 jeep that looks like it came out of a scrapyard already lol

2" lift for me would be to go to the JY on a half priced weekend and get a set of s-10 leafs. ($35) Cut of the eyes in the right spot and throw it under your xj. It will take 1 or 2 leafs but you will achieve 2" no problem. Its really easy to do and it only made my ride and ability to carry cargo better then 2 months down the road when your hungry for more lift... Add the other leafs and you'll have 4" it's called inchitus... Once you start messing with the lift, it's a very addicting and hard to stop tinkering lol

I have the 'quadratec hd' leafs, made by Crown, p/n 4886186 on my XJ. Ran it on my last one as well, love the stance. Just over stock, so it still rides nice, but isn't too high. I always want a little higher for looks, but am happy with how it sits and get complimented all the time on it. Looks like the factory upcountry package.

"HD" Crown springs front and rear, with MJ shackles and 3/4" coil spacer. I think it's great for pulling a trailer or using a cargo basket, although it's pretty stiff empty. I like the ride and handling, but not everyone would.

I did have issues with the stock shackles hitting the "frame" with just the HD springs, so I picked up the MJ shackles and 3/4" spacer. Seems to have cured that problem, and I don't bash my forehead on the hatch anymore. Sits at 19" front, 18.5" rear currently (full tank and a bunch of crap in the Jeep at the moment).

It's not the cheapest route, although half as much as an OME kit, and probably not the best riding, but I'm happy with it overall. The OME kit was more than I wanted to spend for 1-2", and the HDO brackets weren't out in a bolt-on variety yet. If they were, I'd have probably gone with the brackets and Crown springs. A bad shackle angle can make for a lousy ride, and the HDO parts cure that. Extended shackles are something of a compromise in that regard.

MaxxXJ has the right idea. Get yourself some S-10 or Dakota leaf packs and add them in to your existing set as needed. It's fairly cheap and not hard to get exactly the ride height you want with a little trial and error. I finally broke down and added in a few Dakota leaves and could not be happier.

3rd and 4th gen camaros and firebirds are coil sprung in the rear. The rubber bushing the spring sets in on top is a great spacer for about 1.5" of lift.

IMO, Bastard packs rides like shit. For a little over 100 a leaf spring you can do some 1" OME springs and thank me later.

I got a set of stock XJ leafs for free, so I will be making a bastard pack out of that at first. If it rides like crap I can change out the springs later. Looks like the swap will be done during my winter break. Thank you all for the input!

FlexdXJ said:

IMO, Bastard packs rides like shit. For a little over 100 a leaf spring you can do some 1" OME springs and thank me later.

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Well bastard packs are not exactly Deavers or bds or RE leafs... If I can break down and get the shackle relocation kit with better shackles I can drop down to 2 maybe 3 leafs and have a 4" lift better flex and a soft ride to go with it if I could afford Deavers I'd go that route...

I have a friend with an extra set of standard Dakota springs and is willing to give them to me. I am not looking for a huge lift as it would make lifting my kayak onto the roof a pain. I have got some Rough Country 2 inch shackles and would not like to go over 4 inches total. It is more to fix my but dragging and add clearance for my tire and wheel combo that just touches the fender. Extra capacity is good to as I usually drag around a hundred pounds of stuff in my XJ. I was likely going to just use the main leaf plus the rest of the XJ pack and see what this gets me

filanto the main leaf should get you close to 2"... at most you'll need 2 leafs to get 2" thou