Bastard lift parts for 5.5" lift

I want to put a 4.5" - 5.5" lift on my Jeep. I want to be able to run 33's with little to no trimming. My Jeep is mainly a daily driver, but will be used in FL on trails, sand and mud. No rocks or anything that requires a lot of flex.

My current leafs are inverted, so they need to be replaced. One thing I want out of this lift is the ability to put some weight in the back or even pull a small trailer without sagging to the point of rubbing. Today, I cannot put two adults in the back seat without the rear dropping about 2" and causing the tires to rub. I also don't want the Jeep to ride like a dump truck.

I would love to install a Clayton or Rock Krawler, but cannot justify the cost. My original idea was to go with the Rough Country 4.5" X-series Kit or the Iron Rock XJ 5.5" Lift Kit. In addition, I was going to add a RC Control Arm Drop Kit, RC Performance Steering Stabilizer and IRO SYE and refurbished driveshaft. I was really leaning toward the Rough Country kit due to all the new parts it comes with.

After doing a bunch of reading, I find that many here and on other forums do not like RC. Unfortunately, not many reasons are given as to why. Some say quality.

I've been reading about bastard packs / lifts and am now leaning toward doing one. I need help with everything that is required to do a complete lift.

So far, I know I need the following:

• s-10 leaf packs, New U bolts, New centering pins, New leaf clamps
• New shocks
• brake lines for front and back
• Control Arm Drop Kit
• IRO SYE and refurbished driveshaft
• RC Performance Steering Stabilizer

What coil springs can I use for a 4.5" - 5.5" lift?


How many leafs are required for the height I'm after?


What else do I need? Of the remaining parts needed, what can be found at junk yard and what needs to be purchased?


Thanks in advance!

cipher said:

I want to be able to run 33's with little to no trimming.

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Ain't gonna happen.

Don't be afraid to cut some sheet metal, it's very liberating.

I will if I have to. Just don't want to go crazy with it.

Thanks!

I started this thread a few weeks ago. Plenty of good info for you to work off of. Or more people to ask.

http://naxja.org/forum/showthread.php?t=1073516

Hope it helps, I definetly got plenty of answers from it.

Awesome... Thank You!

I read through that thread, i would take that advice with a grain of salt.

For a short while i ran:
XJ Main + Cut XJ main + XJ 2nd + XJ 3rd + XJ 4th

It rode like total crap. It makes the back of the Jeep ride like a truck...on dirt roads with washboard it would fishtail everywhere because the spring rate was way too high. In the linked thread they're suggesting that same setup + an additional spring, i can only imagine how terrible that would ride (unless you were towing a 5000lb trailer, then you'd need all that capacity).

I now run:
XJ Main + MJ 2nd + MJ 3rd + MJ Overload

It's much smoother, it flexes well, and it rides like a Jeep (not a dumptruck). MJ's are a little hard to get ahold of, but i think i would look at S10 or Dakota leafs before i ever went the stock XJ route again.

i am running 4 inches in front and 4.5" in the rear with 33 12.5's on 5" backspaced wheels. i did have to trim the back sides of all four fenders a little but you can hardly tell. my xj rides better than my 98 tj with a 2" rubicon express lift did. i used s10 springs. xj main, cut s10 main, xj 2nd, xj 3rd, and xj overload with mj shackles. i like the way mine rides with the rear s10 springs. and i like how when i load up the dirt bikes and camping gear it sits just below level. i am planning on doing the shackle relocation brackets for the rear.

jeeptech1 said:

i am running 4 inches in front and 4.5" in the rear with 33 12.5's on 5" backspaced wheels. i did have to trim the back sides of all four fenders a little but you can hardly tell. my xj rides better than my 98 tj with a 2" rubicon express lift did. i used s10 springs. xj main, cut s10 main, xj 2nd, xj 3rd, and xj overload with mj shackles. i like the way mine rides with the rear s10 springs. and i like how when i load up the dirt bikes and camping gear it sits just below level. i am planning on doing the shackle relocation brackets for the rear.

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That's exactly what I'm after. Can you tell me what you used for the front? The front is where I'm lost.

cipher said:

What coil springs can I use for a 4.5" - 5.5" lift?


How many leafs are required for the height I'm after?

Click to expand...

Use XJ coil springs. Add some coil spacers if needed. Rusty's are about $100 new and used lift coils pop up all the time.

An S-10 leaf spring pack under your XJ main leaf will give about 4.5 of lift. An S-10 bastard pack rides pretty good and has adequate flex. Leaf packs are $ 11 each at the U-Pull-It junkyard. Add an extended shackle to get your extra 1/2 - 1" of lift.

cipher said:

That's exactly what I'm after. Can you tell me what you used for the front? The front is where I'm lost.

Click to expand...

sure can, i scored a used skyjacker 3" kit for the front so its got the track bar relocation bracket (will probly get a real track bar eventually but its worked good so far), 3" front coils, and lower control arms. i bought true 1" spacers from crawlerready.com to get the full 4" lift. and am running procrap shocks up front with jk rubicon rear shocks for the rear. i also have some cheap swaybar discos that rattle like crazy but work(they will eventually be replaced). my rears came from a 95 2wd pickup (cost 50$). i have driven this setup for over a year as my daily driver and has made one long 300 plus mile camping trip hualing the dirt bikes over 3000 foot passes. my springs have not sagged a bit unlike a lot of other options out there. for what i have in this "kit" i cant complain. does it ride like a 1500$ kit? no, but it just plain works. oh and if you put the s10 main and secondary in it you will get more like 5.5" of lift ( i tried that first but didnt like it so i took the s10 secondary out and reinstalled the xj 2nd and at that point installed the mj shackles). hope this helps

This helps a lot. Thank you.

I'm going to go this route instead of a kit. However, I'm going to start with he following while I'm tracking down all the parts.

• H.D. Offroad Bolt-on Shackle Relocation kit
• 1.5" - 2" Shackle
• TeraFlex 2" Coil Spacers

What do you guys think of the Rough Country 2" adjustable shackles? They are only $50.

I am running 1/2 ton dodge van leaf springs, HD off road shackle bracket and RE lift shackles and this all nets me ~6" lift with a C-rok rear bumper/tire carrier combo and assorted tools in the back. Ride isn't harsh at all with dodge truck shocks, plan on upgrading soon, but they were cheap an fit. My leaf is nice and flat and flex surprisingly well!

I haven't found much info on the RC shackles. However, I'm now leaning toward the RE 1.5" Boomerang Shackles. They seem to be well liked.

I am running heavy 3/4 leafs XJ main, XJ 2nd, heavy 3rd, heavy 4th, heavy 5th. Rides like it did stock. For the front I would just grab some XJ or TJ coils. I run fatbob's 4.5" TJ coils they neted ~3" so I tossed a 2" spacer on top they ride smooth pretty low PPI.