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RE 2" BB Lift

pancake

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Seattle, WA
I've searched, and it seems there are a lot of folks here with the Rusty's kit. Anyone have EITHER and could you post your feelings about it? Thanks!

I'm leaning towards the RE kit btw...
 
pancake said:
I've searched, and it seems there are a lot of folks here with the Rusty's kit. Anyone have EITHER and could you post your feelings about it? Thanks!

I'm leaning towards the RE kit btw...

I've heard a lot of people say "Stay away from Rusty's stuff"...I have no first hand experience with Rusty's so I guess that makes it hearsay.

I went with Rocky Roads Outfitters for my BB and I'm very happy with it. RE makes a great kit as well, and it is more complete than the Rocky Road kit (I believe it includes bumpstops and shocks).

I guess my point is if you're going to choose between RE and Rusty's, go with RE.

That's just my $0.02 though.

Good Luck and Rock On!

Steve
 
1. most important rule of BB is to use a FULL LENGTH AAL (AddALeaf)

2. second most important rule of BB is to run away from blocks.... :)

If you search this forum, you will find this topic discussed at length :D
 
Kejtar said:
If you search this forum, you will find this topic discussed at length :D

Yeah...I've been searching for ~2 weeks. I find lots of info, but it seems that to get the full length AAL I need the Rusty's kit. I have heard from some friends (who used to or currently own Jeeps) that RE is the way to go. However, they only have the 1/2 AAL.

I'm so torn... :(
 
The RE kit does have a full AAL. It is an up charge of $20. You can also upgrade your shocks, the entry shock is the Doetsch DT0 and they go up from there. I ordered mine and am waiting for it to arrive so I can get it put in! WooHoo!
 
I have Rusty's BB AAL kit and it works great. For alittle over $100 delivered it does what I wanted it to do.
 
You can also make up a budget boost by buying a Rancho AAL for about $50, and buying the coil spacers from the cheapest place you can find. When I bought a pair the best price I could find was from Dirk at DPG Off-Road, but more vendors have enetered the fray and you should shop around.

Half-length AALs are bad news. I stopped by my local spring shop recently to buy some center pins and leaf clips. In chatting up the guy at the counter I asked about re-arching and rebuilding springs. He commented that he sees a lot of broken Cherokee springs caused by half-length AALs.

You can also make a great AAL by getting an old pair of XJ leaves, taking the main leaves and cutting off the eyes. This will give you about 1-1/4" to 1-1/2" of lift. If your rear springs are already sagging, that plus a pair of 3/4" coils spacers (not 1-3/4") will give you just a bit of lift and level things out nicely.

FWIW, I drove the XJ I put a home-made AAL in across the country from Connecticut to Montana, and it rode great.
 
Go with Rusty's...It has the full AAL for the same price that RE charges to get the short AAL. I got at least 2" out of Rusty's AAL (probably closer to 2.5"). Looks and rides great!

I've bought several other accesories from Rusty's as well...good stuff! Great customer service, too.
 
Urban Redneck said:
The RE kit does have a full AAL. It is an up charge of $20. You can also upgrade your shocks, the entry shock is the Doetsch DT0 and they go up from there. I ordered mine and am waiting for it to arrive so I can get it put in! WooHoo!

Isn't that a 2.5" lift for the rear? Is there a 2" upgrade to full AAL?
 
Well, I called RE and the full length AAL's are a 2.5" lift, so it would give the Jeep a fair amount of rake, and I don't want that. I guess Rusty's is the better alternative...but I would really like the RE brand.

Any more comments about the 1/2 AAL casuing trouble (damage) to the rear leafs? Would it ride rough with the 1/2 AAL?
 
I had the RE 2" with the half-length AALs and concerns about the shape of my leaves became one of the major reasons I I moved to the 4.5" this fall. The ride was rougher than stock because of the increased spring rate, but I overcame that (and a bit of the rake) by keeping a storage box full of gear in back. That did a fine job of damping the stiffer springpack
 
I've got a Skyjacker full-length AAL in mine that gave it 2.5 - 3" of lift. It rides pretty good. I don't think Skyjacker sells a "Budget Boost" kit, but you can buy individual parts from any of their dealers even though they don't usually advertise them that way. If it were me, I'd do like Eagle said and use an old XJ main leaf or the main leaf off of a Dakota. You can get a grinder for $18 at harbor freight to cut the leaves down with and you can find stock leaves very cheap. The nice thing about getting the entire leaf pack is that you can add more leaves in the future for more lift when you decide to go higher. ;)
 
xj92 said:
The nice thing about getting the entire leaf pack is that you can add more leaves in the future for more lift when you decide to go higher. ;)

Such a jerk...:D

I'm only kidding btw :)
 
Seriously though...

I really would want ~4" of lift, but I don't want to deal with the driveline hassels. From the research I've done, it seems that 2" won't cause any problems with my '98.

My budjet is limited and I'm just trying to make things a little more fun. I do wish I could have 4" though :(
 
If it's your DD and you want it to ride as good as stock, you're right about driveline hassles, along with other stuff. There is a ton of stuff you need to address when going above 3" that you can just leave alone at any lift amount under 3" for the most part.
 
Kejtar said:
well... in about 2 years the shorties have ruined my Up COuntry leaf pack :(

Oh...well, that certainly makes the RE kit not worth it. Maybe the Rusty's with the full AAL is better.
 
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