kmagnuss_2000
August 5th, 2004, 18:34
Let me just start off by saying that I just had the best night of wrenching. No broken bolts, no pieces not fitting, it was nice. Anyway....
I heard about people using Dakota rear leaves for cheap 4" lifts...but I didn't have any available nearby so I found some S10 Blazer springs. Not just any Blazer...the ZR2 high rider model. Now I don't know if the springs are different between the base model and the ZR2, but all I can say is wow.
First off I thought that I was going to have to cut off the eyes and use the XJ main leaf and bolt them up...nope. The blazer springs were a perfect fit. They were exactly the same length. When the springs were off the Jeep, they actually looked almost identical with my current 2" RE budget boost add a leaf on there. Same length, same curve and all. But the blazer springs are thicker, still 2.5" wide and there's only 3 instead of 5 (with the AAL) on the stock springs. Well I put em in and the only thing I had to do to get them to fit was unbolt the center pin and turn it around and put it back in. Then everything just fit into place nicely. The only small snag was that the center pin was a little further back (not quite an inch) on the blazer springs, so I just had to pull on the axle to get it to line up.
Now I haven't taken a center of hub to fender measurement yet, but I can fit my hand making a thumbs up in between my 31's and the fender. I just took out the ruler and that's exactly 6". It was 3.5" with the 2" AAL and the RE extended shackle (1.5"?).
Road manners: Well, it actually seems to ride the same as the AAL's. I was worried about driveline vibes with the extra 2.5" of lift, but they're really not that bad. They're there from about 30mph to 37mph, and that's it. That seems weird to me since I have a 99 and I've heard of 99's getting vibes with as little as 2" of lift. Anyway, I'm glad we all have a new source of an easy fit for about 5" of lift in the rear!
-Keith
Now I need some taller front springs...anybody have some for sale?
I heard about people using Dakota rear leaves for cheap 4" lifts...but I didn't have any available nearby so I found some S10 Blazer springs. Not just any Blazer...the ZR2 high rider model. Now I don't know if the springs are different between the base model and the ZR2, but all I can say is wow.
First off I thought that I was going to have to cut off the eyes and use the XJ main leaf and bolt them up...nope. The blazer springs were a perfect fit. They were exactly the same length. When the springs were off the Jeep, they actually looked almost identical with my current 2" RE budget boost add a leaf on there. Same length, same curve and all. But the blazer springs are thicker, still 2.5" wide and there's only 3 instead of 5 (with the AAL) on the stock springs. Well I put em in and the only thing I had to do to get them to fit was unbolt the center pin and turn it around and put it back in. Then everything just fit into place nicely. The only small snag was that the center pin was a little further back (not quite an inch) on the blazer springs, so I just had to pull on the axle to get it to line up.
Now I haven't taken a center of hub to fender measurement yet, but I can fit my hand making a thumbs up in between my 31's and the fender. I just took out the ruler and that's exactly 6". It was 3.5" with the 2" AAL and the RE extended shackle (1.5"?).
Road manners: Well, it actually seems to ride the same as the AAL's. I was worried about driveline vibes with the extra 2.5" of lift, but they're really not that bad. They're there from about 30mph to 37mph, and that's it. That seems weird to me since I have a 99 and I've heard of 99's getting vibes with as little as 2" of lift. Anyway, I'm glad we all have a new source of an easy fit for about 5" of lift in the rear!
-Keith
Now I need some taller front springs...anybody have some for sale?