Should have measured.

ok, here is my dilema. I bought an 89 XJ a few months back. the mechanic I bought it from told me he had put a 2" lift on it. He had accomplished this by installing "HD" springs and flipping the overload leaf in the rear. Then he put 30 x 9.5 tires on it. I figured it was about an inch or maybe an inch and a half of lift. So I bought 2" spacers (1 3/4) and shocks for a 3.5" lift. So i measured to the flares before I did anything, 33", thats with the tires on the ground, which would be 16.5" to the hub... isnt that shorter than stock? so know I have the spacer in and it measures 34.75" and I have hardly any travel on the shocks. I wanted to do a small lift, to avoid lca's and track bar, mods, but I was looking for 3-4". So now what do I do? ZJ springs, 3"springs and get rid of spacers, anyone, anyone,

not too sure what your measurements are of, but in the front, from the center of the hub to the bottom of the flare, it should be 17.5" and the rear should be 17". if this is measuring 16" then u have negative lift....

HD front coils (up country coils) will give about an inch of lift. Doesn't really make much sense to flip the overload spring for more lift. This would give you less lift. The previous posters info on the measurements are correct. Measure from the center of the hub on both front and rear and post those results. I hope you didn't use aluminum blocks (like from Autozone or Pep Boys). They break very easily with the spring wrap that is inherent in XJ's. I broke a set at 4" of lift just driving my XJ to work.

If your looking for 3-4" of lift, you may have to re-drill the trackbar mount at the axle end 1" to the right of the factory hole. Or just get an adjustable trackbar, that way when you get inchitis again, you'll already have it.

A.

ok, you guys made me rethink that. see if this is right, I measured to the bottom of the flare with tires on. 33". it has a 30" tire. so, half of 30 is 15, and 33 minus 30 is 3. So 15 plus 3 is 18" so I should have had an inch of lift to begin with... I guess I might be ok.. for now.
Oh, and I have S-10 leaves that I will build a pack with for the rear. I used to do the lowrider thing and exploded a 3" aluminum block on a Tacoma... nothing like having your 3 month old truck with 10k miles on it being towed home...

Easy there, your way over-thinking this. Go grab your tape measure, measure from the center of the wheel to the under-side of your flare. If you are at 17.5" in the front and 17" in the rear, your at factory ride height. If your + those dim's then you have SOME lift. If your - those dim's then your springs have sagged. You really cannot accurately use a tires dimansions when determining lift.

A.

yeah, the problem is I am at work and the heep is at home, so thats why I am over thinking it. My main concern with all this is blowing out my new 3.5" shocks. I thought I would be closer to that much lift. I installed Rusty's extended bumpstops, but it still apears that they could bottom out... ugh. and yeah, I do have some wheel travel. Guess I will go take a look, or look from some ZJ springs..

Ludakris said:

ok, you guys made me rethink that. see if this is right, I measured to the bottom of the flare with tires on. 33". it has a 30" tire. so, half of 30 is 15, and 33 minus 30 is 3. So 15 plus 3 is 18" so I should have had an inch of lift to begin with...

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No.....stop that train of thought right now and don't go there again.

30" tires aren't truly 30", and once you put weight on it, you'll find that the bottom half deforms anyway and drops the center of the hub farther. Measure the bottom of the flare to the center of the hub when you get home to the Jeep...that measurement works regardless of tire size or pressure...

ok, looks like i was worrying for nothing. I remeasured and my front is at 21" so I should be good for my shocks.

Ludakris said:

ok, looks like i was worrying for nothing. I remeasured and my front is at 21" so I should be good for my shocks.

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21" from where to where?

In all your previous posts, you have been using measurements that include the tires, which is NOT an accurate way to measure, and not what we use as a frame of reference ... so you're getting answers you can't relate to, and giving us information that we can't relate to. Let's get on the same page.

Forget about the ground, and forget about the tires. Measure from the center of the hubcaps/wheel centers (in other words, the axle centerline) straight up to the bottom edge of the flare. That is the reference dimension that should be 17.5" front and 17.0" rear.

And what's all this about flipping an overload spring in the rear? XJs don't HAVE overload springs. MJs do, but if you flip it it becomes a rock grabber and doesn't do anything. Either there's something you're not telling us, or ythe guy who did that work for you was jerkin' your chain.

Geeze, alright i get it. I measured 21" from the center of the hub to the bottom of the flare, at the top of the wheel well. I know the guy was jerking my chain, but he was a Jeep Mochanic and said it worked. looking at the rear leafs, I cant tell what has been done, but it measures out to 19" hub to flare, so something was done...