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2" Budget Lifts

BruteXJ

BruteXJ

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Charlottesville, VA
I sold my CJ before it rusted into the wind and I'm starting over with an XJ.
A buddy and I are looking to put on 2" budget lift kits, just for a start. His is a '00 and mine is a '99. I've found them as cheap as $150.00-175.00 from Tomken and others.
(2" coil spacers, 1/2" axle blocks, 1 1/2" schackles)
Has anyone had any experience with these? I'm also curious as to whether the stock shocks will work without ripping apart.
 
I appreciate the links.
I'm still curious as to whether anyone has any long-use experience with the budget 2" lifts.
My buddy has already ordered his, so we shall see. I'll post install experience notes and ride ratings here after we've got it done.
 
BruteXJ said:
I sold my CJ before it rusted into the wind and I'm starting over with an XJ.
A buddy and I are looking to put on 2" budget lift kits, just for a start. His is a '00 and mine is a '99. I've found them as cheap as $150.00-175.00 from Tomken and others.
(2" coil spacers, 1/2" axle blocks, 1 1/2" schackles)
Has anyone had any experience with these? I'm also curious as to whether the stock shocks will work without ripping apart.
Click to expand...

dont waste your money. just save up the extra money and get the good stuff
 
The stock shocks will work. I've got a Daystar BB on mine, along with another 3" lift kit. I like the Daystar and where I got it from, Quadratec. It won't give you 2'' of lift, it's 1 1/4.
 
My experience with 2" budget boosts. I started with Tomkens kit. I had driveline vibes from then on. I installed a 1" transfer case drop which helped some. The rear of the Tomken kit and the shock extenders are a waste. I then went out on a limb to eliminate the rear Tomken components and bought Rubicon Express' 2.5" full aal. Big ride difference! I like still to this day. Its been 4 years now. It does sit a little high in the rear but I don't mind. I had Death Wobble one to many times w/ the Tomken front end and a year after I put in the add a leave, I ditched the Tomken front end and bought Old Man Emu springs and their heavy duty shocks front and back.(I was told their soft ride shocks are too soft and that I should get the heavy duty ones) I did and am very happy once more. I won't ever touch anything again with this set up and recomend it. To sum it up I have OME front springs and shocks in front. In the back is Rubicons 2.5 Full Length aal complimented by OME shocks, swaybar removed. I did ditch the transfer case drop and installed the RE Hack and tap SYE with drive shaft.
 
I've had the RE BB on for nearly 2 years now. settled about 1/2". I have short AALs and the ride is rather stiff. I'm going to pull the short AAL and do the Rocklizard fabrications BB (do a search it's worth it!!! best bang for the buck BB you can do!) as it rides better and seems to be "sag resistant" my .02
asat
 
I went with www.rocky-road.com's 3" and am happy. It's 3" spacers in the front, and 1.5" solid steel blocks with 1.5" longer shackles in the rear.

I plan to keep the super tough looking shakles even when I upgrade the lift in the future. Stay away from add-a-leafs as they make the ride harsh.

The lift was like 150, and new longer DT shocks from them was another 150 - so for 300 bucks I don't think you can beat it for a budget boost.

With the cheap 3" I can wheel a few new places and plan to spend the money I have left on on rock-rails, skids, and some other parts I want.
 
I had the Rocky Road 2" BB on my '89. The ride was fine but the block/shackle flattened out the old springs a bit. It gave 2" as advertised.

My '99 has a Rough Country 2" AAL (full sized). Ride was harsh at first but has since smoothed out a bit - no vibes, etc. It gave just over 3" of lift.

kristoffers is right about the Rocky Road Outfitters extended shackel - you could kill someone with that thing.
 
kristoffers said:
I plan to keep the super tough looking shakles even when I upgrade the lift in the future. Stay away from add-a-leafs as they make the ride harsh.

The lift was like 150, and new longer DT shocks from them was another 150 - so for 300 bucks I don't think you can beat it for a budget boost.
Click to expand...

Ummm, I would much rather have a AAL in the rear than blocks like you have. Plus, that 3" spacer is not a good idea for a lift. It takes away tons of room on your spring tower which makes it much easier for your front coil springs to come off while off road.
 
Lore5 said:
Ummm, I would much rather have a AAL in the rear than blocks like you have. Plus, that 3" spacer is not a good idea for a lift. It takes away tons of room on your spring tower which makes it much easier for your front coil springs to come off while off road.
Click to expand...


The "budget" in budget-boost means there's going to be some drawbacks!

The 3" spacers in the front have not yet been a problem when flexing. I don't think I can flex enough to loose the springs unless I replace the stock control arms or trim the shock mounts on the axle.

As far as blocks versus AAL's - why do you prefer AAL's? Do you tow or haul loads - do you not mind the stiffer ride?

Obviously a full new leaf pack would be the best solution, but on a budget I'd rather keep the stock ride characteristics and just use blocks. However anything over 2" for blocks makes me nervous - so I like that rocky-road splits the lift into shackles and blocks.
 
quick semi-related question -

for thoes with ABS d35 rear ends - when you extend the brake hoses what can be done about the ABS sensor hose thingys?

sorry for the newb question...

-Ranger
 
Ditch the blocks. XJ springs just don't hold up to the abuse of blocks. I find it ammazing how some full size trucks come stock w/4" blocks. Heavier springs I suppose. I couldn't be happier with Rubicon Express' 2.5 Full AAL. It is slightly firmer than stock and gave me a true 2.5" in height. I rode in vehicles with the short AAl and I could tell the differece between a dime and a quarter if they ran over them. I still have the Tomken BB pieces. I'll list it in the for sale section.
 
Last edited:
Thanks for all the information, everyone. Now I have a new question.

Since coil spacers, blocks, shackles, and aal's all have their drawbacks, does anyone know of other coil/leaf spring combos from other vehicles, Jeep or otherwise, that would fit and do the trick?

Obviously this would be more expensive than the regular budget lifts, but perhaps effective and cheaper than the aftermarket kits?
 
For leaves, one could just get another pack from a mid-sz pickup (like a S10, Dakota, MJ - get the shackles from the MJ if that's what you find.) Experiment with adding the 'new' leaves in with the stock pack... I'd probably start with the second & third pickup leafs added in with some of the XJ leafs. The MJ shackles are worth approx .63" lift if ya get em.

With blocks, an Add-A-Leaf, or cooking up your own homebrew leafpack, you will still need new U-bolts/nuts, degree shims (maybe?) and leafspring center bolts.

Up front, the XJ "up-country" coils would sit a bit higher, add those to a 1.75" spacer and an extra -+.5" OEM isolator That's about as cheap a 'three inch' kit as one could find. ZJ coils (like out of a V8 with "up-country" or whatever it was called in those) will give a bit of lift in an XJ, but IIRC a slightly stiffer rate. Tomken IIRC the only place for 2" spacers... everywhere else they are 1.75" or 0.75 poly.

For a 2" +- 'boost' the stock shocks & bumpstops should be fine. For much above that, I'd get longer ones, and lower the brakelines.
 
XJ_ranger said:
for thoes with ABS d35 rear ends - when you extend the brake hoses what can be done about the ABS sensor hose thingys?




I was wondering about the same thing. I put a rear 44 in with FF's & disk brakes and can't get rid of the nagging yellow ABS light. Anybody have the answer?
Click to expand...
 
I just pulled off an RE BB on my 2000 and I have to tell you, I hated it. First of all the blocks on the back springs will completely flatten your leaf springs making the rear end extremely stiff. On washboarded roads the rear end will bounce so much it will lose traction. And the shocks that come with that particular kit are complete crap. They rusted in about two months. Granted I live on a gravel road and they went through a snowy winter with a lot of salted roads but they're crap nonetheless. I would highly reccomend saving your money and going with a kit that replaces both the coils and leaf spring packs. I went with the complete 3.5" Super Flex from RE and love it. If it's only tire clearance and looks you want go with the BB but if ride quality matters, spend a little more money the first time and go with a more complete kit. You'll actually save money in the long run because you'll quickly want to pull that BB right back off. Hope this helps!
 
NCMOUNTAINXJ said:
If it's only tire clearance and looks you want go with the BB but if ride quality matters, spend a little more money the first time and go with a more complete kit. You'll actually save money in the long run because you'll quickly want to pull that BB right back off. Hope this helps!
Click to expand...

not exactly - if you get the spacer and shackle lift then you can use them later. a good aftermarket pack needs a longershackle to get the full flex anyway...
and the spacers will quell your inchits for a few weeks on top of your complete kit...
 
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