Left vs. Right Coils and Leafs for UpCountry Upgrade

I am getting ready to order UpCountry coils and leafs for my '01. It's sagged about 1.25" in the back and I want to fix it before I mount the 30x9.5 T/A KO's I just bought.

I keep seeing different part numbers for the left and right coils, and sometimes different spring codes for the left and right leafs. None of the online OEM replacement suppliers seem to list two coils or leafs, but the online dealer sites do. The tags on my OEM coils show that they are a different part number. I can no longer read the leafs due to rust.

Can I just buy two 52002392's and two 52088104's and be happy with the results? I plan on getting bushings as well.

Do the aftermarket lift kits use the same springs left and right?

I assume the different springs from the factory are to compensate for the weight of the driver, am I correct?

My u-bolts are still in good shape, is it essential that I replace them? I was able to get my rear upper shock bolts out last week without any breaking, used plenty of PB Blaster though. I just put some neverseize on them and put them back in until I make up my mind what shocks I want.

Thanks!

This is a good question. I recently noticed when I installed my quick disconnects that my drivers side with nothing and nobody in the vehicle sits 1/2 inch lower than the passenger side front and back.

In my expierience I have found that the coils and leaves can be put on either side. once a year I rotate my springs, left to right.

Your not buying new up-country stuff are you? There are plenty of cheaper ways to bring you up to stock or just above stock hieghts.

IdeaMan said:

This is a good question. I recently noticed when I installed my quick disconnects that my drivers side with nothing and nobody in the vehicle sits 1/2 inch lower than the passenger side front and back.

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I would expect you have a rear leaf going bad. I had the same problem after I axle-wrapped my OEM pack.

ChuckD said:

In my expierience I have found that the coils and leaves can be put on either side. once a year I rotate my springs, left to right.

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Good to know, thanks!

ChuckD said:

Your not buying new up-country stuff are you? There are plenty of cheaper ways to bring you up to stock or just above stock hieghts.

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Well, I am considering buying the 52002392 leafs at $79.95 each and the 52088104 coils at $44.95 each from www.rigidsteel.com. These are supposed to be the XJ UpCountry equivalents.

I want a stiffer spring that will stand up to loading and towing better. I tend to throw 750-1500lbs of people and gear in when I go on trips, and in just one year and 30k miles I have killed the OEM springs. I am not totally opposed to AAL, but I don't want to lift so far that I need an SYE. I thought that UpCountry is a good way to get stiffer springs without risking too much lift. After some decent wheeling in some bumper deep snow last weekend it's obvious to me that I need lockers and skids worse than anything at this point.

ChuckD said:

once a year I rotate my springs, left to right.

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Are you doing that to balance the fatigue on leafs due to the uneven weight distribution?

Sparkman said:

Good to know, thanks!



Well, I am considering buying the 52002392 leafs at $79.95 each and the 52088104 coils at $44.95 each from www.rigidsteel.com. These are supposed to be the XJ UpCountry equivalents.

I want a stiffer spring that will stand up to loading and towing better. I tend to throw 750-1500lbs of people and gear in when I go on trips, and in just one year and 30k miles I have killed the OEM springs. I am not totally opposed to AAL, but I don't want to lift so far that I need an SYE. I thought that UpCountry is a good way to get stiffer springs without risking too much lift. After some decent wheeling in some bumper deep snow last weekend it's obvious to me that I need lockers and skids worse than anything at this point.

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The Up Country springs aren't that much higher rate than "stock" leaves. You would save a lot of money and get a better result doing the home-brew AAL using a pair of old XJ main leaves with the eyes cut off. This usually results in a gross lift (from where your vehicle now sits) of 1-1/4" to 1-1/2". If your springs are sagged, it's just what you need.

I did this a couple of years ago on an '88 I fixed up for an ex-GF. The rear was down about 1/2" compared to the accepted "stock" mweasurement of 17" rear. I used leaves from a wrecked '89, and the gross lift was 1-1/4". Since it started out 1/2" low, the result was a 3/4" lift that looked fine, rode very nicely, and has much greater load capacity than a stock spring. I had intended to put in 3/4" front spacers to level it out, but I ran out of time and skipped that. It looks and drives fine without raising the front.

Not to hijack but I have springs and leafs off my 99 sport that only had 30K on them when I pulled them and Ill sell em to you for much cheaper than what your planning on paying. They were fine when I pulled them. Have pics to prove it.

Eagle said:

The Up Country springs aren't that much higher rate than "stock" leaves. You would save a lot of money and get a better result doing the home-brew AAL using a pair of old XJ main leaves with the eyes cut off. This usually results in a gross lift (from where your vehicle now sits) of 1-1/4" to 1-1/2". If your springs are sagged, it's just what you need.

I did this a couple of years ago on an '88 I fixed up for an ex-GF. The rear was down about 1/2" compared to the accepted "stock" mweasurement of 17" rear. I used leaves from a wrecked '89, and the gross lift was 1-1/4". Since it started out 1/2" low, the result was a 3/4" lift that looked fine, rode very nicely, and has much greater load capacity than a stock spring. I had intended to put in 3/4" front spacers to level it out, but I ran out of time and skipped that. It looks and drives fine without raising the front.

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Thanks for the info Eagle. I really like the idea of spending less on the leafs, then I can save for a SYE and 3"-4" lift eventually. What I am finding is that as I own the XJ, places that I formerly couldn't get to now seem like good destinations.

I am just under 16" in the back right now. I would really like to get to 18" in the rear with a durable spring. Is there a good way to do AAL and get 2" or so of lift? Is the amount of lift totally unpredictable? Maybe AAL and then lift shackles if I want a little bit more?

I would like more clearance in the front, so I guess I may still "spring" for the coils. Are spacers a decent alternative? I have been getting some bottoming in the front on paved roads so the coils and shocks seem to be really tired.

I would really like the OME heavy duty 2" springs but they are out of my budget.

Thanks for all of the help!

wannabe said:

Not to hijack but I have springs and leafs off my 99 sport that only had 30K on them when I pulled them and Ill sell em to you for much cheaper than what your planning on paying. They were fine when I pulled them. Have pics to prove it.

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Thanks for the offer, I'll keep it in mind. Let me do some looking here locally first, as shipping from Oregon will be pricy.

Edit: It's settled, I'm going to do the Rocklizard BB.

I did the Eagle Add a Leaf on my sons 86xj, it worked great and cost was minimal. I tried hard, but could not drill holes in the new leaf for spring pads. I went to a spring shop, who charged $5 to drill holes, the only expence. I used a recipicating saw to cut the eyes off, which turned into quite a chore. Next time I'll use a cut off wheel.

I don't have a recip saw, and I do have a 4-1/2" angle grinder, so I guess my mind is made up, LOL.

I need to call some local yards today. Prices at the local yards seem really high based on past experience and what people have posted on here.

Kejtar said:

Are you doing that to balance the fatigue on leafs due to the uneven weight distribution?

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Yup my FAT A$$ is pretty un balanced.

Also someone sugested it to me and I tmade sense, since I noticed this when my RE1462's were breaking in. They sagged about 1/2" more on one side.

Sparkman said:

I am just under 16" in the back right now. I would really like to get to 18" in the rear with a durable spring. Is there a good way to do AAL and get 2" or so of lift? Is the amount of lift totally unpredictable? Maybe AAL and then lift shackles if I want a little bit more?

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The home/brew AAL is unpredictable. I grossed 1-1/4". This was on an 88, using leaves from another 88 or 89. One of the guys in the Noerth Atlantic Chapter did it on a new 2000 (don't know what year donor springs he used) and he grossed 1-1/2". The guy who did the "Rock Lizard Fabrications" write0up claims he got 2" or more, but I don't know of anyone else who has gotten close to that much.

Rancho has a full length AAL kit for the XJ that they advertise at 2 to 2-1/2 inches. That might do the job for you. It sells for about $60 last I knew. Personally, in your situation I would still do the home brew, because if it works it's cheap, and if you don't get quite enough lift you can always take the second or third leaves out of the donor packs and add them, for more lift and more capacity. With any commercial AAL kit, you get what you get, and if it's not quite what you wanted you're pretty much stuck with it.

I have one of the Rancho kits, but I plan to use it in an MJ. The MJ leaves have more native arch, so in an MJ the Rancho AAL is only rated for 1-1/2". It's closer to the MJ's natural arch, so I expect it to last longer in an MJ than it might in an XJ without sagging.

I would like more clearance in the front, so I guess I may still "spring" for the coils. Are spacers a decent alternative? I have been getting some bottoming in the front on paved roads so the coils and shocks seem to be really tired.

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If the front is actually bottoming out, the coils are tired plus you need new shocks. The shocks will probably do more for you than the coils. You can get 3/4" coil spacers from Dirk at DPG Off/Road pretty cheaply. They'll balance out a rear budget boost nicely if you net only an inch or so higher than where you should be for "stock," then match them up with a good set of Monroe Reflex or OME shocks and you should be ready to roll. Don-t know what OME's warranty is on shocks, but Monroe's is lifetime, and the Monroe Gas Magnums in my 88 are well over 100,000 miles and still doing the job.

Sparkman said:

Well, I am considering buying the 52002392 leafs at $79.95 each and the 52088104 coils at $44.95 each from www.rigidsteel.com. These are supposed to be the XJ UpCountry equivalents.

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Just out of curiosity, has anyone done this (Up-Country springs replace stock), and if you did, what was good, and what was bad about it?

Our '94 has 3/4" sag in the rear springs, and I'd like to add a just a tad of rate plus maybe an inch or so of lift (over stock), no more than that really. Had I purchased the Jeep new, I would have insisted on the Up-Country package at the time.

The car is normally my wife's DD, but we do use it for backcountry access here in the southwest, which means slowly negotiating some mildly primitive forest-service roads with camping gear in the back. I don't want to fool with driveline changes, and I don't want to raise the center of mass any higher off the road than it is (for defensive-driving reasons). And if I make it too stiff, she'll ask me to put it back to the way it was...

steveC said:

Just out of curiosity, has anyone done this (Up-Country springs replace stock), and if you did, what was good, and what was bad about it?

Our '94 has 3/4" sag in the rear springs, and I'd like to add a just a tad of rate plus maybe an inch or so of lift (over stock), no more than that really. Had I purchased the Jeep new, I would have insisted on the Up-Country package at the time.

The car is normally my wife's DD, but we do use it for backcountry access here in the southwest, which means slowly negotiating some mildly primitive forest-service roads with camping gear in the back. I don't want to fool with driveline changes, and I don't want to raise the center of mass any higher off the road than it is (for defensive-driving reasons). And if I make it too stiff, she'll ask me to put it back to the way it was...

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The Up Country springs sit about an inch higher than the normal stock springs. That will give you the extra inch you want.

If you have access to a set of used XJ springs, the Rock Lizard AAL will do about the same job, cost less, and give you better load capacity in the bargain.

I have almost all of the parts together I need for my budget boost. I bought some nice 4k mile old leafs (52002390 I think) from a 2000. I bought somewhat rusty but decent 52088363 coils from a V8 ZJ. A friend of mine from work is swinging by a spring shop tonight on his way home from work to pick up center pins and rebound clips for me. Since I was able to get my upper shock bolts out without breakage, I feel that I should be able to get my leaf eye bolts out and reuse my u-bolts. I am going to add my existing main leaf to the pack I bought. I bought new leaf eye bushings as the ones on the leafs I bought got burnt by the junkyard's torch.

With the weather nice and the lawn needing work I doubt it will happen this weekend, but I will post an update when I get it done.

My stock 2001 XJ sat at 16 1/2' with a toolbox and full size spare in the rear.
I performed the Rock lizard BB on the rear. It was really easy, since you do not need to remove the original main leaf.
I improved things by using the entire second set of used springs. Starting a day ahead of time, I made up the spring clamps, cut the eyes off the main leaf, sanded the new (used) leafs, painted them with epoxy paint and added plastic strips to reduce noise and friction. When I installed the leaves, I pulled out the second, third and fourth leaves and exchanged them with the freshly prepared replacements. The transplant took about two hours, working by myself. I gained 1 1/2" and the ride was nice and smooth, just a little firmer.
A few months later I added another second leaf to each spring pack, gaining another an inch. It now sits at 19". I needed the extra capacity to support the extra gear when we travel. I trimmed off a couple of inches off each end of the second leaves, so that they would fit in between the first and second leaves and "look" correct. You should consider installing new u-bolts since most times the threads get beat up badly. I upgraded from the Factory 7/16" bolt diameter to 1/2" u-bolts.
The total cost was $80.
$10- used springs
$15 for steel bolts and paint
$25 for the plastic strips
$25 u-bolts
$5 center pin bolts

On the front I installed 2" OME 930 coils with two Factory isolators on each side for a total of 2 1/2" of lift. When you do the front end, make sure to adjust the toe-in; it will need it! Check GojeepXJ's site for a DIY toe-in adjustment, it's easy to do. See http://go.jeep-xj.info/

For Xmas, the wife gave me JSK disconnects (they make a huge difference off-road), OME shocks and steering stabilizer.
She likes to explore the back roads and trails as much as I do, especially this year with the once in a lifetime display of wildflowers that is going on in the Southwest deserts.

With this suspension combination and the 30" Revos, it looks good and handles well on and off- road and gets us where we need to go.
BTW, make sure to save for the transfer case and gas tank skid plates; they will get hit eventually as you try harder trails.
Rock rails are also a good addition. The pinch seams get damaged easily and are expensive to repair.