"Lifting" a majorly sagged XJ? - need help ASAP

I have an 89 XJ that started going south in the rear a while ago.
The leafs were near flat when I bought it and now the drivers side is inverted under load (as in towing).

I had read a couple of articles on rebuilding your rear leafs with another set of stock leaf packs to gain almost 2" lift. (I purchased all the parts - including another used leaf pack to do this with) Is this going to help me at all or do I need to wait until I have enough money to just buy replacement leafs?

Would doing the dakota/S10 rebuild net me anything or is the crappy main leaf going to be holding me back?

i added a 2" AAL, and another main? leaf ( the one under the looped one) and i netted about 2.5" , from the center of the wheel to the fender is 19.5", and my leafs were BAD...

for $180 you can have new leaf springs, this what I did and I was very happy with the results...

http://rigidsteel.com/y131pC3tIGk0.html

jfiscus said:

I have an 89 XJ that started going south in the rear a while ago.
The leafs were near flat when I bought it and now the drivers side is inverted under load (as in towing).

I had read a couple of articles on rebuilding your rear leafs with another set of stock leaf packs to gain almost 2" lift. (I purchased all the parts - including another used leaf pack to do this with) Is this going to help me at all or do I need to wait until I have enough money to just buy replacement leafs?

Would doing the dakota/S10 rebuild net me anything or is the crappy main leaf going to be holding me back?

Click to expand...

Just using an extra main leaf (with "eyes" cut off) will likely put you back to stock and then some. Use the next longest leaf as well and you could end up lifted somewhere in the neighborhood of 2". Then you'll have to deal with the front and probably shocks, as well... ;^]

Sigh ... here we go again ...

Your springs were nearly flat before because XJ springs are designed to be flat. They run OVER the axle. I've posted before but I guess I have to say it again, you CANNOT judge whether or not your springs have sagged by looking -- you MUST measure. From the center of the wheel (axle centerline) straight up to the bottom edge of the flare should be 17.0" ... that's your benchmark.

For best results, you are better off building up your springs with additional leaves out of another XJ rather than a commercial AAL. The commercial AAL will have more initial arch than the other leaves in the pack, so it provides lift at first but may sag, especially if you do a lot of towing. Leaves from another XJ pack will have the same initial arch, so they are matched to your springs.

For an '89 I would not consider replacing the entire packs. The front spring bolt goes into a nut that is tack welded inside the frame (unibody) rail. Due to age, rust and corrosion, it is very possible that you will either break the welds, leaving you with a free-spinning nut in an inaccessible location, or the bolt will be siezed into the steel sleeve in the spring bushing. By just adding leaves, you can accomplish what you need and avoid a lot of headaches.

Start with a pair of XJ main leaves cut off right at the eyes, for a true full-length AAL. If that doesn't get you high enough, take the next leaf from the "donor" packs, trim the length so the ends fall midway between the springs in your vehicle, and add those.

Everybody should be required to memorize Eagle's statements above in order to log on to . (Just kidding.)

Actually, Eagle speaks of wisdom and truth here. Following his approach will get you springs that are more resistant to sag than any replacements, and MUCH less likely to cost you huge $$ and aggravation in getting them done.

This approach gets a big thumbs up by me!

Eagle said:

you CANNOT judge whether or not your springs have sagged by looking -- you MUST measure. From the center of the wheel (axle centerline) straight up to the bottom edge of the flare should be 17.0" ... that's your benchmark.

Click to expand...

Half hijack, half experience for this guy....I get more than that (17.5"-17.75"), stock XJ without UC.

Leafs are all crazy S-shaped too. No short AAL or anything either....just stock. Did things change as the years got later? Mines a 1998 with 67K.

Edit: and the fronts come out to be 18"-18.25"...WTF?

Thanks eveyone, I was just so concerned about the 'sag' (currently my tires ride about 1-2" from the tops of the wheel wells).
I have no bumpstops sice they were ate by rust years ago and It appears tha tmy springs have reversed their arch. I'll proceed with the donor pack full-length add-a-leaf approach and see what happens. Thanks again!

For what it's worth, I picked up some almost-full-length add-a-leafs (generic) at AutoZone for $30 (both sides). They fit fine and were easy to install. I've had them in about 6 months with no sag.

Eagle, did i go the wrong way with an AAL (in terms of sag). Would it have been a better idea to use leafs from another XJ pack?

I've got a shorty 2" aal and am planning on towing this summer. I'm not sagged a lot yet, but its noticeable and my 30" mudders are having some fun with the fender.

jfiscus said:

I have no bumpstops sice they were ate by rust years ago

Click to expand...

Last summer I was riding around with no bumpstops and one day when I was out wheelin' on a rock ledge I heard a loud pop, when I got home I was pulling off my rear brake drums to clear out all the mud and saw all leafs except the main leaf broken on the drivers side.

jfiscus said:

Thanks eveyone, I was just so concerned about the 'sag' (currently my tires ride about 1-2" from the tops of the wheel wells).
I have no bumpstops sice they were ate by rust years ago and It appears tha tmy springs have reversed their arch. I'll proceed with the donor pack full-length add-a-leaf approach and see what happens. Thanks again!

Click to expand...

Replace the bump stops while you're under there. Allowing the springs to defect farther than they were designed to is one of the causdes of premature spring fatigue.

My '88 even with my normal load of small tools and spare fluids, extinguisher, first aid kit, etc, rides at 16-1/2" and I have 247,000 miles on the clock. When the original bump stops rusted away, I replaced them with taller Up Country bump stops.

Rocky Road Outfitters sells really nice rear shackles that add about 1.5" of lift. They are really beafy and you don't have to mess around with you springs therefore keeping the stock ride quality.

Littlewhitexj said:

i added a 2" AAL, and another main? leaf ( the one under the looped one) and i netted about 2.5" , from the center of the wheel to the fender is 19.5", and my leafs were BAD...

Click to expand...

I did this to mine and have 2" shackles that are a little over 2". With shackles that long though the back half of the pack looks flat. It rides a lot better then the 3" short AAL I had, and I'm sitting at about 5" of rear lift. An RE lift pack is what I'll do at some point, but after it isn't my daily driver anymore. I already have a ton sunk into a DD.

jfiscus:

Read this
http://www.rocklizardfabrications.com/home_brew_budget_boost.htm

Note that Rock Lizard says he gained 2" with this. I did it on an 88 and I gained a gross lift of 1-1/4", which was a net gain of 3/4" because the Jeep had settled a half inch. One of the guys in the North Atlantic Chapter did it to his new 2000 XJ and grossed 1-1/2". That was using only the main leaf from the second spring pack.

I recommend this method to you very highly. Just the main leaf may do what you need but, if not, you can always go back and add another leaf. Just realize that after a point the ride will get pretty stiff. With only the additional main leaf the ride is very comfortable. As a guess, I'd prdict that two additional leaves on each side would be rather, ummm, "firm."

Didn't rocklizard have a part two to that article? I thought for sure had a part 2 for that lift article. The owner wanted more lift for about 3 inches. Somehow that article was gone, and I thought I had it saved somewhere.

Eagle said:

jfiscus:

Read this
http://www.rocklizardfabrications.com/home_brew_budget_boost.htm

Note that Rock Lizard says he gained 2" with this. I did it on an 88 and I gained a gross lift of 1-1/4", which was a net gain of 3/4" because the Jeep had settled a half inch. One of the guys in the North Atlantic Chapter did it to his new 2000 XJ and grossed 1-1/2". That was using only the main leaf from the second spring pack.

I recommend this method to you very highly. Just the main leaf may do what you need but, if not, you can always go back and add another leaf. Just realize that after a point the ride will get pretty stiff. With only the additional main leaf the ride is very comfortable. As a guess, I'd prdict that two additional leaves on each side would be rather, ummm, "firm."

Click to expand...

Do a BB for the cheapest way with longer shackles in the back and coil spacers up front, or aal, or blocks in that order out back.

Here's "Part Two"...

http://www.jeepforum.com/forum/show...oject+jeep+week

danny said:

Do a BB for the cheapest way with longer shackles in the back and coil spacers up front, or aal, or blocks in that order out back.

Click to expand...

Dont waste youre time with blocks or shackles. The blocks will distort your springs and give yoe loads of axle wrap. The stock shacles are a pain to get out and longer shackles will distort your alredy worn springs even further.

danny said:

Do a BB for the cheapest way with longer shackles in the back and coil spacers up front, or aal, or blocks in that order out back.

Click to expand...

His problem is that his springs have sagged. Blocks or extended shackles will only make them sag more, faster.

The solution we are suggesting to him IS an add-a-leaf solution.