burntkat
NAXJA Member #1145
- Location
- Charleston, SC
So I finally got rid of the suspension I've been running-- the RC 3" short AAL lift. It was always intended to be a temporary measure, just enough to get those free 33's a friend gave me under my project so I could drive for a while.
Put Clayton's hardarms and RE 5.5" coils up front. Decided to try a little custom work on the rear pack, inspired by Roger Brown's site here: Toyota Cheap Tricks. Sure, it's a 'Yota site, but the guy's pretty sharp.
Took my XJ leaf pack apart, tossed the overload, and took a rear pack from an 83 Wagoneer, tossed the main leaf, and put the remaining bits together, graduating from longest to shortest top to bottom. Ended up with a 7-leaf pack, all the leafs have a similar curvature, and I'm getting about 1.5" more than the RC block and AAL on the other side of my truck. Best guess is about 5.5" over stuck, but I don't have flares on my truck to measure to anymore.
With the number of leafs <more leafs= smoother springrate progression> and the curvature of them <pretty flat>, I am anticipating good things from this. I'll drive it for a while once my Rancho 9012's get here and see how much better or worse it rides than the RC stuff. I honestly can't imagine why it wouldn't ride better than the short AAL and block-- that thing hardly flexed at all, and undulations in the road surface sent the chassis angling and dangling all over the place.
If my best guess is confirmed, I'll pick up some Slip-Plate and some teflon leaf liners and make this official as the pack I'm going to run.
Now, before you yahoos berate me for cheaping out on the leafs after dropping so much money into the front end- realize, the Wagoneer leafs were given to me, so I'm only about $10 into this leaf project <Grade 8 allen bolts for center pins, and a grinder disc to cut the clamps off the old pack>. It was well worth it to me to try this, see what happens, and if I like it, save $300 for leafs for a paintjob instead.
Yeah, "useless without pics"- I know. You'll get 'em tomorrow after I get home and get some sleep. :rattle:
Put Clayton's hardarms and RE 5.5" coils up front. Decided to try a little custom work on the rear pack, inspired by Roger Brown's site here: Toyota Cheap Tricks. Sure, it's a 'Yota site, but the guy's pretty sharp.
Took my XJ leaf pack apart, tossed the overload, and took a rear pack from an 83 Wagoneer, tossed the main leaf, and put the remaining bits together, graduating from longest to shortest top to bottom. Ended up with a 7-leaf pack, all the leafs have a similar curvature, and I'm getting about 1.5" more than the RC block and AAL on the other side of my truck. Best guess is about 5.5" over stuck, but I don't have flares on my truck to measure to anymore.
With the number of leafs <more leafs= smoother springrate progression> and the curvature of them <pretty flat>, I am anticipating good things from this. I'll drive it for a while once my Rancho 9012's get here and see how much better or worse it rides than the RC stuff. I honestly can't imagine why it wouldn't ride better than the short AAL and block-- that thing hardly flexed at all, and undulations in the road surface sent the chassis angling and dangling all over the place.
If my best guess is confirmed, I'll pick up some Slip-Plate and some teflon leaf liners and make this official as the pack I'm going to run.
Now, before you yahoos berate me for cheaping out on the leafs after dropping so much money into the front end- realize, the Wagoneer leafs were given to me, so I'm only about $10 into this leaf project <Grade 8 allen bolts for center pins, and a grinder disc to cut the clamps off the old pack>. It was well worth it to me to try this, see what happens, and if I like it, save $300 for leafs for a paintjob instead.
Yeah, "useless without pics"- I know. You'll get 'em tomorrow after I get home and get some sleep. :rattle:
