Lift question???

I know that Rough Country has a bad rep with most of the people in here, but I am building an XJ with my son and we haven't got a lot to spend. So I am thinking of ordering the Rough Country 3 inch lift, and buying the shocks seperately. (These questions are probably asked daily)
However I know that the blocks put alot of stress on the springs, but I was wondering if I added one of those universal Leaf Spring Helpers (normally used for towing) to support it a little better, would you guys think this would be acceptable for a while. We just mainly do trail rides and alot of camping and stuff nothing major. Anyone have any experience with this? I hate to use blocks but its the cheapest way to stuff some tires under it. Someone suggested a universal Add-a-leaf but that would lift it more than 3"inches right? the rig would be unlevel. What do you guys think?

I have 2.5 inch blocks on mine. First lift and bought without thinking. It works fine, but the springs are starting to sag pretty good after about 4 months. It also is my daily driver with 175000 miles on it. So all in all it is starting to sag and I will have to replace it before to long. A 3 inch aal would be the best cheap thing to do in my opinion.

so maybe buy the 3in Spacers for up front from Rough Country and the AAL from somewhere else?

http://www.partsamerica.com/ProductDetail.aspx?categorycode=3197&mfrcode=MWI&mfrpartnumber=18940 this is the helper I was talking about...do you guys think this would help after putting blocks under it???

Definately stay away from rough country. Here is an article I did some time ago. It is a lot of reading, but for about the same price as that rough country kit, you can try this and the ride quality is many times better than RC kits. http://www.rocklizardfabrications.com/home_brew_budget_boost.htm

Shoot me an email if you have any questions about it: [email protected]

I've seen Rough Country kits on XJ's and TJ's, seems the perform pretty well for the money from what I've seen.

Consider a full-length add-a-leaf in the rear, even if you cut it from another set of leaves. This will give you some lift, make the springs last longer, and will not stiffen the ride.

mgreen84 said:

Someone suggested a universal Add-a-leaf but that would lift it more than 3"inches right? the rig would be unlevel. What do you guys think?

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I don't know what a "universal" AAL is, but Rancho's AAL that's listed for the XJ yields 2" to 2-1/2" of lift. That's a good match for a set of 2" front coil spacers and with that setup you can run 30" tires, or even 31s if you stay with stock rims and extend the bump stops.

What makes you say that shock absorbers put a lot of stress on springs? The shocks aren't connected to the springs. If anything, by damping suspension movement they help the springs.

XJ leafs are known for sagging over time. and adding a block to a bad spring will just kill it even quicker. a new spring would probably stand up to the stress of a block longer, but installing new leaf packs just to use a block would be defeating the entire purpose of disassembling the suspension to begin with. if its a "learning/bonding" kinda build-up, i say use a block and see what it does to the rig, and plan ahead for a better fix that you will both learn more from. the "best" choices almost never include the word "budget" so enjoy your XJ and plan ahead to do it properly.

I know there are many on this forum that won't agree, but Iput the 3" Rough Country lift on my 89 XJ (I got the 180lb. overload springs) This is the FULL LEAF PACK not the add-a-leaf or blocks. I have used there products before and have no real complaints. I will never, ever, ever use add-a-leafs or blocks. They cause too many problems. It is better to wait "till the funds are availabe to do it with the full leaf packs. As for the ride, it was stiff for about the first month and now that it has broken in it is great. Still a little stiffer than stock, but much better on the open road and off-road.

Eagle said:

I don't know what a "universal" AAL is, but Rancho's AAL that's listed for the XJ yields 2" to 2-1/2" of lift. That's a good match for a set of 2" front coil spacers and with that setup you can run 30" tires, or even 31s if you stay with stock rims and extend the bump stops.

What makes you say that shock absorbers put a lot of stress on springs? The shocks aren't connected to the springs. If anything, by damping suspension movement they help the springs.

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I know the shocks aren't connected to the springs, I think you misunderstood my question. I was saying that the blocks (lifting blocks) put stress on the leafs.....but thanks for all of you guys help

I could be wrong but isnt rubicon express about the same price for the add a leaf with front coils? Add a leaf will give you three inches with new springs but Im sure as well as everyone else in here you dont have new springs so the back might be lower than the front.

ok, well I have come to the conclusion that buying the rear springs, spacers for front and hardware seperate will be the cheapest and smartest way out...now any suggestions on shocks, I can't afford to buy bilstein or the new edlebrock reflex, but anyone find quality shocks pretty cheap? and how much of an extension will I need for my brake line with 3 inches of lift?

usually the cheepest methode is a kit with shocks included. I priced mine separate and it would have been like 350 bucks more

quality shocks pretty cheap?

doesch tech makes good shocks at an affordable price

How about the Monroe Reflex, someone said they were alright (as long as you special order for your lift)?

I've seen something horribly unresearched material here.

rough country 3 inch lift includes the following : front coil springs 3" lift, rear FULL-LENGTH AAL 3" lift, and four of their shocks. for $240 dollars via JCWhitney (I actually plan to use this kit - I will explain why with my next review)

the Rubicon Express budget boost: 1.75 inch coil spring spacers, half length AAL 2" lift, four monotube shocks - $230 pretty much anywhere
The Rubicon Express kit has a Full length AAL option, thats $20 extra and yields 3 inches of lift (making you have to buy more to even out the ride)

I've been told that Full length AALs are the way to go, because the half length spring sags quickly and puts the wrong stress on all the right places - i.e. this is bad.

the benefit of the ROUGH COUNTRY kit over the RE kit is simply that the Full length AAL is standard, and there isn't a Coil Spring Spacer, Longer Coil Springs are the standard option that is with this kit

AAL's and New Coil Springs will certainly change the ride quality, and So will just about any suspension modifacation.

For now my eyes are upon the ROUGH COUNTRY 3 inch Lift Kit available from JCWHITNEY's

- the only issue that may arise from the Rough Country kit is that it doesn't come with front LCA's (lower control arms) or a track bar alignment kit (like most 3 inch kits do - what'd you expect for less than $250)

LCA's for three inches of lift are available from 4 wheel drive hardware, these arms have johnny joints in them and run 150 bucks

and a adjustable track bar from tough country is sold at les schwabs for 68 dollars, installed.

- I certainly hope that this will help you and your kid in your purchasing, for now, I'm gonna continue researching -