Rusty's 3in lift question?

I am new to this and have been searching and reading for days. I am probably go with Rusty's 3 in aal lift. I was wondering since my back springs seem to sit .5 in lower than front can i use a 1''in rear block also? I do not plan to do any extreme offroad stuff just basic back country. I have ruled
out shackles due to I tow with my rig and don't need any my flex or sag. Please give any suggestions on what setup i need. I have the factory wheels and would like to run 31-10.50's on my 1998. Thanks

AAl suck and blocks suck more. Get full leaf packs, you'll be glad in the long run. AAL are stiff and then sag very quickly, especially if you're towing. Full leaf packs are more $$$ but are worth it. Blocks cause the springs to sag quicker, so if you were to use blocks and AAL together you'd really have issues.

Hope that helps.

ckh550 said:

AAl suck and blocks suck more. Get full leaf packs, you'll be glad in the long run. AAL are stiff and then sag very quickly, especially if you're towing. Full leaf packs are more $$$ but are worth it. Blocks cause the springs to sag quicker, so if you were to use blocks and AAL together you'd really have issues.

Hope that helps.

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I don't care for the AAL but you will be ok running a 1" block, A lot of people do it (myself included).

ckh550 said:

AAl suck and blocks suck more. Get full leaf packs, you'll be glad in the long run. AAL are stiff and then sag very quickly, especially if you're towing. Full leaf packs are more $$$ but are worth it. Blocks cause the springs to sag quicker, so if you were to use blocks and AAL together you'd really have issues.

Hope that helps.

Click to expand...

I agree 150% with ckh550. I have the Rusty's 3" with the full rear leaf packs. I also got the extra 150 lb. spring rate springs due to all the crap I haul. I would never, ever, ever get AAL's or blocks. Not good for the rear axle. If $$ are an issue, wait 'til you can get the full spring kit. You will be glad you did in the long run. Bye the way, the ride was harsh for about 30 to 45 days and then it smoothed out and rides like a sports car!

I disagree with the statements about the AAL's. I see a lot of people say they ride harsh, but it looks like most of those people have never used them.

I am running the 3" Rusty's AAL kit on my 91 and I am pretty happy with it so far. I ordered my kit with the heavier 180 lb/in coils, and the spring rates front and rear seem pretty well balanced. It is a firm ride, but definitely not harsh. (My rear springs were sagging so that may be the difference between my results and using AAL's in a newer XJ with non-sagging springs.) Also, I installed the AAL's under the second-from-top stock leaf, rather than directly under the top leaf. This may also make a difference in ride quality.

The AAL's may sag over time, but when that happens I plan to build an S10 rear spring pack for it; this will still be cheaper than spending an extra $200 for the kit with full leaves. If you are on a budget I give a thumbs up to the Rusty's 3" AAL kit.

My rear springs were sagging about 1"; the AAL kit gave me exactly 3" of lift front and rear. It seems to flex just about right to stuff my tires up in the wheel wells without rubbing. (I did have to do some trimming though.)

Hope that helps.

Thanks for the input, I'll most likely go with the AAL kit due to my back springs are in good shape. I can always build a pack up later as money permits. I also have isuues about the factory trac bar, how hard is it to drill a new hole as a lot have mentioned? Or is it better to spend a little extra for an adjustable? I need to replace the stock one anyways for it is shot. I have searched these issues and everyone has a different way of going about it. I want my jeep to still drive good and not the death wobble. Thanks

jcwhitney currenltly has a roughcountry adjustable trackbar for cheap, i think i got it including shipping for like 60 or so

struggling to make myself post..nope won't do it.

I'd go shackles before I went AAL or block. They WILL make the ride harsher and wear out early. Ask them that when you order. I have their full leafs and love them. Like previously stated, they sit higher and take a month or two to break in.

I built mine for the exact same reasons you are. Camping, back country, fishing. I ended up installing a .75" spacer up front and I love the way my Jeep looks. Before I bought this thing I was a car slut. I had more cars than most have in a lifetime. I'd buy something, mod it, sell it and do it again. I wouldn't get rid of my Jeep for anything.

I put shackles and spacers in my g/f's 01...thing sits perfectly and looks killer. I didn't get AAL for her b/c it will make the ride worse and she travels a lot. Think about it.

Well, the only experience I've had with shackles are the ones my friend put on his old CJ-5. The poor thing died before it could affect the springs but it did add a lot more uncertainty to it's handling. I have been running the Rusty's 3 inch lift with rear AAL for about 6 years on my 94. I think it rides great, especially after installing Rancho RSX's. I never did a proper measurement before or after, but near as I can tell, it sits level. I occasionally tow a 3500 lb tent camper, and it will sag a couple inches then, but otherwise it's been fine. I'm running the stock track bar and never had any death wobble, but it seems all XJ's are a little different so you almost have to do it and then see what happens. My main reasons for not doing the full leaf pack were $$$ and the fact that I live in the salt belt. I'd already broke several bolts that were rusted in place and since this was my daily driver I had no desire to deal with breaking loose the nut inside the "frame" rail to remove the stock packs. I am a lazy bastard

The stock trackbar is fine with the 3" rustys lift. There are two downsides: the axle will be slightly re-centered towards the driver's side, which I didn't notice at all as far as driving or wheeling goes...and also, the factory trackbar mount on the axle binds as the axle droops on the drivers side. This didn't happen until I had it nearly maxed out though, at which point the factory LCAs were bottoming out anyway, so I don't think it's an issue. If you have to redrill that's not a big deal, but I didn't with only the 3" kit and I never had any problems with it.

Factory wheels and 31x10.5 might give you some rubbing when turning, but otherwise as long as you're not flexing it all out, you probably won't have any problems. I ran 30x9.5s on the factory wheels with that lift (albeit the full pack version) and it stuffed really nice but rubbed a tiny bit on the LCAs at full lock when turning...only when turning right though, because of the axle shift.

I have the full spring packs and am very happy with them. A point to note about the financial layout which is apparently a concern. You are entering a bottlmeless pit. If you have a '98 and drive on the highway at all you will probably need an SYE and new driveshaft to take care of driveline vibrations. This is an item sometimes innocently ignored by newbies because the folks that sell lifts and "offroad gear" prey on people that just don't know. Trust me, this will be a bigger priority to you than a trackbar should you end up with driveline vibrations.

If your Jeep is your sole source of tranportation, I'd wait till you can afford to do the whole thing the right way. Then if you don't need the SYE you have cash to spend on other mods.

I got the Teraflex shackles... If those things allow lateral sway, Ill eat broken glass! They are BEEFY as chit! The shacks I put on my S-10 Blazer were only two pieces of steel, there was some sway but not very much. Looking back at it, it was a pure redneck kit I bought. :-0

There is another poster on here right now who has a 98 XJ and is asking about an SYE due to driveline vibrations.

I just got the Rusty's 3"aal kit on, I got 3.2 in front, 4in in back, this was with the 180 coils and 3.5 rear aal. The ride is great besides a little harshness in the rear on railroad crossings. I installed the Rusty's transfer case drop and replaced my trac bar with a new stock one, and believe it or not the axle stayed centered under the jeep. I did have to shim the lower control arms to get the alignment back. I had two install shims behind the steering stops due to running 31-10.50's on stock wheels. I have no vibes what so ever and am very pleased with the Rusty's kit.I now would like to post pics but I cannot get my file size under the 57kb limit and suggestions?
Thanks for all the info guys.

I have a question - when shopping for a lift, should one consider if their jeep has the up country suspension package. especially when considering coil springs and AAL's? since it does ride an inch higher.

logically it seems that a four inch lift to an up country would be like a 3 inch lift to an SE. wouldn't it?
and a 3 inch would be like a Budjet boost(a 200-400 dollar one at that.)

As far as I know the up country just has front and rear springs with a little stiffer rate, some also have skid plates and yours may or may not have a rear swaybar. New springs and coils with a advertised amount of lift will results in the same lift no matter if its a up country or other. If i'm wrong please let me know.