Stock Bastard leaf pack, ~5" of lift

Just got done making a "bastard pack" out of stock springs, just thought i'd post my results for anyone interested.

Had an old set of stock leaves from my brothers XJ, and my stock springs were super saggy, so i decided to throw them on. Had been thinking about doing the S-10 bastard pack, but figured since i had the stock packs laying around i'd give it a try.

My XJ measured 44" from ground to bottom of rear window on the pass. side, and 43" on the drivers side (forgot the standard measuring points at the time). was only looking for like 2-3" to level it out since you could barely see the tops of my 235/75R15 on the saggy pack. Reading the S-10 bastard pack posts it seemed the consensus was you wouldn't get much out of the stock XJ packs cause they aren't nearly as arched as the S-10 ones.

I cut the eyes off of the spare pack and basically shuffled them in- Main leaf, Main leave trimmed, 2nd leaf, 2nd leaf.. ect. till all 8 were in. Clamped and installed new ubolts and centering pin, all the standard stuff.

Guess i didn't do enough homework, ended up sitting at 49" pass. side, and 48" drivers (still can't figure out the inch diff...lol). VERY bumpy ride, granted i am in desperate need of new shocks, which should get done this week.

Idk, thought i'd share. Questions comments welcome. Yes i know this may not be ground breaking, but didn't remember coming across anything exactly like this when doing some digging.

Also anyone willing to measure their stock ride height in the same manner as i mentioned? My jeep sat so low don't even know where stock would have been..

Crap, forgot to mention i do have a RC lift shackle that was on before this. It's a 1"-1.5" adjustable shackle, have it just on the 1" setting. Installed that way back to keep my tires from rubbing on every bump. It was soo saggy that my stock bumpstops are pounded flat..

if you have a free day to play with different combos of leaves you might be able to make it softer.
-Ian

i combined 2 stock packs, main leaf+main leaf trimmed+2nd leaf +2nd leaf trimmed. then the rest of the normal pack . got me about 4.5 or so lift . way to stiff for me , im going to remove one of the 2nd leafs and see if that allows it to flex a little better.

atriot:atriot:

So your looking for about 3"s of lift. most people using the donor main and donor second both cut to length get about 2.5- 3"s with stock shackle.sounds like you used 2 full packs including overloads.that combo would be stiff. you need to use 2.5" double lipped liner or moly dry lube spray to reduce friction and radius the end of leafs also.also u shaped leaf clamps with bolts to allow leafs to flex. trydonor main and second with 1' shackle setting to get your 3" lift.will ride and flex well also.

Thanks for the input! Will probably be taking out the donor 3rd and 4th springs. I thought about taking out just the donor main leaf, but with each pack having been saggy, i dont want it to be uneven.

What speed do the infamous bad vibration usually kick in if one gets it? I know i may not have any since each XJ is different, i got it up to 60 last night, will play w it today a bit and see.

Also while i'm at it, whats the proper way to measure for shocks once i get the leaves tuned in? Flex and measure? I had come across a post that linked to RCs site and they had a chart, with the 8000 series shocks rated for 2-4" of lift, just thought about picking those up..

Thanks again guys. Don't know what i'd do without .

fattmann said:

Thanks for the input! Will probably be taking out the donor 3rd and 4th springs. I thought about taking out just the donor main leaf, but with each pack having been saggy, i dont want it to be uneven.

What speed do the infamous bad vibration usually kick in if one gets it? I know i may not have any since each XJ is different, i got it up to 60 last night, will play w it today a bit and see.

Also while i'm at it, whats the proper way to measure for shocks once i get the leaves tuned in? Flex and measure? I had come across a post that linked to RCs site and they had a chart, with the 8000 series shocks rated for 2-4" of lift, just thought about picking those up..

Thanks again guys. Don't know what i'd do without .

Click to expand...

Once the lift is installed disconnect your shocks and measure droop and compression front and rear, then pick shock of your choice from manufactures chart.
Jeepwire.Com Presents: Setting Your Pinion Angle later models 96 up sometimes need a SYE, at 3" on earlier models you can get bye with degree shims and possibly a T/C drop.the article i posted explains both and you will need a angle finder.

8 leafs? lol wow. id def take a few out... main, trimmed main, 2nd, trimmed 2nd and the rest of the stock pack. supposedly that will put you around 2.5". BTW measure from the center of your hub next time, to the bottom of your flare. stock measurements i believe are 17.5" in the front and 17" in the rear.

Interesting - good info to have on file. My stock springs are also very saggy, would be running 2" OME lift by this past Saturday except the U-bolts I need are still on a UPS truck for a few more hours... Out of curiosity have you tried replacing the stock bumpstops yet now that you've fixed the suspension? Mine are very rusty and I am almost afraid to try removing them, as I suspect I will never get another set to bolt in properly - I'm assuming the bolts will break off if I even look at them funny.

Sorry I'm gonna hijack a little, but has anyone added stock leaves to a lift pack to beef it up a little? I thought about doing this to my 3.5" packs to get them to sit better with a load in the back or when I pull a trailer.

cr2000x,I added 3leaves from stock pack to mine,got 4'' total but like everyone says,the ride beat me up,cost-60$ plus days work,6mo later yanked it for full leaf lift,department of welfare said my kids would have swayback from suspension abuse with add-a-leaves!!!!

cr2000xj said:

Sorry I'm gonna hijack a little, but has anyone added stock leaves to a lift pack to beef it up a little? I thought about doing this to my 3.5" packs to get them to sit better with a load in the back or when I pull a trailer.

Click to expand...

if i were to add to a leaf pack like a 3.5" id add maybe 2 leafs at the most. you figure a cut down main xj leaf will prob net you an additional 1" and help support the main leaf in the 3.5" pack. i wouldnt add more than 2 leafs, your kidneys will thank you.

Thats what I was thinking. I have had the full leaf lift pack for about 7 months and it is very flexy, which is nice, but it feels like you are riding a horse on the highways since they are so soft. They actually flex better than my front on superflex arms disconnected. I'll probably give it a try because it won't give me a lot more lift that I don't need and will firm them a little. I can always throw an extra isolator in the front to level it up if I need to. Thanks for the input

cr2000xj said:

Thats what I was thinking. I have had the full leaf lift pack for about 7 months and it is very flexy, which is nice, but it feels like you are riding a horse on the highways since they are so soft. They actually flex better than my front on superflex arms disconnected. I'll probably give it a try because it won't give me a lot more lift that I don't need and will firm them a little. I can always throw an extra isolator in the front to level it up if I need to. Thanks for the input

Click to expand...

hell leave the raked look as it is, those rear leafs will settle eventually and level her out

its already raked or I would. If I get 1" out of it that will put my rear 1.5-2" higher than the front which is a little more than I want