2" BB vs. 3" Kit questions

I have a 96 XJ with just over 200K on it. The tires are getting to the point of replacement, so I bought a two inch budget boost so I could fit some 30's on the Jeep. It's a shackle/coil spacer setup.

My concern is that I will have a saggy rear in a short time if I rely on the shackles to hold up the rear of those 200K leaf springs. That and the shocks are original and might not like the lift. There is no sag right now and the shocks feel totally fine. I know a full lift kit would be the best option, but I'm on a super tight budget and I don't want to mess with a SYE or deal with driveline vibes right now. The Jeep may never see any serious trail duty, so I'm not concerned at all with flex.

What's your experience with a shackle lift on high mileage leaf springs and shocks? Should I just use what I've got and try it out, or should I drop $700 on a nice, complete 3" lift?

its going to wear out the springs faster yes. longer shackles and soft springs could mean some interesting handling on road, but you just said you are on a budget. Just do it and dont stress about it, start saving to either buy full rear leaf packs in 2-4" flavor or building a cheap bastard pack on the side as you get leaves. if you get bad axle wrap (coudl cause vibes on accel or decal) or if you get bad vibes because of the soft springs and shackle combo, pull shackles off and wait to build a bastard pack or buy new packs. also, lifting the rig puts more stress on things like ujoints and tres, so when these are wearing out over time since you have 200k, you will really notice it fast when you increaes operating angles on a DS u joint with 150k on it.

The rear shaft has all new U-joints. I guess I should have mentioned that. I'm more worried about pinion angle, vibration issues, and sagging.

I'm selling my other vehicle in the spring and I hope to use the money from that to put into the Jeep. If that works out, I may just buy a Rough Country 3" lift with full leafs. I just know that each additional inch of lift makes vibration issues more likely and I really don't want to spend an additional $500 on the SYE and driveshaft upgrade.

I started with 2" spacers in front with shackles on rear saggy springs. The stock shocks worked fine with this setup. Then I started using it for camping trips and other outings and if you put just one person in the back the springs were so weak the Jeep sagged like crazy, negative arch and the whole shebang. Was scary, looked like they were gonna bust at any moment.

Then I added crown up country leaf packs with the shackles on the low setting "got me 2.75 inches in the rear" and added Skyjacker Hydros for 3" lifts to the four corners and she flexes and wheels very nicely and has minimal sag in the rear with my yz250 on a hitch carrier.

Also took off both sway bars and she drives nice on curvy backroads.

As others have said, you'll have saggy springs. Cut the eyes off a JY XJ main leaf and add to your pack will fix it. While you are there, get front springs from a V8 ZJ. That with the spacer/shackle BB will get you close to 3" and clear 31s okay. I ran this setup for a couple of years and it rode nice. Like factory but a bit firmer.

Definitely do a bastard pack,since you are on a budget. There are a decent amount of xj people up in your area. I would post in your local chapter section and sure someone will have stuff you need for cheap/free. If you canfind a set of JK rubi take-off shocks would be ideal for your setup.

Well, it's been a long time since I've updated this, but life gets in the way sometimes. ANYWAY...

I went ahead and installed the 2" budget boost I had. It turned out pretty nice.



Then just recently, I installed a set of 31's on some 17's.



So far, just some really minor rubbing on the bottom of the front fender flares when making tight turns. I'm going to trim them up when I get a dry weekend. It rides great and hasn't started sagging yet. The only issue I'm noticing is a moaning sound at deceleration, that comes and goes. It's minor right now and only really happens around 35mph. I'm thinking the rear end might need some new bearings.