??? Junkyard lift kit ???

I just went to the junkyard and got a set of rear leafs from a Dakota Sport and a set of front coils from a ZJ.

I wanted to know if the coils would give any lift to the front and if I could use the Rear Leaf pack as is or would I have to mix them in with my xj leafs.

Are there any writeups on useing these parts as a lift?

Any help would be great.

Thanks

Search on Dakota pack, Dakota leafs, et c. That's been covered a lot.

Did you get the coils out of a V8?

To be honest the motor had been pulled and I didn't think to check at the time. It was an after thought to get them, I was at a junkyard getting an limited slip axle and saw them sitting in the back of a stripped ZJ. I'll have to call the yard to find out what it had in it.

I had searched the dakota springs but I haven't been able to find out if you can use them without breaking them down. I haul a utility trailor full of firewood regularly and I could use the extra support in the rear, the original springs are pretty much shot.

Also does anyone know how to tell if the clutches in a trac-loc are in need of replacement just by pulling the diff plate and not tearing the differental down.

Most of the writeups will tell you to cut the spring eyes off the Dakota longest leaf, and intermingle those leafs with your own pack, keeping your XJ stock main leaf as the starting leaf.

Some writeups just use all of the Dakota leafs placed under the XJ mainleaf.

I intermingled mine and it worked well. Netted about 5" total lift.

The ZJ coils will net you about 1" lift . . IF they were V8 4x4 springs. You will need a lot of extra lift up front to match the Dakota spring lift out back.

5" is a little more than I was looking for. I don't Really want to have to change the shocks I just got a new set. I was told that I could due about 2 or possibly 3 inches of lift and not have to change the shocks. Is there any way to achieve this with what I have?

Use less of the Dakota springs in the pack and it will decrease total lift. YOu may have to experiment to get just the right amount you are looking for.

Tip: Use the longer leafs for a more soft flexy ride, but dont leave off the thicker short leaf or you may get spring wrap.

I used the main XJ leaf, then the main Dakota leaf (with the eyes cut off), then the next longest Dakota leaf, followed by the bottom two XJ leafs. Five leafs total. This gave me about 3". If you use an XJ leaf on the top and the bottom, you won't have to drill the center hole in the XJ leafs larger. In the front, I used coils from a V8 ZJ along with the stock coil isolator from the ZJ for about 2". I still have my same shocks. They are fine in the front but are definately overextended in the rear. The ride is stiff in the rear, bit I am not sure if it is because of the Dakota leafs or the shocks. (about $40.00 so far)

shszds said:

Also does anyone know how to tell if the clutches in a trac-loc are in need of replacement just by pulling the diff plate and not tearing the differental down.

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What year is it, those things can be totally whooped after only 20k, you should just go for a locker LSD's are more hassle for less performance

I don't have much money to put into it and I found a limited slip rear that matches my gear ratio, really cheap so I jumped on it. It does have 121K on it but I have been told that they can last a fairly long time. I'm going to cross my fingers and hope for the best.
Does anyone know a cheap place to get clutchs incase I have to rebuild.

I was told a long time ago that V-8 ZJ coils were like 3" lift coils, hahaha I got 3/4" out of them. You may get 1" if you add new polly spaces atop them. IMHO It's not worth doing for that much lift. National tire and wheel sells a Superlift 3" kit for 240.00 in there suspension specials section. If you only looking for a lil lift thats perdy cheap.