Trail rig/Daily driver lift plans... NEED ADVICE PLEASE

Aright, i have my plans set on a small lift for the 93 XJ and I am on a budget. First off, the plan is for 2 inches of lift and 30X9.50 tires. I dont want to go any bigger than this for several reasons. so please dont recommend me some bigger lifts.

the plan is to get 2" coils for the front becuase i think it would be nice to totally replace my 14 year old coils with brand new ones. In the back i am trying to decide on some full length aal's or a new spring pack. This rig will be driven on the road daily, so ride quality is more important flex, this will be only a trail rig to be driven on logging trails probably only once every couple weeks. not a rock crawler so i am not worried about flex. infact most likely all sway bars will probably be left attached.

I measured my rear and it is sitting a little below 17 inches. should i get an aal, or a 3 inch full leaf pack? any other suggestions for lifting the rear on a budget??

also. I would like to save on installation. Im pretty handy with a wrench, but get pissed off real easy when bolts start snapping which is gonna happen on a 14 year old rusty car. any way, how hard is it to drop the front axle and put some new coils in, or how much would you think it would be for a mechanic to do the deed. same for the rear.

any help or suggestions would help alot. also...is there any thing else i will need with a lift like this. probably clamps for the springs and new u bolts...any thing other than that??

Thanks alot and sorry for being long winded

if you really want to save money...maybe find some v8 grand coils at the junk yard...I was getting them at the upull for $10 each...when I could find them. V-8 coils with a 2 inch spacer would be good...then grab a set of dakota leaves...pull out the overload off the dakota pack...and maybe the next small leaf...trying to get the amount of lift from the dakota pack down to 2-3" with out sacrificing too much. You should be able to put all that stuff together for about $100. If you add the dakota leaves to your old stock main leaf it will keep you from having to take out your old main leaf...a major source of xj lift problems are those main leaf bolts breaking loose inside the subframe and not being able to extract them easy. Will need new center pins but you might reuse your stock ubolts...never seen them fail yet.

the trick to being a short tempered mechanic, is walk away when your angry... replacing coils is not hard at all...

yellowxj said:

if you really want to save money...etc, etc...never seen them fail yet.

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He said he wants it ride nice. If you only want 2" and don't mind replacing everything then look at a Old Man Emu kit and shocks. The ride is very good and everything is well build.

Well I am pretty sure I'm picking up a set of Rusty's 2" front coils. So i guess my question is what is the best way to get a moderately good riding 2 inches of lift in the back. I don't need super plush....i just want it to ride ok on the road, cause I will be on the road more than on the trail. Im trying to find an inexpensive set of leafs becuase im pretty sure my old ones are sagging a little bit.

I will be getting some longer shocks for auto zone or something, maybe something meant for a grand cherokee. pretty inexpensive...but better than the crap that comes with lift kits most of the time.

as for the installation. in the front is there any adjusting that needs to be done or is it as simple as drooping the axle a bit and popping in new springs. disconnect sway bar...blach blah.....do you need to play with trackbar at all.

what would be an estimate to install new springs and new leafs to just see if its worth my time?

thanks for the help guys

xcm said:

the trick to being a short tempered mechanic, is walk away when your angry... replacing coils is not hard at all...

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That is exactly what i do...go grab a beer or two...usually don't end up finishing my projects in record time though:banghead:

i'm also trying to do the same thing in m 98', have been looking for zj v8 coils and was wondering about the rear springs.. does anyone know about how s10 leaf springs fit//ride?

also what are good shocks at a good price? i think bilsteins would be ideal but unsure of what length/model to get

I originally did a RE BB, and was unhappy with the AAL's ride, thought it might relax after a year, but no luck with that.
I recently installed OME CS034RA(+2.5 lift) leaf packs. Complete difference, no more axle hop, and the ride is superb. I caught a deal here in town for them @ $95.99 per, but that was only slightly better then a quote I got from DPGoffroad minus shipping. If you want new packs the slight extra cost of the OME is well worth it.

Quadratec HD rear leaves. Cost a bit of cash, but well worth it if you're gonna be driving a lot. Best bang for your buck is a S10/Dakota bastard pack, though. If the new quardatec pack isnt level, then you can get a shackle to lift it up and a bit more and not worry about sagging since its a new pack. As for trackbar, you can leave it alone, i have my 93 at 3" and its still good with the stock trackbar in the original position, although I have a new JKS waiting to be installed eventually.

I bought a used stock leaf pack from a guy that had a bigger lift installed. I broke thet pack apart, cut the eyes off the main leaf, and built up a pack using the modified main leaf and the second leaf from the donor pack. This put me at a little over 2 inches above stock height.

I think that zj coils are much more than 2" longer than stock XJ coils.