Will a Bastard Pack Settle?

Hey guys, I just got finished putting on some terra front coils and a 3 leaf blazer bastard pack without the overload leaf. The Makeshift rear springs gave me a little more lift than hoped for right off the get go. Just as the title asks, will a bastard pack settle in at all? I really wouldnt mind if it lost 1/2 an inch or even more with time. Let me know what you guys have encountered.

THanks

Jeremy

It should settle some. You can carry a bunch of weight around in the back for a few weeks, take it out and wheel it, or just wait.

My bastard pack has settled, its consists of XJ main and second leafs added to a stock pack. Its time to go full pack now.

There is a big difference between XJ leaves & S10(blazer) leaves. A quick visual inspection will show you this. The S10 leaves are much more heavy duty & the rear end of an XJ weighs very little to what the rear of an S10 pickup loaded down weighs (these springs are designed for sprung-under pickups, but also used in blazers).

So, no they will hardly sag any over time. I am assuming if you used the top 2 leaves from a 3-leaf S10 pack that you received 5" of lift. Can you add a coil spacer to the front to level it out some?

That's pretty funny canman, that you have 4,444 posts & my post count upon responding was 444.
My last XJ had the same 2.5" bastard lift & 33" TSLs too, I liked it a lot.
My new XJ has the RC 4.5" lift; I should have gotten full packs but I intend to replace the RC AAL with an S10 one.

Sorry dude, I don't get the above post. Springs are rated on thickness of the leaf and length, it doesn't matter what they're under. And, the bed of an S10 is likely lighter, not heavier than the rear of an XJ, and the overload leaf that handles a load was removed.



As far as sagging, you might get a little sagging from a used leaf pack just from wheeling it, since we flex the springs quite a bit, but generally used springs won't settle as much as new springs might since they've already been worked. It's a crap shoot whether or not those springs will settle some on you.

CanMan said:

My bastard pack has settled, its consists of XJ main and second leafs added to a stock pack. Its time to go full pack now.

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What height does this sit at? Is the ride and flex good? I have considered combining 2 XJ packs and a longer shackle rather than add the S15 leaves I have. I am making the assumption that more leaves with less arch will give a better ride and rear end movement.

Goatman said:

Sorry dude, I don't get the above post. Springs are rated on thickness of the leaf and length, it doesn't matter what they're under. And, the bed of an S10 is likely lighter, not heavier than the rear of an XJ, and the overload leaf that handles a load was removed.

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I've driven S-10s and Rangers for several years before picking up the XJ, using them as farm trucks/construction trucks. Only twice have I used the overload springs.....once was pulling 5000# trailer (trailer + car) on a bumper hitch....and once was when the Ranger was loaded with 1800# of mulch/wood chippings.

My 96 s-10 held up to 1500# of gravel in the bed, and didn't even come close to flexing the overload spring.....

Goatman said:

As far as sagging, you might get a little sagging from a used leaf pack just from wheeling it, since we flex the springs quite a bit, but generally used springs won't settle as much as new springs might since they've already been worked. It's a crap shoot whether or not those springs will settle some on you.

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X2, I have built many bastard packs in various combinations, and none really sagged. Like Goatman said, you may get a little settling as you wheel it, but don't expect the new leaf pack break in.

All springs will sag eventually, it may take 20+ years, but eventually it will be level :laugh:

I think your best bet would be to drive it for a day or two. If it's still too tall for you, pull one of the leaves. Just make sure you leave enough leaves to avoid axle wrap, so if you need to, replace the Chevy leaves with XJ leaves till it's where you want it.

Bastard packs are cheap and perform well, but they take some guesswork to get perfect.

JP said:

What height does this sit at? Is the ride and flex good? I have considered combining 2 XJ packs and a longer shackle rather than add the S15 leaves I have. I am making the assumption that more leaves with less arch will give a better ride and rear end movement.

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I gained about 3-3.5". About 4.5" with a TNT shackle. Now it sits around 4", I would guess.

Flex is good, ride is good. Don't have any pics of the rear flex, really.

My S10 bastards settled a tiny bit but that's because I beat the crap out of them from the get go. A few times catching air settles stuff down real quick. Otherwise, I still have 4.5-5" in the rear, a ton more than I have in the front. My Jeep is raked real bad.

Yeah im sitting at about 4.5 inches. I used a pack from a 90 blazer. It was a 3 leaf plus the overload. I used the cherokee top, and all 3 leafs from the blazer pack minus the overload. The only cherokee leaf used was the top, everything else is from the blazer. It rides great. Its deffinately stiffer but so are my front coils. I also did a 4 degree shim and about a 1 inch transter case drop, Vibes are very minimal.

I was hoping it would settle in just a little, at least enough to make it look more proportional to the front. I however dont want it to sag and dont expect it too with the arch I have now. I wasnt asking if it would sag just for the record. I guess I can pull the front apart and put in another coil isolator, that would make it about perfect. I just wanted to avoid having to drop the front axle again. I pulled lower control arms this time so the axle would drop farther but even that was a pain, mostly gettting the LCA bolts to line up correctly. Ill see how it goes but I think its innevitable that Im going to have to put a spacer up fron.