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Topic: Budget Lift Ideas... for my XJ

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ChevelleSSLS6
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Budget Lift Ideas... for my XJ
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So, with my Civic having hit a curb yesterday and screwing the steering up (turn wheel 90* left to go straightconfuse), I HAVE to fix the Jeep.

Once the fuel (I contacted a yard down souththat has one) and leaky tstat housing is fixed, I'll be onto bigger and better things involving it...

So with stock saggy leafs and a 2"AAL out back, I was thinking of doing my own budget 3" lift.

I'm leaning toward V8 ZJ springs (maybe 1" spacers, we'll see), and getting a new HD leaf pack from JCWhitney (see link here)  for the XJ Upcountry (adds an inch over stock) and then maybe reuse the 2" aal.

Of course I'll need to get brake lines (YJ lines are longer and are a direct fit I'm told), and a bunch of hardware and little stuff.  Any suggestions, or 'stuff I'll need' such as bumpstops, let me know.  I already have an adjustable trackbar from JKS on it good up to 3.5" of lift.

As for vibes, how well do the little shims placed under the leaf springs work?
-Matt

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1996 XJ "Snowball"- 3.5" lift, bunch of little mods.  I hate pegleg rear axles!
1974 AMC Javelin "Jade Grenade"- 360v8, 4sp, green inside and out. Underfunded Project.
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ChevelleSSLS6
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after using the link to the 'great big XJ association' (it didn't work but it's ok...) I found these and so I have
$200 in leaf packs
$0 shipping (for orders over $200... I'll buy some silly little thing from there like a distributor cap)

...and from there I'm out looking for parts.  I've been told ZJ shocks are longer (and work well with lifted XJs), and the control arms off a ZJ will swap over and are stronger, and will help get the geometry straightened around as well.  If any of this is not true, let me know.

Or... rubicon express 3.5" leaf packs are...









SubTotal$349.90
Tax$0.00
Shipping$93.60
Total$443.50


Whole kit n kaboodle, with control arms, and ubolts, etc...









SubTotal$584.95
Tax$0.00
Shipping$134.09
Total$719.04


-- Edited by ChevelleSSLS6 at 17:57, 2009-02-22

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My Fleet
1996 XJ "Snowball"- 3.5" lift, bunch of little mods.  I hate pegleg rear axles!
1974 AMC Javelin "Jade Grenade"- 360v8, 4sp, green inside and out. Underfunded Project.
2009 Kawsaki Vulan 900 "Rocket III"- Summer DD
dogwonk
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Well, I have a few questions:

1) What is your budget?
2) How high do you want to go? As in, at least __", but no higher than __"
3) Do you already have the 2" AAL's in or do you have them to install?

That will get me started toward an answer and maybe help others know EXACTLY what you are wanting to do...

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ChevelleSSLS6
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dogwonk wrote:

Well, I have a few questions:

1) What is your budget?
2) How high do you want to go? As in, at least __", but no higher than __"
3) Do you already have the 2" AAL's in or do you have them to install?

That will get me started toward an answer and maybe help others know EXACTLY what you are wanting to do...













 






1. Not a lot.  I could save up over the summer and buy the kit (which seems expensive but it might be less expensive after adding up all of the little parts and pieces of the DIY lift (including bumpstops and brake lines and new hardware).  Shocks could wait as they're not bad, just stock and with lift there might be some issues on trail runs.






2. I'd like at least 3" but no more than 4".  I plan on running 31s.  Tires are a more immediate need than the lift.  I think 31s will work on the road, but will make trouble with uncut fenders on the trail.






3. I have a rusty's 2" spacer/AAL kit on it now, and the rear is saggy (stock height) but I started with saggy leaf packs in the first place.  I had some vibes at first until it 'settled' and of course it kept settling.evileye I'd like to use shims to reduce/eliminate vibes since tcase drops are odd- losing clearance after installing a lift to gain clearance.confuse



-- Edited by ChevelleSSLS6 at 13:21, 2009-02-23

-- Edited by ChevelleSSLS6 at 13:21, 2009-02-23

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My Fleet
1996 XJ "Snowball"- 3.5" lift, bunch of little mods.  I hate pegleg rear axles!
1974 AMC Javelin "Jade Grenade"- 360v8, 4sp, green inside and out. Underfunded Project.
2009 Kawsaki Vulan 900 "Rocket III"- Summer DD
aci4369
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I know that a lot of the lifts, if you buy the package, will come with shocks for free.   Just a thought.

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ChevelleSSLS6
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aci4369 wrote:

I know that a lot of the lifts, if you buy the package, will come with shocks for free.   Just a thought.



I thought they were extra at Rubicon Express's website... are they free through Motion or another distributor?



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My Fleet
1996 XJ "Snowball"- 3.5" lift, bunch of little mods.  I hate pegleg rear axles!
1974 AMC Javelin "Jade Grenade"- 360v8, 4sp, green inside and out. Underfunded Project.
2009 Kawsaki Vulan 900 "Rocket III"- Summer DD
PC
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I would say for the cash it will cost to pull the parts from a yard you could get a new lift from MotionOffroad.com. The 3 inch lift is less than 200 if I remember right. Better to do it right the first time and wait a couple weeks more than do it and not be happy with it. You could do the budget one that asks for ZJ or F150 springs and then do the dakota leafs but used parts can be finicky and unreliable. If you buy new you know where you will sit and know it will be even.

Here is the cheap one from MO
http://motionoffroad.com/catalog/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=12_56&products_id=481

And you can get a set of shocks in another month
http://motionoffroad.com/catalog/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=13_28_62&products_id=352

Or you can check eBay for shocks too. I am pretty sure Motion beats the eBay price on lifts but not positive if you can find cheaper shocks or not, again though, cheaper may not be better.

-- Edited by PC at 18:29, 2009-02-25

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ChevelleSSLS6
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PC wrote:

I would say for the cash it will cost to pull the parts from a yard you could get a new lift from MotionOffroad.com. The 3 inch lift is less than 200 if I remember right. Better to do it right the first time and wait a couple weeks more than do it and not be happy with it. You could do the budget one that asks for ZJ or F150 springs and then do the dakota leafs but used parts can be finicky and unreliable. If you buy new you know where you will sit and know it will be even.

Here is the cheap one from MO
http://motionoffroad.com/catalog/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=12_56&products_id=481

And you can get a set of shocks in another month
http://motionoffroad.com/catalog/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=13_28_62&products_id=352

Or you can check eBay for shocks too. I am pretty sure Motion beats the eBay price on lifts but not positive if you can find cheaper shocks or not, again though, cheaper may not be better.

-- Edited by PC at 18:29, 2009-02-25


I agree on the ebay shocks... a lot of parts there is JUNK.  There's good finds on there too though.

With my stock leafs already saggy, I'd like new leaf packs, and to stay away from AAL and blocks, so this adds considerable expense into the lift.

 



-- Edited by ChevelleSSLS6 at 13:37, 2009-02-26

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My Fleet
1996 XJ "Snowball"- 3.5" lift, bunch of little mods.  I hate pegleg rear axles!
1974 AMC Javelin "Jade Grenade"- 360v8, 4sp, green inside and out. Underfunded Project.
2009 Kawsaki Vulan 900 "Rocket III"- Summer DD
Woodywagon
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I did a similar lift to what your talking about last summer. I ended up with about 2.5 lift. I came across "new" leaves in a local trader paper added the to 2 leaves from another set. v8 ZJ springs in front I did have to use 1 3/4 spacers. Then I got aset of 2in lift shocks from ProComp. I love it! Had less than $500 in the whole thing rides great and wheels awesome.

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ChevelleSSLS6
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Woodywagon wrote:

I did a similar lift to what your talking about last summer. I ended up with about 2.5 lift. I came across "new" leaves in a local trader paper added the to 2 leaves from another set. v8 ZJ springs in front I did have to use 1 3/4 spacers. Then I got aset of 2in lift shocks from ProComp. I love it! Had less than $500 in the whole thing rides great and wheels awesome.



If I find some new leaves (local) I might go for that, otherwise I'm leaning toward saving for the kit now, after considering the price of adding longer brake lines, new ubolts, and everything up.  I might spend a little more on the kit, but everything is new and RE is good with sending all of the little crap that nickles and dimes ya to death too.



-- Edited by ChevelleSSLS6 at 12:32, 2009-02-27

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My Fleet
1996 XJ "Snowball"- 3.5" lift, bunch of little mods.  I hate pegleg rear axles!
1974 AMC Javelin "Jade Grenade"- 360v8, 4sp, green inside and out. Underfunded Project.
2009 Kawsaki Vulan 900 "Rocket III"- Summer DD
dogwonk
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I started to post in here the other day, but the little one sidetracked me and I never got back to it.

I am glad to hear that you are choosing to save and do it "right" the first time. You will not regret it.

I did want to add, though it sounds like you don't need any further convincing, that I would not spend money on replacement "stock" leafs if you are wanting to lift anyway. There is a good reason that aftermarket leafs are made. They are stronger and heavier duty (most of them anyway...). If your current factory leafs are sagging then what do you think will happen to your factory replacements? So, if you are wanting to lift, buy LIFT leaf packs.

That is just my twocents.gif worth, but I think the common denominator among the group here is to do it right the first time.

Good luck!

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Motion Offroad
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ChevelleSSLS6 wrote:

I thought they were extra at Rubicon Express's website... are they free through Motion or another distributor?

We offer FREE SHIPPING and FREE SHOCKS on all Rubicon Express lift kits.

We're also happy to put a custom kit together for you based on your needs; just give us a call as we're always happy to help and answer any questions.

 



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ChevelleSSLS6
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Currently shopping around... and may buy wheels+31s from a fellow member, which will set me back a bit.

Maybe MOR is the best... I haven't done it lately to my zip (49548) but i think the price of the lift is right in the ballpark as compared to from getting it directly from rubicon express.  Their shipping is $$$ but then again it's from Cali.

From MOR, it's from cali to MOR (indiana I think, where are you guys?) and then to me.  And a buyer (me or others) are supporting a supporter of the site. :)

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My Fleet
1996 XJ "Snowball"- 3.5" lift, bunch of little mods.  I hate pegleg rear axles!
1974 AMC Javelin "Jade Grenade"- 360v8, 4sp, green inside and out. Underfunded Project.
2009 Kawsaki Vulan 900 "Rocket III"- Summer DD
 
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