Adamson904

I have Long travel OME shocks

LongLiveXJ

I do not have the long travel shocks. Wishing I did for the future, but there's still 4-5" of travel in the front, slightly less in the rear, which is all I need at this point for purely highway use.

Adamson904

Yeah I have yet to fully flex out my rear end with the leaf springs

LongLiveXJ

Well, seven months later (wow) this setup is still going strong. I can load 500lbs of crap in the back and the ride is perfectly flat and forgiving. Unloaded, the ride is still quite nice. Looking at the before pictures, I can't believe that it was like that for as long as it was.

Ended up having to drop the transfer case, six months later. I've put on about 6000 miles of 70mph highway driving since then and the slip yoke is beginning to throw a fit. A 1 inch transfer case drop took most of the vibes out, but I smell SYE in my future. The slip yoke has some play in it now, and there is an oscillating, bassy drone at 65+mph. I will report back once I get more of a chance to make progress on that.

Overall, I highly recommend this setup to whoever wants a little more height but still wants a roadworthy vehicle / daily driver. To me, it was worth every penny. Just make sure that you either drop the transfer case right away or plan on buying a SYE. This lift (for a 96) is right on the edge of being able to get away with the slip yoke.

WyoCherokee

IDK why they ever got rid of the proper 2" OME lift spring. I had them on my xj and it rode perfect! IMO it was the perfect set up of a 30x9.5 tires that could still handle a boat trailer, or hatch full of bark mulch, and flex great on the trail. I sold them to another XJ buddy, and he has put another 50k on them without sagging. Those were the best leaves.

jordan96xj

LongLiveXJ,

In then end your Jeep looks great, really fantastic (very clean). So I want to put that compliment out their first.

I wanted to add, that I achieved basically the exact same lift as yours, and looks nearly identical in height (I run 30x95/r15 tires) by using the Dorman springs ($100 each with bushings included) and 1" spacers up front ($35). The ride is excellent, and I have no vibration concerns (no TC drop, no SYE). I can feel the rear u-joints when under heavy load, but subtle and not a full on "vibe" (for example a strong acceleration from a stop light in the 30-50mph range). But for cruising between 55-65mph there are no vibration issues.

Perhaps the only trade-off that I might pay for later is that I might find the springs to be a bit too soft when I go to pull a trailer (which I haven't done yet). I daily this thing nearly 80 miles per/day. And a trailer will be a once in a while thing. So I'll cross that bridge when I come to it (air shocks, helper springs, etc.)

Charley3

My favorite trick is to use OME TJ front coils with Bilsten 5100 shocks for my XJ. This gives a nice smooth ride for light XJs that have stock bumpers and no winch (with or without skidplates), and it has good cornering-handling.

Front Springs Rates

Stock-OEM TJ non-Rubi springs 130 lbs/in. To short for an XJ, but listed for reference to compare spring rates.

Rancho TJ non-Rubi springs 130 lbs/in. 2.5" to 3" lift for TJ, which would be 1.5" to 2" for XJ. These are nice soft springs. I think they would be great for a stock/light weight XJ. They are well made springs and low cost.

Stock-OEM TJ Rubi springs 140 lbs/in. To short for an XJ, but listed for reference to compare spring rates.

ARB-OME TJ springs 140 lbs/in. Light Load version gives approx 2" lift for stock TJ, or 1.5" for stock XJ. My XJ has extra weight (frame stiffeners in front + front skidplate + engine-tranny skidplate). These springs give my XJ 1.25" lift. It rides comfortably, corners good, and gives me an extra 1.25" suspension uptravel to soak up bumps. I use Bilstein 5100 shocks. Works great for a DD with 30" or 245 ATs.

ARB-OME TJ springs 140 lbs/in. Heavy Load version gives approx 2.5" lift for stock TJ, or 2" for stock XJ. My XJ has extra weight (frame stiffeners in front + front skidplate + engine-tranny skidplate). These springs would give my slightly heavier than stock (skidplates) XJ 1.75" lift.

Note: ARB-OME TJ springs Light Load and Heavy Load springs are both 140 lbs spring rate. The difference is Heavy Load springs are 0.6" longer.

Stock-OEM XJ springs 147 lbs/in.

ARB-OME XJ 160 lbs/in. These are great springs for an XJ with a heavy front-end. Like aftermarket bumper and/or winch (with or without skidplates). However, this spring rate is to stiff for a light, stock weight XJ, IMO. Some people might say they ride good on a stock XJ, but that's not what they were made/intended for. They're made for significantly heavier than stock XJs. For a lightweight XJ a much better ride can be had with Rancho TJ 130 lbs or OME TJ 140 lbs springs.

For any of the low lift springs I prefer Bilstein 5100 shocks because they ride comfortably and have good handling, IMO. Also, they work well with stock bumpstops, as do the Rancho and ARB-OME springs mentioned above. ARB-OME used to make comfortable riding shocks for XJs, but not anymore. Now ARB-OME only offers OME Sport Shocks, which I personally find to harsh. Rancho's cheap lift shocks are harsh riding junk, IMO. Rancho's best lift shocks are good for ride and adjustability, but don't offer enough compression and extension, IMO. Skyjacker shocks are reputed to ride good, but they are completely hydro-shocks, which I think would fade. So by process of elimination, Bilstein 5100 shocks are my favorites. They works really well with my ARB-OME front TJ springs.

P.S. - I assume Rancho also makes Rancho XJ lift springs. If so, I don't know their spring rate. If anyone knows it, please post it.

LongLiveXJ

It baffled me once I finally figured out that they were discontinued. There are so many threads out there raving over these leafs, it makes no sense to me. Apparently these are supposed to replace those...

Thank you! I love this thing.

Looking back, I saw the Dorman springs, actually considered using them for a while. Yeah, they would have saved me a few dollars. And I probably could have gotten away with spacers up front, for the time being.

But, all things considered, I wanted to make sure it could handle all my school crap as well as (possibly) a snowmobile / dirt bike. Wouldn't hurt my feelings to throw a winch on the front (eventually) as well. When I was searching for parts, especially on this forum, I was eventually convinced that OME hardware was the best of the best, and I couldn't find much other than positive reviews from people with ~60k+ miles on their systems. That's what really convinced me. Figured I'd spend the good money on the good stuff once. I'll be using this Jeep for a while, as is!

I'd be curious to see how close the two systems are in terms of angles and how much slip yoke is left on the tc output shaft. I had no vibrations at all for about ~6000 miles, then it just kinda showed up after a long drive one day. TC drop fixed that for now. I hope the same doesn't happen to you.

Do all XJs vibrate a bit around the 40mph mark? I've been in quite a few different ones now that all do it. Stock, modified, mine, you name it. Just seems to be an XJ thing.

I had also considered the 5100s. Another product that I was hard pressed to find a bad review on. This is good information, thanks for posting!

Charley3

My rear springs are the OME 2 inch lift XJ springs that someone referred to as "proper". I love them. I bought the last two that were for sale anywhere in the USA. They were already discontinued when I bought them, but Quadratech had them in stock. No place else had them in stock.

mikesignal

which springs did you get? the cs034rb?

jordan96xj

If a vibe developed 6000 miles after installing the lift, I suppose the first thing I would suspect would be that the angle is just enough that it is shortening the life of the u-joints. In my case, it was somewhat opposite. When I first installed the springs, my u-joints complained for the first 100 miles or so (they were new, but did not like the angle change). Then they settled in and got pretty smooth. Then over the next 10k miles they got better and better. Of course during that time the springs were settling from about 2.5" down to about 1.5" of lift from where I started from.

At least on a 96, I think some drive line vibration is normal under load. According to the 97 redesign marketing material, many of the small changes they made between the years had to do with NVH (noise, vibration, harshness) of the vehicle.

I finally have mine dialed in to where at 55-65mph it is glass smooth. But it took a while, and quite a bit of work to get it there. Including axle u-joints, hubs, wheels, tires, drive shaft rebuilds, shocks, sway bar bushings, ball joints, control arms, steering hardware, transmission mount, etc. I did it a little at a time, over about a year's time.

After the lift I had some annoying road surface vibration coming from the front. It probably was the hardest to identify and solve. I ended up solving it by replacing the front swaybar bushings, and putting the stock rubber isolators back in (in addition to the 1" poly spacers, which were transmitting too much vibration).

jordan96xj

After looking at your before/after pictures again, I think I'll correct myself and say that I did not really achieve the same lift you were targeting. I think I initially had over 2" but after settling for 12 months ended up at about 1.5" and yours is visibly taller. So I probably shouldn't compare apples/oranges.

I think somewhere down the road I plan on re-doing my lift for a solid 2", and I would be happy to get the same results you did. The stance is a little nicer. I want mine to lifted enough to be obvious, but a small enough lift to avoid complications on a 80/day daily driver. I'll probably stick to 30x9.5/r15s Because I'm so happy with the width.

EatonXJ

Looks good. I've had my OME lift on my Jeep for around 5 years. Granted I'm no serious offroader but that lift should keep going strong for a few more years.

LongLiveXJ

I too have been through the driveshaft rebuild process, in fact just about a month ago I had both rebuilt and balanced. I think the smoking gun right now is some obvious play in the slip yoke, which I can move (wiggle) with my hands. My sister has a '97 with a slightly lower lift, and the slip yoke on that one is completely snug. After the tc drop on mine went in, it took a lot of slop out of the yoke and put about 3/4" of spline back on the output shaft. Like I said, the big issue at this point is a low oscillating drone coming from either the tc or rear end. Trying to pin that down.

I also had some strange vibrations (and resonation) coming from the front axle, turned out that both front wheel bearings were bad. It is a whole new vehicle now with those installed... much quieter (and no more shaky steering!).

Wow, you've got a great example yourself! To be honest, if I hadn't found a deal on the Ravine rims, I would have gone with the Grizzlies. Glad to see another clean XJ out there... especially with a New York plate. The salt really loves these things (I'm from Michigan).

I think currently (after settling) the rear is sitting at 2.75" and the front is 2.25" above "stock". I say "stock" because that is based on measurements performed by people on the Internet who claim their rigs are "stock". I know that I gained 2.25" in the front and almost 4.5" in the rear overall... Four guys used to bottom this thing out. Those springs had to go.

EatonXJ,
More good news. Thanks, same to you!

Charley3

I have the rear springs called OME XJ light load rear springs. OME used to call them 1.5 to 1.75" lift springs. IME they give 2" lift to the rear of a stock weight XJ, or 1.5" to an XJ with aftermarket bumper and gas tank skidplate. On my XJ, it gives me 1.75" lift because I have a gas tank skidplate and stock bumper.

My OME TJ Light Load front springs give me 1.25" lift with my skid plates.

I don't remember what part numbers my front and rear springs are. If you really need to know the part number(s) let me know and I'll dig through my records to find it. The rear springs I have were discontinued a few years ago. I bought them 6 months after they were discontinued. I got the last pair of them that were available in the country.