im sure this has been asked many times b4 but i dont get a chance to get on here much
what do i need to do a 3" lift on a 97 XJ. this is a DD, it will see the trails but no heavy wheeling, how are the long add-a-leafs? i just want to put 31x10.5s on it, just dont want it to ride like a brick,, any help would be great thx

 

check rear springs for sag. get some 3/8 x 1 1/2 bolts, washers, and nuts for all the shocks. new u bolts for the rear. everybody told me to get the r.county kit that has the lower arms with it. will have to rent a coil sping compressor also. have a propane torch, and large breaker bar handy. and a B.F.H. will help too.

 

id vote no on the coil spring compressor. take the calipers off the rotors and jack the vehicle up from behind the lower control arm mount on the unibody, then support with jack stands. may have to unbolt the control arms but get that front end to drop as much as you can and the coil springs will slide right out.

 

i didnt use a spring compressor
my 3in went together great
i run 30s now but i am pretty sure it will clear 32s with some trimming
spray all bolts with penetrating oil the day before

 

If you want factory or better road compliance you will need a host of quality parts... one of which will not be an add a leaf.
If you are just looking for a tools list, I too would steer clear of a coil compressor.

 

I have to vote no on the spring compressor too and also I, from personal experience, will tell you that AAL lifts are bad news for your springs. Here is by build, a little late during the process, for a bastard pack to alleviate the sag I developed using the RC AAL system for 3 inches. http://www.cnyjeep.org/phpbb3/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=3604
What I did was take an extra set of XJ springs (like $20) from the JY, cut the eyes off and use both the longest springs from each side (top without eyes and one below) stacked with the springs on my Jeep, then replaced the shortest spring with my AAL. So instead of having the stock 4 leaf pack, I'm at 6 leafs now. It's a little stiffer but has also brought the rear up 3.5 inches from stock height.

Drop the front axle using a floor jack, what I did to install the RC 3 inch kit was use 2 cinder blocks on each side (laying with the holes facing up so they are structurally sound) laid 2 2x8s on top of the blocks, slid them under the unibody rails right by rear LCA mounts and let it down. Axle was about 4 inches off the ground. Use a floor jack to raise the axle up again, unbolt the sway bar, shocks, brakes and coil spring retainer (tab on the bottom holding the spring in place) and slowly let it down, making sure that nothing else is holding the axle up. From full extension you should be able to pull out the stock spring and wiggle the lift spring in place. I think I used a long and strong flat screw driver to kind of force the bottom to get over the seat.

I would say get the RC kit (other than the AAL issue which you get from any AAL kit I have no complaints), use that for the front and do the rear like I did on the bastard pack. Ride is nice from the RC kit and it comes with everything you would need to make a bastard pack except the extra leafs. Oh the kit is for a Dana 35, so if you have the Chrysler rear you will have to get new u bolts too. Mine was disabled for 2 days cuz I didn't know that.

 

where can i find this RC kit?,, bare with me guys im new to the XJ i've always been a cj or a yj guy lol,,

thx guys

 

When I did my 3" rather than a spring compressor I jacked up the opposite side of the axle I was working on, this caused the side I was working to get the new spring into (yeah I had problems at first) to droop just enough to allow clearance for the new spring. Not sure if that will work in your case, but thought I'd share my .02.

 

Just installed a 3 inch aal with the fixed lower control arms long aal got the kit off a junked xj brand unknown my rear is sagged some thinking of adding a 1 inch shackle to raise it up some.Do I need to replace my rear brake line hose ? We removed the clip that holds it to bracket helped some.

 

On the front springs on mine we used a couple ractchet straps to compress the coils worked great.

 

ok ok << still new what the hell is AAL lol

 

Instead of doing the bastard pack, why not just opt for the RC kit with rear leaf packs instead? And you can order them with the ubolts for the chrystler 8.25, you just have to select that option when you order them....

here ya go.

http://www.roughcountry.com/jeep_xj_3x.html

scroll down to the bottom, get the kit with rear springs, and select your rear end from the drop down menu.

 

Add A Leaf...

 

Cuz I'm an idiot and didn't know how terribly XJ springs respond to AAL. This is the first Jeep I didn't take through the roof 5/6.5/8 and the last that won't get new rear springs with the lift. My budget for this one was not what it usually was cuz I took too much of a loss when the last one got wrecked. Wasn't covered cuz it was way off road (last time I let somebody drive my Jeep).

 

damn man, that sucks... well, lesson learned, lol