First off S-10 springs have a softer ride and flex better than Dakota springs. If you use a full S-10 pack it will net you around 4.5" of lift. Simply throw on a MJ shackle and you'll have 5.5" of lift in the rear.

For my S-10 pack I used the XJ main leaf w/ the s-10 pack bolted to it minus the overload leaf. I just reused the s-10 spring clamps and bought new center pin bolts. I'm also using a 1.5" lift shackle in the rear and it flexs really well and I'm netting about 4.5" of lift in the rear all together. Note the fact I'm not using overload leafs so they don't hold up as well with a full load however, they flex great.

 

What do you people think about using 2 XJ leafs combined for a lift? I have access to another set of XJ leafs is why I ask.

 

It can work, I've heard of people adding an extra XJ main leaf / 2nd leaf for a higher spring rate. The main point of using S-10 spring is that they provide more arch cuasing a higher lift. XJ springs don't have more arch so they just increase spring rate cuasing stiffer springs that cuase lift by keeping the rear from sagging down. If you only need a small 2" lift or so in the rear, then as always you can't beat free. In most cases it will only lift by the hieght of the spring its self.

 

It would not give you any more lift. The free arch of the XJ spring is 4". The free arch of an S10 spring is 8". When it settles with the weight of the vehicle on it it is at 4" free arch, the same as an XJ spring without any weight on it

 

So, adding leafs would not affect lift? That doesn't make much sense. I do not want a lot of lift, I just want a little bit so I have some more flex.. already removed rear sway bar. And was planning on installing ZJ Up-country coils up front, possibly a small spacer to even out the lift from side to side if necessary.

 

The point I was trying to make is that if you already have an S10 pack with 4" of arch in it with the weight on it and add more leaves that have 4" of arch the spring will get stiffer but will not gain any more lift because the additional leaves will not do anything until you push down the spring some more.

If you are adding these leaves to a stock XJ spring, yes you will achieve some lift, but the spring will become stiffer and the ride harsh.