AAL before block or spacers in the rear, shackles before AAL. XJ springs are pretty flimsy, blocks/spacers just add more torque to all-ready weak springs. AAL tend to sag to match the sag of the springs they are added to and don't tend to last very long. FULL length AAL is better than a Short spring AAL. Full length mounts directly under the main spring and a short AAL at the bottom.

A kit is easier.. The variety of "kits" and methods available for sub 3" lift is too great to determine if they are better than a Bpack. IMO, a junkyard sourced bastard pack is better than a KIT in 2 big areas, cost and sag. New springs and AALs will sag, the donor leafs from a Bpack come pre sagged and cost half as much as an AAL.

 

No experience with the Monroe's but I do with KYB's. Been using them for 30+yrs. Right now I've got the Excel-G's on my wife's Blazer and the Monomax on my XJ.

http://www.shockwarehouse.com/index....cted_year=2000

 

I used the rough country full leaf kit, Sits nice now I think..
Kit was costly tho. Think I paid 6 bills for it new.

I was gonna do the same thing ur bout to do, But then I figured , Damn why do it twice? The rear leafs that were on here b-4 were like straight, They were shot so no sense in AAL ..



This is b-4 lift





After Lift

 

Today I put 4 monroe sensa-trac shocks (37027 rear and 37083 front) on my 97 xj sport with doorman 929-301 leaf springs in the back.

Found them all on amazon. Monroes were $127.04 for all four and the dormans were $108.60 each.

My jeep seems to be about 1.5" higher and looks great with my yokohama p235/75r15 A/T S tires.

On my home i was on the highway for 20 miles (felt great) then on a twisty mountain paved road 34 miles (handled great) and then took a short cut to my house on a semi-rough off-road jeep trail for 2 miles and still felt great.

I am very pleased so far. Happy hunting!!

 

Regardless of ride height, I think you are better off buying good quality shocks.

The Monroe Sensa-Track will set you back about $200 at the retail parts stores and come with a limited lifetime warranty which technically means you get one free replacement. Which you'll need, because I have yet to see a Monroe shoe that is not fully blown out by 50,000 miles. They fail as early as 20,000. As in push the rod down with your pinky and it NEVER comes back up, ever.

 

thanks everyone,

 

I replaced my springs with Crown heavy duty ones. Added airshocks to the rear. I also had to deal with all 4 shock bolts breaking off rear. Rusted. Got lucky and drilled out and tapped out original threads. Installed Rhino shocks on front. Use our Jeep mostly as street driver. We tow a utility trailer with ATV to deer lease once a month. The Air shocks allow us to adjust the ride height for towing then back to normal for daily driving.

 

1) Blistein 4600.00 approx 69.99 each, is the best,
2) monroe sensa trac light truck 45.99
3) monroe gas matic 25.99
4) rancho rs5000 $59.99
5) KYB $59.99
6) Omix-Ada Shock $59.99

these are from advance auto parts, so with no lift installed, and no rock crawling in the future planned, mild mud, what do we think 1,2,3,4,5 or 6

 

Best price are the Bilsteins if you can swing it. Only about $4 higher than Shock Warehouse. Price aside,of the ones listed I'd still go with the Bilsteins. If the KYB's were Monomax I'd save the $40 and go with them.

 

Go for the least expensive shock if your not lifting it now, because next year you will want to lift it and get longer shocks.

 

how are the kyb mono max compared to the blisteins ?

 

http://www.shockwarehouse.com/site/p...Grand-Cherokee

http://www.shockwarehouse.com/site/p...Grand-Cherokee

To be honest the Bilsteins were my first choice (had never tried them so.....) but had a long backorder for some reason. Having run KYB's for so many yrs with no problems and being satisfied with performance I went with the Monomax. Satisfied again.