pittman71

Next was making the bastard packs. So I got out my grinder with cutting wheel on it which made cutting off the eyes quick work on the S-10 leaf packs.

I may add just the XJ mains or add the XJ second as well. Need to drill them out and get some new centering pins and u bolts first.

GreenXJ98

My bastard packs only had the main Jeep leaf, not the second one, but I think it would be a good idea to use both. It would sit more likely at 3.5 inches or so with 5 leaves total.

pittman71

I had some time finally to finish the bastard packs. I used the XJ main, S-10 main, XJ 2nd, S-10 2nd and 3rd. I also added a 4 degree shim to help the pinion angle.

Ready to go in.



Along with these



The rear was already jacked up and on jack stands from when I removed the rear leafs and shocks earlier.



Left side done



Right side done



Next I took out the jack stands and put it on the ground with its own weight. Here is a pic of how it sat.



I took an after measurement (again from center of hub to bottom of fender flare) and its up from 17 to 22 inches...= 5 inches of lift!

Looks like I'll be taking it apart again and making some adjustments with the bastard packs when I get some time. Thinking about removing the bottom leaf which is half an inch thick and possibly another but not sure at this point. My goal is 3.5 inches so I need to figure out a combo to get me there.

GreenXJ98

Looking good! The rear will probably settle a little bit, bringing it closer to a 4 inch lift. I bet if you take off the very bottom overload leaf, it'll bring it down to 3.5 inches or so. Are you going to put Bilsteins on the front too?

pittman71

Thanks. Yes I have matching Bilsteins to go on the front as well.

I'm thinking I will replace the bottom leaves with the ones from the XJ and maybe remove the 2nd XJ leaf as well. So basically it will be the S-10 leaf packs, minus the overloads and sandwiched by the top and bottom leaves from the XJ leaf pack. The S-10 overload doesn't seem to be supporting anything, so I don't think it is providing much lift other than its thickness which is only a 1/2 inch.

pittman71

I had some time to remove the bastard packs for some tweaking today. Before I did that I took another measurement to see if they had settled at all. I had not driven it since installing them but I did load about 100lbs of stuff in the cargo area and jump on the back bumper in hopes that it would do something.

It came down from 22 to 21.5 inches...so that means about 1/2" of settling.

So I decided to stick with my plan I mentioned earlier and removed the bottom overload leaf from the S-10 and the original XJ 2nd leaf from each pack. Then added the XJ bottom leaf to each pack and reinstalled. (Sorry, no pictures) When I measured this time, it came out to 21 inches. This means I have about 4 inches of lift as of now. I was hoping it would have dropped some more as I would like to avoid any issues like driveline vibration and the countless other things that end up costing more and more.

I really didn't care if it dropped to 3" since I could make up the .5" with a longer shackle. Hopefully it will settle some more. I suppose I could remove the bottom XJ leaf I put in, but wasn't sure if there would be any problems caused since the bottom leaf would be so long and resting on the small perch (possibly axle wrap???).

This is my first attempt at bastard packs so I'm not sure how much things can be affected. Any of you that have experience with these have any input or suggestions?

pittman71

I just realized that my thread wasn't up to date. This will catch things up. I did some more tinkering with the bastard packs a few weeks ago. Now the pack consists of all of the XJ leaves except for the 2nd which is replaced by the S-10 main. This made for about 3 inches of lift if it doesn't settle more. Hopefully I can find some shackles from and MJ at my pick and pull.

Speaking of pick and pulls. If anyone who reads this can find me some interior door panels for a 97+ 2 door with manual windows, please let me know. I will gladly pay you for your time (and shipping of course).

I have been scouring craigslist for months for a set of 31 inch tires. Finally came across these. Got them for $225!




The tread pattern is less aggressive than I was hoping for, but they were such a good deal that I figured I could actually make money on them if I decide to get something else.

TMC

Nice score!

Im looking for 31"s as well, but sometimes the pickins are slim lol


Keep up the good work bro!

pittman71

Some packages arrived a few days ago.



Rusty's Offroad 3 inch spring next to stock.



5/8 inch spacer. Wondering if I should have gone with a 3/4 inch instead.



Daystar Bump stops. These are the ones that are 1.5" where it plugs into the bumpstop tube.

kevin96xx

coming along nice! i have a 2000 2 door myself but i wish i had manual windows !!

pittman71

I already had the XJ on jack stands with the tires removed and the sway bar, track bar and pitman arm disconnected. I also had a jack supporting the axle. First I removed the stock coil isolators using a putty knife and some WD40. The stock bumpstops were crumbling and mostly gone so I just used a flathead screwdriver to pop out the remaining portions. The spacers slid right on but the bumpstops were another story. Ended up using some grease and a bottle jack to help leverage them into place.



Then I used these coil spring compressors I "rented" from AZ to compress the springs.



Unfortunately they did not compress enough to be able to manuever them up past the bumpstops. I tried do remove the control arm at the axle side, but these are the first bolts I have been unable to remove on the Jeep. So, to create more room between the bumpstop and spring seat, I jacked up the opposite side of the axle so the side I was working on would drop down more. This did the trick.

Spacers, isolators, springs and bumpstops installed.



Thats all the time I had today. Plus it was in the 40's here the whole time I was working on it. Being a native Floridian, that is little chilly for me.
Hopefully I'll be able to get it on its feet tomorrow.

pittman71

Thanks! Yeah, that was one of the things I looking for when searching for an XJ. I wanted to avoid the regulator and window motor problems. Now if I can only find interior door panels. A downside to it being somewhat rare.

kevin96xx

yea i hear ya, my driver side door panel switches for the windows work but the passenger side window switch seems to work when it feels like it

pittman71

On another note, I ended up selling those tires I picked up earlier for $225. Sold them for $340! So that gave me $115 more to use for the build!

pittman71

Then I found these Goodyear Wrangler Authority 31's for $350. They have very little wear and still have the little rubber hair thingys!



They came mounted on a set of Chevy wheels so I bartered them with the tire shop to get a cheaper price for mounting them on my other wheels.



They are a little dirty but will clean up nice.