Vincenza V

There's a guy near my work with an XJ, that has a RC 3" lift. He bought the AAL kit, and used the AAL but with leaf springs (2) from a F250. I was able to talk to him for a brief minute and then had to go and haven't seen him since.

Is the a popular bastard pack choice? He said it rides fine, and no sag. How would you know which leaf spring, out of the F250 you need? Would you compare each one to yours and plan to do "every other leaf" type thing?

Would you have to grab a 4x4 leaf pack or does it matter?

ThE_CaPtaIn

To me using a leaf spring out of a truck with 15,000 lb towing capacity not only will it make it ride stiff bit your jeep wouldnt weigh enuf to make the rear leaves flex... I have never heard of it.... Maybe some1 else has more info thats just my 2 cents

Gee oh Dee

Look for S-10 bastard pack.

Or look for the thread that covers what JY parts to get.

DocOrng XJ

a 4x4 leaf pack doesnt make a spit of difference.

And, Yes leafs from a bigger vehicle will work as long as the ones you get are 2.5" wide or less.
But, as said before, It will give you a stiff ride.

You would be better getting something out of a similar-ish weight vehicle..

Which leaf to use is a guess. Really you'll need to get one that is less in length than your longest (Main) leaf. So approx 44" +/- or shorter and you will be fine.
As well the higher up in the spring pack you use (from the donor of a larger vehicle) the less height you get out of it. But better load carrying you gain.

I had bought a pair of single leafs, 1/2 ton out of a chevy (either 2nd or 3rd leaf from the bottom) and i put them together on a bastard pack with my XJs leafs - but because they are soo heavy duty (and I was using the bottom leafs with the most arch) it gave me more lift than i was looking for and the ride was really stiff, even with all the weight i carry around in the back. I actually didnt mind the stiff ride, but the lift put me so high up in the rear it made me look like a dragster cause I was looking down the hood now. And I wasnt ready to invest more to upgrade the front plus all the other stuff I would have to do when you hit 4"+. so i went back to stock.

I have since put on a 6 leaf pack set, bastards from 2 XJs, and when I put weight in the back it goes down and it gives me the perfect amount of lift, for me, since I wasnt ready for the extra costs, that go with a larger lift.
It is a little spongy for me but I have new shocks I have to put on, So Im sure that should take care of that..
(I have oil running down the side of the shocks and there is no pressure left)

True 2" spacers up front and 6 leafs in the back + 2" shackles and I sit at exactly 3" all the way around, when I weigh it down with my gear (extra 500+lbs)
I also enjoy the extra 2 leafs over the 1 as, the more leafs you have the better for "towing".
My estimate is I have approx an extra 800+lbs of weight I can do.
As compared to the 1 extra add a leaf most people do only gain about 500lbs extra.


Part of my answer located here
https://www.cherokeeforum.com/f67/ch...d-pack-101808/

ericfx1984

can we PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE make a sticky about WHY you should not use full size truck coil / leafs on your XJ??? please!!!??? I will even write it if need be... but there is one of these threads at least twice a week

Gee oh Dee

It gives us something to laugh about.

ericfx1984

good point... you ever notice the guys that install f150/f250/Bronco coils always disappear after a couple weeks? you also notice that NO MATTER what options you give them... even if you give them an option that is cheaper / better they still insist on running them...

ericfx1984

this one is my favorite 'write up' it is basically telling you how to buy a coil that is WAY too stiff and install in in your XJ... never mind that it is bolt up and that you only save about $20-30 in the end...

https://www.cherokeeforum.com/f67/br...rite-up-88520/

I love how he also has a bunch of lift on stock control arms

Vincenza V

Great input guys. I'll steer clear and maybe go the S10 route. It there a certain mileage of the donor vehicle I should stay away from??? Say over 100K is too worn out of a spring???

cdawall

buddy of mine holding the heavy 3/4 leafs from the JY



assembled bastard pack.







flex fine they hold enough weight for me.

Hoooper

do you really think that anybody posting repeat threads is reading the stickies?

DocOrng XJ

Year & mileage mean nothing when it comes to leafs / springs.
though it isnt bad to look specifically for better years and mileage, less chance you'll get hosed.

i had an 87 with 70xxx miles on it and the leafs were shot to heck and back - i found a 96 with 150xxx miles on it and those leafs were no better...

finally i found 2 online (craigslist) and they came off of mid 90s vehicles and had 200+ on it and had great arch. i used (2) xj sets (4 packs total) to make (2) 6 leaf packs and it gave me approx 3.25+" which is great for my use.
after my Jeep sits with the weight in the back, plus a shackle, im right at 3".
I run 31x10.5 on 4.5BS rims with no issues.

main thing is to look for one that makes a smiley face, if it makes a frown or :/ then you dont want it.
and its simple as visually inspecting the vehicle before you pull it off.
problem is, if it is already off the vehicle, they are still going to have arch (almost all the time) because there is no weight to push down on it.

for example: when i pulled my leafs off, they made a perfect arch but when it was on it made a sad face

i chucked them for a couple bucks for scrap metal cause they werent going to do me or anyone else any good and i would have had a guilty conscience if i sold em to someone that needed em for something other than scrap

ericfx1984

lol I guess not

ericfx1984

WOW Cdawall... that surprises me

Thekid320

I'm in the process of putting full widths in my 96 and I switched to 63 inch chevy leafs and it flexes 1000 times better than any springs me or buddy's have ran on an xj but I also have custom mounts and changed the location of the springs