Leaf Springs for 2'' Budget Boost
 

I'm sure someone has asked this same question before but I've searched for a few hours and can't find a definite answer.

My dilemma is I was under-educated when I put in my Teraflex 2'' budget boost on my XJ. The leaf springs were shot. Now I have the budget boost and it's making them progressively worse.

My problem is I need to replace the leaf springs but want them to be stock height as I have the BB. I don't want them to wear out again right away. I've looked at crown heavy duty springs but have read they raise the rear end almost 2''. So if I went that route my front would have the 2'' budget boost and the rear would have the 2'' budget boost and an additional 2'' lift from the leaf springs, that's what I want to avoid.

Oh how I'm kicking myself. I barely off road, wanted to put 235/75/15 on a stock cherokee, did that and the rear rubbed so bad it knocked the flares off, the front also rubbed. I read 235's should fit stock, mine did not. So that lead to the budget boost which now is leading to the leaf spring thing. I just want to be done with the domino effect of customizing my Jeep. I need to drive it for another 4-5 years as a daily driver and it only has 115K and has been taken care of amazingly.

Any input would greatly be appreciated.

What about crown stock XJ springs?

Crown - 52000051

http://www.4wd.com/Jeep-Lift-Kits-Je...3&t_pn=CRO5200

OR... Maybe remove the Teraflex BB blocks or whatever they use to lift the rear and get the Crown Heavy Duty ones you were looking at that raise the rear about 2"

I'm assuming the Teraflex 2" BB included spacers up front and extended shackles for the rear.

As xjcherokee said, you can either buy stock height replacement springs or just buy 2" lift springs for the rear and still use the spacers up front. Either will work just fine.

U can get rid of the BB shackles in rear and go with the crown HD leaf packs, or get crown stock leaf packs and keep the rear BB

^^^

All good.

Option 3:

Keep shackles, stock replacement leafs and HD Offroad Engineering standard relocation boxes.

Improve your ride dramatically and give you some adjustment to the ride height to fit your needs. One of the best upgrades I have installed on my XJ.

Before you buy Crown HD springs, check out a set of Old Man Emu 2" lift springs. Been running them on mine for three years with no issue, and they aren't stiff and harsh like a lot of HD springs. I got the light or normal duty version from 4WD.com for around $120 each. Terrific quality!

Thanks for all the responses. I'm getting pretty frustrated trying to find the right part. I used to know a guy who did lots of off road hemi conversions and he moved so I'm kind of on my own (and here) figuring stuff out. I don't do much work on my vehicle other than oil changes.

I got three quotes for parts and labor to do leaf springs. One was $420 and didn't seem too knowledgeable, one about $700 (they claimed they needed about a dozen parts per leaf spring...hmm) and another place that's done lots of work wanted $220 labor and quoted me at $1,082...WTF $700 in parts???

What else do I need besides the leaf packs? I need front and rear bushings for each spring, correct? Right now I have the teraflex budget boost shackle on the rear. I'm not sure if there was a misunderstanding but all I want to do is put on new leaf springs. I believe my shackles are fine, just got new shocks like 10K miles ago, I'm not trying to rebuild the entire rear, just not have a sagging leaf spring...can you sense my frustration?

All this to clear a 235 tire that would've cleared fine had I done this at square one rather than add the stupid budget boost. Is it worth leaving the budget boost on? I barely even off road I mostly drive highway and maybe 10% of the time off road. I basically wanted to make it a ski truck I can be confident in driving in 12'' of snow to get to the mountain.

Any ideas because I'm cursing the modifications I did and just want my stock cherokee back!

I just did a 2" bb similar to yours except I replaced the leaf springs while I did the lift. I used some rugged ridge HD leafs. They gave me the stock ride height and the shackles gave me 2". Rides like a tank but they don't sag like my old ones did.

I was able to get then on eBay for about 100ea and bought bushings from advanced. That was all I needed. Total cost was about 230 in parts. I did the work myself but if you took it to a shop I image they'd charge for 3-6 hrs of labor. It's not a terribly tough job if you have patience and remember to do both sides at the same time.

Sorry about grammar in the last post, big fingers and touchscreens don't mix.

If you want I can hunt down the part numbers.

Seems to me you would only need :

leaf spring packs
bushings for the leaf spring packs
u-bolts

Also only 6 bolts per side... pretty simple install with basic hand tools imo

Okay, man... I'm going to try and make this easy for you.

I've had a 2" lift on mine for over three years. I went with Old Man Emu (now owned by ARB) rear spring packs due to their reputation for quality and providing a ride that won't rupture your spleen. And they have more than lived up to the hype. I have zero regrets and my XJ rides very very nicely. Even with cheapo ProComp ES3000 shocks. The other nice thing about the OME spring packs is that they use factory bushings, rather than some proprietary one that you have to pay out the nose for. I think I paid about $7.99 each for bushing on rockauto. Here is a link to the EXACT springs that I used.

Springs:

http://www.jeepinoutfitters.com/prod...ing-light-load

U-Bolt kit (comes with 4 u-bolts and washers/nuts:

http://www.jeepinoutfitters.com/prod...-chrysler-8-25

All you need to change them yourself is:

2) Cans of PB Blaster
1) 1/2" x 2 ft cheater bar (the front spring-eye bolts are M-effers)
1) floor jack
2) jack stands
1) wire brush or bench grinder with wire wheel to clean all re-used bolt threads.
1) bottle of copper anti-seize to coat everything when you put it back together.
Basic wrenches and sockets to remove the ubolt hardware and shackle bolts.
Enough patience to be methodical and deal with the process for about 2 1/2 to 3 1/2 hours.

Dead serious here... Soak the ever-lovin' crap out of the bushing/shackle and other bolts every single day for at least a week before you try to remove them. Especially if they haven't been removed in the last 5-6 years. If you don't take this seriously, you could end up one of those poor souls with a bolt seized in the bushing or snapped off inside the frame rail.

Good luck.

Thank you, that's very helpful. I'll most likely order that this week and put it on one of these Saturdays. I might just pay a shop 2 hrs labor since everything is rusted to hell down there.

Quick question though. If I purchase the EMU Springs, would you leave on the budget boost shackle or take it off? I'm just wondering because I see the springs say 2''. So I would assume take the shackle off, replace the springs, and leave the lift spacers in the front...I'm not much of a mechanic though. I really appreciate everyone's thoughtful responses. I'm hoping this is the last modification and not maintenance related dilemma I have.

Unfortunately, it looks like the light 2" spring is discontinued and replaced with a 3" medium. :2guns:

x2

are you just going to replace the leaf springs or buy new shackles and a relocation bracket setup too?
would give you more lift and adjustment opportunities
please post update and install pics!