xterrible

This is my 1st post, though I have lurked for 2 years. I had a lifted Nissan, and my XJ for a long time. The Nissan was turning south quick, so I sold it off. My wife bought the XJ years ago, and I bought it from her so she could buy a new truck 2 years ago. I traded back and forth driving the XJ and the Nissan, with the XJ always being 'old reliable'.
Anyway, she is a bone stock 4.0 except for a K&N CAI, and a cat back exhaust. She sounds real throaty amd screams at me 'take me up a hill!!!' whenever i get in her. I did, alot, and the stock suspension is shot, the old BFG's are bald, and I am ready with a few thousand to throw at her. I would like to run BFG's, maybe 31x10.5's, and give her some clearance, 3-3.5 of lift. She is gonna be my daily driver and my recreational ride as well. My wife and I are committed to keeping this vehicle the rest of our days.
My problem is, I know nothing of the manfacturing company's reputations. It is a Jeep forum, and I hate to beat a dead horse, as I am sure it has all been said, and I have used the search feature, just thought I would throw this your way.
I want quality and reliability for my weekend warrior...

4x4cherokeexj

Well you wanna run 31/10.5? Go with a nice and easy 3in lift. Keep thins simple. Many options though. I would suggest RC 3in lift. Many different options and opinions.

Cherokee.Dreamer

What about rusty's 3 in. add a leaf lift? Is that any good?

troy fritz

Stay away from any add a leaf kits. Buy as complete of a kit as possible. I love the RC kits and there will be some that say they are crap but, You will have that with any lift. I'm not saying Rustys are bad but I know peolpe that have replaced full leaf packs after less then a year. Same goes with all lifts. Point is, buy what you like and can afford.

I still say, no matter what brand you get, get as complete as you can.

xterrible

I plan on a complete kit. RC stands for Ruff Country?

troy fritz

[QUOTE=xterrible;1061432]I plan on a complete kit. RC stands for Ruff Country?

Rough Country!

ericfx1984

Add A Leaf works fine... just make sure of a few things...

measure your rear... from the wheel hub to the bottom of the fender flare if it should measure 17" , I would not do an AAL on any less than 16.5"

think of it this way...if you get a 3" AAL, but your stock springs are at 16.5" (1" lower than stock) due to wear, then you will only get a 2" lift (or 19") at best... the issue here is that the stock springs have less arch than stock and are also weaker... as a result this also puts more weight on the AAL and causes it to wear out faster


many people claim that AAL rides rough... it does not... the problem is most people that do AAL skimp on other thing too(like shocks) as a result ride quality suffers

further more many people claim that AAL will wear out quickly... this is only true if your stock leaf pack is worn out...

many people claim that AAL will not get you the full advertised height... again this is only an issue if you start with worn springs... mine measured 20.5" after the lift settled... (that would be 3.5" on a 3" full length AAL)

I know other people are going to tell you to build a bastard pack... well I hate to break it to you guys, Bastard packs are just as bad as AAL, maybe even worse, and for 3" of lift or less, the bastard pack is more expensive generally since you need several parts like new u bolts, clamps, center pin, ect, these things come with the AAL kit...

the point is AAL get a bad rep mostly because some jack *** with worn out stock springs that only measured 15" bought them and they wore out really fast and only gave him a 1" lift instead of a 3" lift... then he wined and complained about it to his buddies and they all wined and complain on the net... before too long everyone kept repeating what they had read with out any first hand experience...



AAL are great for a budget build... so long as you have decent stock springs and do the rest of your lift PROPERLY

and honestly if ou are going above 3" (4.5", 6") I would still say go with an AAL and combine that with a longer shackle to make up the height... with a nice long shackle (and maybe a relocation bracket to fix the shackle angle) you can end up with a REALLY flexy setup... I would much rather have a 3" (or smaller) leaf pack with an AAL that has a small arch and a nice long shackle (for a total of 4.5") than a new full 4.5" pack, because high arches generally do not flex very well

ericfx1984

yes... get the full length it's about $55

ericfx1984

and why is that? what do you base that statement on?

Gee oh Dee

Really? My AAL is WELL over a year old, and I plan on keeping them for quite a while longer.

I can't say they are the best, but certainly not somthing to completely avoid.

Look at how many have had success with the "bastard pack" mod!

ericfx1984

the bastard pack is nothing more than a junk yard AAL

Gee oh Dee

Aaaaaaaaand...how many have had plenty of success with the bastard pack?

Again...not the best...but not something to completely avoid.

dogger15

My aal is doing awesome no complaints at all. Just gotta make sure the stock springs are pretty good.

xterrible

Thanks for the responses.

I would like to think my stock leafs are ok, but I doubt it. I think my rear springs are pretty shot as well. That is kind of why I am going this route, I would like to replace the stock suspension, as best I can, with additional clearance.

I can not honestly say that money is not an issue, but, I didt just sell a rig for a few thousand dollars, and I would like to pocket 1k of that, so, I have 2500 to do it, but that has to include rubber. So...I have around 1500.00 after I get BFG AT's. give or take a few here and there of course.

Once again, thanks for the good comments. I was thinking about buying a kit that included a leaf pack.

ericfx1984

exactly... it's great on a budget