Real deal on xj leafs

[ctrow]

I've been looking around on the site for a few years now with the hopes of some day picking up an MJ....well that day has come. A bunch of the guys in my local club went together and bought me a 88 MJ long bed as a wedding gift. (best wedding present ever i might add :D ). Right now the plan is to keep wheeling my xj and set the mj up as a dd till i have the time and money to build what i want. Wasted to much building my xj in stages and don't want to make the same mistake. That being said, i can't just leave my new toy stock..... As it sits now i have 2" spacers in the front and 31's on it. I want to net about 2" or so of lift in the rear as cheap as possible keeping it sprung under. The "lift kit" will be pretty much thrown away once I swap the axles for full widths and a SOA at a later date. I've read a lot of contradictory info all over the place, so here's my question:

 

How much lift will you gain by using the main leaf from an xj (eyes cut off), as an AAL in an MJ sprung under?

 

Thanks!

[Eagle]

How much lift will you gain by using the main leaf from an xj (eyes cut off), as an AAL in an MJ sprung under?

I haven't done it yet, but my guess is ... almost zero. I hope to test that this summer. My guess is that cut-off XJ main leaves will add carrying capacity without adding much lift, thus replicating the Metric Ton spring on a budget.

 

Using cut-off XJ main leaves as AALs in an XJ yields 1-1/4" t 1-1/2". Most people say 1-1/2" but the one I did came in at 1-1/4" gross. The rear had sagged some, so the actual net lift was really only about 3/4" over stock height. (Which was perfect for the purpose with that vehicle).

 

If you're looking for around 2 inches, I think you need to use cut-off MJ mains, or mains from some other spring-under vehicle. XJs are spring over and the springs have a lot less native arch.

[johnnyc]

I used the main XJ leaf as a AAL and got about 2 inches. In the front, I used V8 ZJ coils (1/2") and 1.5" spacers. That was just right to run 245/75/16 tires on Moab wheels.

 

When I went SOA, I just took the XJ main leaves out and gave them to another MJ guy.

 

[ctrow]

what about an s-10 main leaf? Just talked to a friend of mine who might have some kicking around.

[Pete M]

You should get a lift out of any of them. but precisely how much will depend on the sag in your leafs, and the sag in the new leafs. It's not an exact science. I built new packs for my truck from identical but rust free leafs, and gained a couple inches (that I didn't want).

 

HellCreek sells an AAL made from an MJ main leaf that adds a inch or so. Comes with hardware too.