Jump to content

newbie here with some lift questions


Recommended Posts

New b to the forum but not to Jeep. Ive had my 88 MJ for about 9 years now. Well here is the issue. Had a lift kit on it wich was only AAL, Front coils, and shocks, wich I always thought to be a 3 inch lift, but it was a 4 inch lift. I reciently purchased a 3" Skyjacker kit, with all the trimmings. Well here are the questions. Just got done with the front and I assume I need to get a front end allignment, or should I wait until I get the rear lift completed? Will this also straightn up my steering wheel? Lastly I have know idea which AAL on the original pack is the AAL I would need to replace with the Skyjacker AAL, my current leaf pack has only 4 leafs so evidently one has been replaced. Would it help if I measured each of the leafs on my pack to see if anyone could tell me which one is definatly not the right one. More importantly than that if I replase one of them would I have to get the original set up again. $#!& any help from anyone would be greatly appreciated.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Strangely enough, I encountered the almost the same question this week.

 

 

The AAL in the pack I was working with, was the only leaf without the holes for the anti-squeak pads in them. All of the factory leaves had hoels drilled in either end for the plastic retaining clips that held the pads between the leaves.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

fair enough. that is what i figured. the very bottom one is shorter and noticably fatter than the others. My only concern is if i remove this aal and replace it with the skyjacker one will my lift fall short of 3 inches. should i maybe try to procure the original leaf pack befor installing the skyjacker aal? Questions questions questions. I guess I could add the new one and leave the short one to see what it does and just do a bunch of trial and error things. As for the front all that is left is to add the upper control arms. Lower control arms, extended sway bar links, coils, shocks, adjustable track bar and steering stabilizer were all done today, I just ran out of time to put the upper control arms in. If there is any more information anyone could offer, I would appreciate it. if you want to check out my ride(before my new makeover) check here http://www.golfmkv.com/forums/mygolf.ph ... age&id=632

there are also some other pictures of some of my other toys.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Kid,

WELCOME!! You have one nice looking MJ!!!

Here is a pic of a std MJ spring pack W/a AAL. (The top leaf pack is the RUSTYS 4" leaf and the bottom is the factory) The AAL will have as much arch as the rest of the pack. You will notice the bottom leaf is noting but an overload leaf. Assuming yours is NOT a metric ton truck, who ever installed your AAL, most likely just omited the overload. Metric ton's got an extra leaf from the factory. The AAL will also have different shaped ends than the factory leafs.

 

 

Here is a pic from just after a AAL install. You can see AAL's position. There are also LONG LEAF AAL's out there. These tend to give a little better ride, and may have the isolation pads on thier ends. BUT will likely be a different thickness than the rest of the pack.

 

 

As for the steering wheel, YES the allignment shop will straighten it. Its meerly a funtion of the A.O.L. of your draglink. Because of the different lift you now have the axle has shifted. Do you have a adj track bar? With three inches its a good idea to get one. It will allow you to recenter the axle under the Jeep.

 

Good luck,

CW

Link to comment
Share on other sites

CW thanks for all the info man. looking at the picture of the lower leaf pack, it looks exactly like mine. so now is there any lift what so ever on the back, i'm clueless. Oh yea the kit did come with an adjustable track bar and it is installed. She is a clean MJ just one rust spot between bed a cab, I plan on fixing that up once I get the lift done.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

kidkusu, very nice looking ride.

 

ok as for the aal I'm not 100% sure but the aal one should either be shorter or longer then the rest of the leafs. I'm not 100% sure but i think i saw that somewhere.

 

What are you trying to say here, confusing.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I think what he meant is that OEM leafs tend to have a common length difference between from one leaf to the other. In the pic above you can see the AAL right above the overload leaf. and notice that the difference in length between it and the one above it is different than the rest. Plus every stock MJ leaf is longer than the one below it and the AAL in the pic is shorter than the overload. Other typical differences that make an AAL stand out are a different shape/cut to the end, different thickness, different color or rust amount, etc.

Jeep on!

--Pete

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
 Share

×
×
  • Create New...