ta2tony

Thanks for the pic. Rusty's is def on my radar. I can get RE for $235 shipped, Rusty's $315 shipped, and Zone for $305 (incl tax) at the local 4x4 shop. I've really wanted RE at 1st, but wasn't sure about their shackle angle and everyone says they actually net about 4.5" of lift. If thats the case I'll prob have to run an SYE due to having a 242 TC...

Hopefully a few more people will pitch in on this before I have to pull the trigger. I really haven't had much luck searching for shackle angles with the stock setup and 3" leafs...

Swirlchaser

It's really a tough call, everyone's XJ is ATLEAST 12 years old, they all take a little differently to lifts. Plus everyone wrenches and takes photos a little differently. most any 3" leaf pack will net you at least a decent shackle angle, it's the higher lifts that become a problem.

ta2tony

I know, I just don't want to run them at this point. I just want a 3" leaf that will mount up. I got coils and shocks for free, so I want to get it at 3". Then I can start working on the vibes I expect from the 242TC and slowly start adding the nice components that will be necessary to run a clean 4.5" lift later. Once I get everything straight all I will need is 4.5" coils, shocks, and a lift shackle/relo bracket. At that time I would put the SYE on.

Since the 3" coils and shocks are free, I won't be wasting any $ doing it this way, and it'll allow me to run it as my DD as I add the costly bits like adjustable control arms etc and work out vibe issues.

Swirlchaser

I have an NP242 with a 3" lift. I put in new ujoints when I installed the lift and have to vibe problems. I had ordered a 1" tcase drop expecting issues but never even installed it, I ended up giving it away.

ta2tony

Tell me about it! I just want to make an educated decision. With some of the sticky's with pics of different lift setups etc, I think it'd be interesting to have one where people posted pics of their shackle angle and detail what thier setup is. Considering shackle angle is one of the critical aspects of ride quality when lifting a vehicle, I'm kinda surprised their isn't more info about it on here. Most threads about shackle angles are, "help, just lifted my jeep, it rides like crap, here's my 90° shackle angle, how do I fix it?"...

I am just trying to be proactive so I don't end up in the same situation.

ta2tony

Thats encouraging. 242's don't get much discussion either. I thought about swapping the 231 off my parts jeep (hit a deer, bought it back after insurance totalled it) but the full time 4wd is really nice when letting my wife drive it in the winter...

With free coils & shocks, all I need is leafs, adj trackbar, and adj quick discos. That will allow room in the budget for new u-joints, rod-ends, ball joints, & bushings as needed.

Did you replace the joints on the front DS when you lifted or just the rear?

Swirlchaser

I replaced them all because I had just bought the jeep and it had 132K miles on it. I figured I'd start fresh, but it was probably overkill.

connolcj

So I have been brain storming my next moves with the jeep. So far I have come up with the following parts for my lift.
BDS longarms-$1000 (Shaun)
IRO Double shear trackbar-$200 (IRO)
RE 4.5" leaf spring-$280 (Serious Offroad)
RE 5.5" coil springs-$90 (Serious Offroad)
SYE & Driveshaft -$500 (Rustys)
Brakelines (unsure)
Shocks (unsure)
If there is anything else people can think of or wish to comment on I'm open to suggestions. Some of my current parts will be reused like extended shackle and coil spacer. I'm also thinking about getting a shackle relocation kit.

RaeCharles

Okay. Hopefull this isn't too long-winded. I posted this question on another thread but I'm looking for more in-depth answers, so I figured a topic-specific thread woudl be better. Okay. So, we were about to replace the spring spacers with 3 inch spacers when we noticed that those springs are tilted. Another CF user said that the axle seems to be tilted. I took another picture of the control arm connected to the drop down bracket. We were told to get an adjustable LCA, but I'm thinking that if we slide that bolt forward and tack weld it, it woudl yeild the same results. I'm not sure what size lift it has for certain cause we bought it this way and I'm not sure where to measure, but it's 4.5 inches from bolt to bolt on to drop down bracket. Remember we're adding the 3 inch spacers too. It does have stock UCA. Do we need to replace the rear LCA as well with extended ones? I hope all that makes sense.

jeeper jason

Would a Danna 44 do the job or do you need even bigger than that???

94XjSport94

Bigger

jeeper jason

Damn... What's the biggest tire you could handle in a 44???

ta2tony

Looks like your LCA's are too long. You probably need stock length LCA's...

As was recommended, adjustable LCA's would allow you to properly set caster as you continue to make changes to your lift.

bhennessee1

You could run 37s on a 44, I wouldn't go bigger than that on half tons.

Swirlchaser

Short control arms is you problem. The higher you lift the further back your front axle gets pushed. At that height I think pushing out only the bottoms will change your front drive angle too much and create more problems. Time to buy adjustable uppers and lowers