I was hoping that was part of the problem. I plan on letting it sit with the weight in it while I install the HP Dana 30 and everything else in the front. I hope to have that done by the end of the week if i can just motivate myself to get after it.

 

Tackling my install one of the next couple of weekends and have a question before I start...

I bought the OME cs033rb's and the 3034 springs. I'm trying to achieve a more level look. I've read that I should remove one of the leaf's from the RB's to get it around 2.5, but does it matter which one of the leaf's I remove? Also, what brand/size spring spacer should I look at for the front to get the best quality ride.

 

take the 3rd spring from the top out. Plan on getting more than 2.5 inches of lift. More than likely with one leaf out you will still end up with 3.5.

If the front springs give you 1.75 inches you will probably need a 1.5 inch spacer. I put the rear on first specificaly to know what I would need for the front. I am glad I bought adjustable spacers ( ACOS ) now. If I had bought the recommended .75 inch spacer I would have needed twice that.

I am also adding front and rear factory skids to this 01 XJ. That will be a little more weight to help keep the back down some.

 

^^What NoDrama said. Also, the springs will settle. They'll also probably settle a tad bit more with one less leaf in the pack. When I ordered my lift Dirk told me they set it up to sit a little high in the rear because it'll settle, and that the front wont change much, if at all.

Edit - I would say let things settle before taking too much action.

 

Are the ACOS really worth the expense? I love the idea of them, but they are pricey.

 

When I think of how many times I've had to remove the coils to add spacers I would say they are worth it just for the time savings alone

 

the springs give me 1.75" without a bumper or winch. I wasn't sure how much i would get out of the rear leafs because the numbers are ALL over the place. I figured I would install the rear and get it sorted out, then use the ACOS to be able to dial in the front exactly where i wanted it, based on the rear. Later if the leafs settle more I can either stick the third leaf back in, or lower the ACOS to match the rear. If I decide to go with a bumper, a winch, or a combination of the two I simply crank the ACOS to match the rear. I believe the ACOS was probably the most sensible purchase out of the entire list of stuff I bought. The ACOS adds a MINIMUM of 1.25 inches of lift so with my springs and the ACOS I will be at 3" in the front.

I took all the weight out of the XJ tonight and the lift has decreased from 6.5 to 5". I put five 80lb bags of sakrete back in and measured and it is sitting at 3.75" of lift. I am going to leave it sit like that until I get the front suspension installed. Then I will drive it a couple hundred miles and see where it lands. If the rear lift is over 3.5 inches I am not going to be happy.

 

Did you end up with 6.5" based off of your measurements before the lift? Odds are good your leafs were sagging to begin with, that's why it seems like you got that much lift. You probably got a little more than 3.5" out of the new leafs, plus what you lost from the original saggy leafs. Which in reality turns out to be 3.5 to 4" of "actual" lift.

Like you said, you can always add the 3rd leaf back in, but my 2 cents would be to get the front on and see how it sit's altogether. You could save that third leaf for when you get an awesome rear tire carrier!

Love the ACOS idea. I plan on running those at some point as well.

 

Everyone is giving good advice on the OME leafs. I am running the same CS033RB leaf packs with 1 removed. I saw 5" of lift initially and then added shackle relocation brackets and boomerang shackles with .75" spacers on top of my 3.5" metalcloak coils and it all sits even now, after driving around for 3 months or so. Take it offroad as soon as you can and let it flex around to help it settle in more too.

With 3.5" coils and CS033RB leafs with 1 removed after it settled on 31x10.50


After coils w/spacers, leafs w/relo brackets & shackles on 31x10.50

 

thanks for those pics ss427ci that looks great.


TFitzPat87 I took the measurements of everything before I started with the Jeep sitting on flat ground. I think the first measurement of 6.5 was because of having the bolts tightened prior to lowering the jeep down onto the tires. After loosening everything up and bouncing it up and down about 20 times it settled to about 5 inches lift. This is the amount of lift seen over what it was setting at prior to starting the job, however with 106k miles I am assuming the old leafs were sagged. Last night I took all the weight out of the Jeep and then measured from the top of the axle to the frame and was at 10.25 inches which tells me I have approximately 4 inches of lift. With the sakrete back in I was at 3.5 inches. I am going to install everything in the front and then drive it and flex it some then pull the weight back out and check everything. I am fairly confident I will end up with 3 to 3.5 inches total in the rear. If so I will be satisfied.


Ordering my Moabs today so I can get the 245/75/r16 (load range C) Goodyear Duratracs mounted up and ready to go on.

 

Agreed. SS's ride is solid! Been watching that one develop and it looks really good now.

Looking forward to seeing pics when you have it all buttoned up Drama. Don't forget to post some here!

 

I spent a couple of hours on it tonight. Got everything out from under the jeep. Going to do some cleaning and detailing then put the HP D30 back in. I hope to have everything done underneath by Sunday evening.

 

Thanks man! I still got a lot left to do, but it'll get there one day.

 

Well, I had full intentions of tackling my lift this past weekend, but after driving around all day on Friday, I get home, go to the garage to get prepared, turn around, and there's a puddle of coolant under the Jeep. I was pretty bummed!

So my first decent repair took place of the lift. Since this was my first decent repair, I took my sweet time and replaced the water pump, inlet tube, upper and lower radiator hoses, and t-stat. I got it done after all of Saturday evening and an hour Sunday morning to finish buttoning things up and refill the coolant. No more leaks, it actually stays a coupe degrees cooler, and it seems to run smoother.

All in all, I didn't get the lift done, but I'm pretty pumped I fixed my Jeep! Feel more confident now going into my lift.

After my long explanation.... NoDrama, did you get your lift all taken care of?

 

I have the 3.5" medium duty kit and I was wondering if anyone has any problems with driveline vibes at 4.5". I am doing 1" jks shackles in the rear and worried about the vibes. And also wondering if anyone else's drives awful on pebbly roads and washboard. Mine shakes and ratlles the whole jeep. Which I think it's the medium duty kit is why it rides so stiff. Thanks!