[EricsXJ]

Has anyone done this? Added a leaf to their RE4.5" leaf pack?

Did you use a leaf from a stock leaf pack, or an aftermarket AAL?

How much lift or support did you gain?

[MSHarnett]

I am going to swap in a stock load leaf, but thats cause the RE one snapped off However you now gave me the idea of using a diffrent leaf. Hmmmm I'm gonna have to think about this.

Are you thinking of going higher?

[EricsXJ]

Not higher, but my front springs haven't settled as much as I expected them to and my rear is looking a hair lower than the front. If it starts to sag, I want to add a leaf since I can't really add a taller shackle unless its custom (I have 1.75" TeraFlex shackle).

I'd use a long leaf. If it was from a stock pack I might use the main leaf and cut the eyes off. It would be placed in between the 2nd and 3rd leafs in my RE pack. But I've been wondering, since stock leaf packs usually sit flat, I'm not sure if a stock leaf would add any height.

I also have a chance to get a hold of an Up-Country leaf pack, so one of these leafs might work better if they have more arch than a regular XJ leaf pack.

Just wondering if anyone had any first hand experience as I'd like to know exactly what to expect.

[Lagooz00XJ]

What about those Currie Boomerang Shackles in the RE catalog? Part # curjs9081. I dont know much about them but 5"?? Just a suggestion I Could be completely off.

[EricsXJ]

The boomerang shackles are 5" tall, not 5" lift. They give about 1" lift, which is shorter than the TeraFlex shackles I now have. Thanks for making a suggestion though.

[GottaBeJeep]

Eric,

OK, I have noticed a bit of a trend with all the frankenstein suspension stuff I have been playing with. Basically, to get a little more height and to beef up the pack some without hurting the ride quality (like most thick aftermarket AAL's) is to add another leaf from the exact same pack. My Homebrew budget boost is made of stock leaf packs with an added main leaf for so much height and an added second long leaf for so much more height. This beefed up the stock pack, added height, but since the spring rates were the same, the ride quality was not damaged. Here is the other part to this that helps test the trend. Dirk's XJ has RE 3.5" leaf packs. To experiment with the pack to see if ride quality would improve, and if axle wrap could be better controlled, we had a spare set of used RE 3.5" leaf packs laying around. Just like the stock packs, the bushings were cut off the main leaf and was added to the 3.5" pack on his XJ. And, believe it or not, the ride did firm up very nice (not harsh), axle wrap had diminished, and he gained about 1.25" of lift.

So, in conclusion, find an AAL that is similar in lift height (stock=stock; 4.5=4.5"; etc.), very similar in spring rate, low mileage, etc. If you find an AAL for 4.5" and it is supposed to go into a stock pack, then the spring rate will be incredibly high and will kill your ride quality. If it is a 2.5" AAL for a stock pack and added to a 4.5" pack, well, that hasn't been tested by me yet, so I can't tell the results. I would guess in theory only, a 2.5" AAL may be pretty close to what you need. I am guessing this only because, the spring rate for a 2.5" AAL has to be more than a stock pack to give that amount of lift (or usually a little more, like RE 2.5" AAL's). Well, if this AAL is added to a 4.5" pack, the existing leafs in that pack would be of spring rates that work together to give the desired lift height of 4.5", and the 2.5" AAL, might match pretty close to those 4.5" leaf pack leafs, and since the AAL wouldn't be fighting to lift an entire pack/jeep alone, it would be working with existing lifted leaf springs. So, it should firm up the pack and work together to support it to allow less sag in the pack, thus ending in additional height, regaining X". Wow, that was crazy. I hope you aren't as confused as I think I am.

Think on that and see if you can figure something along those lines. That last bit is just a guess and I probably will be way off, but it will be cheaper to try a 2.5" RE AAL to test this theory (and can resell easily if it doesn't work out), than to try and track down an RE 4.5" pack and still pay about $200 or so used and then cut it up.

See what you think.

[EricsXJ]

GottaBe,

Thank you, that makes so much sense. I agree that a 2.5" AAL is probably right, or as you said a leaf from another 4.5" pack. I'll keep my eye open for those two types of leafs. Thanks again!