Budget Boost - Poly or Aluminum? Shackles, Blocks or AAL??

[gorilla_skater]

OK here's the first 2 of my newbie questions. I've decided to go with a 2" Budget Boost to start, to get 30x9.50-15's on my '98 XJ. The rear springs seem OK and this is my daily driver but I want to do some trail riding. Scanning through the Nuts and Bolts section, I saw that someone said that blocks won't require a SYE or Transfer case Drop?

Questions:

1. Aluminum or Poly Front Spacers?
2. Shackles, Blocks or AAL?

Thanks in Advance.

 

[graves14]

poly fronts and shackles in the rear...

rusty's sells a nice kit for $99

http://rustysoffroad.com/Merchant2/...D&Product_Code=XJ-B1&Category_Code=sus_xj_kit

blocks will kill your springs, aal just suck.  this is a good starter kit because you can always add on later. 

 

[Yagottawanna]

I ya want a 3" you could go 3" coils front and  adda leaves rear w/shackles  run ya about $170 from rough country . I had this on my 97 with no vibes. And fit 31"s no prob.

 

[NomadJeep]

Blocks will flatten leafs, and rear longer shackle will change your pinion angle.  Sometimes it is not to bad enough to cause vibes.

I would go Rubicon Express, they use add a leaf in the rear, which wont give you a rough ride and wont change your pinion.  And the fronts are Poly, which works perfectly fine as long as you reuse the factory spacer between the spring and poly.

Best part is longer travel shocks, which will really just allow your XJ to so what it should.

Only thing else you would need with this kit is sway bar disco's (JKS)

Looking for a good price, email Jason at 4x4 group buys.

 

[NomadJeep]

also, most XJ guys will warn you, start spraying your upper rear shock bolts, they always rust, and break and you cant get to the top side...  so spray now, and keep your fingers crossed.  If you break, pick up some of these. 

 

[beaker]

Don't go higher than 2" in the front without an adjustable track bar. 
Higher than 2" will start really pushing your axle off to one side.

I run a 4.5" lift with just a 1" drop spacer on the transfer case.  Works fine.

Don't get a setup that's to much work to put in.  If you have to pull it all apart, just go for a bigger full blown lift kit.  You won't want to do it any more times than you have to.

Also get anti-seize (decent size ~8 oz brush type jar) and coat everything, later upgrades will be much, much easier.  I pulled the whole lift kit and axles out of my cherokee in 4 hours after being on the truck for four years.

I've been using the same 8 oz jar for 6 years now, money well spent.

 

[Zookie400]

adding leaves makes for a rough ride. the only downfall to blocks (if properly installed) is that they make axle wrap worse. many newer ('95ish and up)trucks come from the factory with blocks under the spring pack to allow for a flat spring pack that delivers a much nicer ride than the older springs that had about 15 leaves in them and an arch that was 3 feet deep (rough ride...same payload)

 

[gorilla_skater]

Awesome. Great info. I appreciate all the advice since this question always seems to come up over and over. I've been proccessing all this info and stuff I've researched, based on my needs/budget. There are pros and cons to each approach. I went through this same process with my '91 XJ and the it always led to too much $$, so it stayed stock. I REALLY like the way it rides now, and I want to avoid the trickle effect as much as possible, so for now it's gonna be a 2" lift with poly spacers and shackles. To fix any vibes, I'll go with a T-case drop and shims if needed. Looks like I'll be giving Rusty a call.

For the installation the 2 key points I got were PB Blaster 3 days before and anti-seize.