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Scooped up a deal on a Rustys 2" add a leaf kit without shocks to go with the new tires, hoping to get the full 2" but open to a small lift block and shackle if needed. I have liked their add a leafs in the past on XJ's so here to hoping its a decent ride on the Waggy too.

Any suggestions for some shocks that wont break the bank? I'm mainly looking for road comfort that wont break the bank, seems difficult to find much advertised to 2-3" of lift thats not some mystery meat rebrand

The Bilsteins aren't too bad for price, and you can rebuild them/have them rebuilt when they do wear out. They're valved shocks, so they're going to give you some much better feel and handling, but should also be smooth/comfortable.

I'd stay away from the Ranchos. Our family used to love them, but the last couple sets we've gotten have been total junk. One seized up, another just straight up broke, and they don't ride as well as the old ones did. I dunno what they changed but we've been really disappointed.

Thanks sierra, finding ones that fit my little ~2” lift is proving to be difficult. Also a bit more pricey than I can afford I think.

I’m looking at the skyjacker Blackmax shocks, advertised for ~2” of lift and only ~$220. Once I finish getting the lift in I’m going to pull measurements and try to make a call on this.

Working on installing the add a leafs an hour or so at a time, working around a newborn and work makes for slow going.

I’m very impressed how rust free all my hardware is, bushings seem to be.. acceptable so I’m just going to roll with it. Rear leafs are nearly done, cleaned up and painted so I can pretend they are brand new. Hoping to get this finished up in the next month.



Thank god for the captive nut on the frame rail behind the gas tank


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No problem; I 100% understand. Going into college this next fall I'm starting to go "do I really need to/can I spend the extra?"

Lol not even gonna ask how close you got to dropping something incredibly heavy on yourself...

sierrablue wrote:No problem; I 100% understand. Going into college this next fall I'm starting to go "do I really need to/can I spend the extra?"

Lol not even gonna ask how close you got to dropping something incredibly heavy on yourself...

College killed my last project (xj)

Time to make the effort to keep it cheap and reliable or store it, don’t let college kill your dreams


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Lol I've got mine mostly dialed in; most of what it needs now is just keeping up with it since I drive it every day. My parents would kill me if I left it sitting here at home all the time, yet at the same time they're talking about me not taking a car with me my first year

The bigger issue is that '63-'64 Panel Delivery I found 10 miles from the house that needs a ton of work, but my parents won't let me save...

Yikes sounds like me and my friends 10 years ago. FK that makes me old now huh?


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Lol I believe that's the definition of "middle aged". Even the younger side of it. Lol

Pretty sure I have somebody lined up for that Panel Delivery--no idea if I'll get to do much work on it or not, but it's not going to the scrap yard.

sierrablue wrote:Lol I believe that's the definition of "middle aged".

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Damn man! I’m not even 30!


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Anvil-3 wrote: ↑Thu May 11, 2023 9:09 pm

sierrablue wrote:Lol I believe that's the definition of "middle aged".

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Damn man! I’m not even 30!


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Now I feel old

https://cart.bilsteinus.com/results?cus ... 9999667141

Here is the link to Bilstein shocks by length and other weight specs so you can get the right ones for your 2 inch lift

This is how I bought the ones for my J-10

Thanks AK guy!



Finally got the last rear end parts bolted in and back on the ground. Of course I forgot to take a “before” measurement… so exact lift is unknown, but measuring the line of the rocker panel shows the rear about 2-1/2” higher than the front. I’m sure this will settle a bit with time, but I’m happy for the extra clearance for the new 31’s, should look nice.

Track bars are going in the old parts box, we will see how it tracks without, pretty confident I don’t need them… I mean, it’s leaf’s.

Now to flip her around and do the front.


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Looks kinda like the stance the '88 had when we put the lift blocks in, but both sets of springs were sagging lol

Def looks better than the Wag sag

Rusty’s add a leaf went well and got a good couple inches out of it, haven’t driven it yet but bouncing the bumper it still seems to be quite soft which is great.

It also appears to be the ride height I wanted. I foolishly didn’t measure a thing beforehand so I don’t know the net lift, maybe 2-2.5”. Rear looks to be a little low but body line measurements disagree… may put a 1” block in the rear.



Slow progress but it’s good to keep moving forward. Should get the new 31” tires mounted up sometime in the next couple weeks and hopefully the tcase vent replaced. Exciting to finally se changes happening


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Looks gooooooood

Yeah they sit a little lower in the back than in the front from the factory, so if you lift them both the same amount, the back will still be a hair lower. But the body lines and such made it LOOK level, even though it wasn't. Kind of an interesting trick; I swore up and down the rear hung down lower, but measurements prove otherwise.

Some level it out, some leave it

Tires on now and lift in, rear sits a touch low. With my experience add a leafs will sag significantly in the next year. Ride quality seems rather good even with stock shocks. Rear track bar is in the trash. I’ll probably add an Amazon 1” lift block to the rear to level out score sag. Next comes final metal patching, interior, and solving my wiper/high beam issue (I’m trying to pretend it’s not the multi function switch)


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Well this job just got out of hand quickly…
Rear main seal went well and quick, went to toss in the new fuel pump and the timing cover broke at the fuel pump. Not ideal at all




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Ugh. Small job becomes a big job. It has to come off now.

There's not supposed to be a lot of pressure in the crankcase. You could make a blocking plate and it would probably seal with some Permatex #1 or such. Maybe even put the second bolt through and a backing washer to hold that side. Buy a cheap electric pump for the nonce.

tgreese wrote:Ugh. Small job becomes a big job. It has to come off now.

There's not supposed to be a lot of pressure in the crankcase. You could make a blocking plate and it would probably seal with some Permatex #1 or such. Maybe even put the second bolt through and a backing washer to hold that side. Buy a cheap electric pump for the nonce.

Yeah that’s what I had been thinking but the way it broke there’s no purchase behind it, giant pain in the butt since I did the timing chain not too long ago… ordered another case from Summit and just going to fix it right…. But like ugh. I was hoping to take it for a little spin today


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Learn to TIG weld on that--it'll be fiiiiiine

That's a huge bummer though.