Cherokee 3.5" Lift Installation - Adding AAL and/or Lift Blocks

Industry Figure | Berkeley | Back to Jeep Cherokee

About a year after installing the original Old Man Emu and Tera Flex lift, the Cherokee is sagging. The rear leafs have settled an inch and the extra weight we're carrying now makes it worse. The camping gear and spare parts weigh far more than I would have guessed. I might add a much bigger lift within a year, so I started looking for a short term solution.

Switch to new, taller leaf packs? Too expensive. Add-a-leafs would be less expensive, but they have a bad reputation. Lift blocks are really cheap, but they have a bad reputation, too. The solution I decided on was to insert an OME Add-a-Leaf into my existing spring pack, adding some lift and increasing the spring rate.

Sagging. What to do?

When I first spec'd the suspension, I didn't take into account the weight I would be carrying. I probably wouldn't have figured on carrying as much weight as I do anyway. Things change. The Old Man Emu JC1B leaf spring pack is great when the XJ is empty or has just a little weight. Usually, though, we've got the family of five, the 130 pound Newfoundland dog, spare parts, and camping gear. This weight, coupled with the extra settling in the rear, lead me to think about adding blocks to regain the lost inch of lift in the rear, and to add an Old Man Emu (OME) JCXL add-a-leaf to increase the spring rate and help with my heavy loads.

Honestly, like most 4x4 rookies, I walked into my initial lift purchase half-blind. I really didn't know what I was getting when I plunked down the money. I'm sure Chet (of the now-defunct Cherokee Connection) explained everything, but without in-the-field experience, a lot of the information went over my head. After a couple of years of wheeling, I've got a grid for all the technical details. Enter Rocky Road Outfitters.

The knowledgeable folks at Rocky Road Outfitters helped me choose a path to eliminate some of the problems that have emerged as the family has taken more and more trips. RRO owner Glenn Wakefield is an active, long-time supporter of the 4x4 community. His staff knows what they sell and are more than helpful. I've spent the most time discussing problems and plans with Von. Even after months, we can pick up the conversation where we left off. He remembers my vehicle, my plans, etc., and I just update him on any changes. Not having to describe the XJ with every call saves us both a lot of time.

OME Add-a-Leafs

Add-a-leafs have a poor reputation and it's partly deserved. A really cheap path to a quick lift is to insert an AAL into an existing stock spring pack. This works at first, but is doomed to fail quickly. That single spring has got to provide all the vehicle lift plus it has to counter the forces of the tired stock springs. No way. Sooner or later the lift will be gone, and the money wasted.

My original spring packs, OME #JC1B, is too low and too soft when the XJ is fully loaded. The stiffer, taller #JC2A leaf pack could be what I really need. Instead of buying an entire new leaf pack, however, RRO suggested adding either an OME add-a-leaf, or a lift block, or both. The OME JCXL is an AAL designed to compliment my existing pack, not fight it. Von and I knew that the OME JCXL add-a-leaf would add extra spring rate... about 20% more. The JCXL should also add lift, but not very much, so I ordered both the extra leaf and one inch blocks.

Ultimate Lift Blocks

Like many other 4x4 shops, RRO sells lift blocks. What RRO does differently, however, is they make the blocks from steel. Order the lift in increments of 1/2" then add whatever shim angle you require. Three and five degree shims are standard, but any degree can be ordered for no extra cost. RRO welds the whole set together. Once you bolt the assembly to the spring pack, it's there to stay. There won't be any block disentegration, or loose springs like standard aluminum blocks can give you.

The original u-bolts were maxed out in length, so I bought a longer set at NAPA. While there, I picked up a longer leaf spring bolt, the one in the center of the spring pack that keeps the leafs together. The new bolt would be long enough to fasten the extra leaf and the shimmed lift block to the pack.

Parts
2 - Old Man Emu JCXL leafs
4 - NAPA U-bolt, 650-4023, 7/16" Dia., 2 3/4" I.D., 6 3/4" Length, Round
2 - NAPA leaf spring bolts
8 - 7/16" flat washers

Lift heights before add-a-leafs
Before Empty: 34 3/4" front, 33 3/4" rear. It's sagging by one inch in the rear.
Before w/ Weight: 34 7/8" front, 32 3/8" rear. The weight dropped the rear by 1 3/8 inches.

Lift heights after adding the JCXL add-a-leafs
After Empty: 34 3/4" front, 35 1/8" rear. The JCXL leafs added 1 3/8" lift.
After w/ Weight: 34 7/8" front, 34" rear. With the same weight, sag is reduced from 1 3/8" to 1 1/8" inches. 20% less.

Surprisingly, the JCXL added 1 3/8" lift to the rear, so I am not using the blocks for now. I suppose I shouldn't have been surprised by the added lift, but RRO said the leafs would not add any lift, only add spring rate. The springs will probably settle after a few trips and some of that 1 3/8" will be lost.

I wasn't expecting the lift gain with the JCXL springs, but I'm pleased. They'll probably sag in the coming months... we'll see. I don't need the blocks, but I'll keep them around just in case. (After five months and a couple of long, hard trails... no appreciable sag.)

AAL & lift block e-mail information and commentary here.

Ride Quality and Performance

It was a shock to hit the road with the new suspension. The AAL made the ride noticibly stiffer and not at all pleasant. A few days later, however, I don't notice the extra harshness. I also suspect that the ride is still very nice, reletively speaking, and it still lives up to OME's reputation. Loaded up, the XJ is much better. It doesn't wallow on the freeway like it used to. I'm very pleased.

Off the road, I'm still flexing like I'm used to. No problems there. In fact, the AALs have helped a lot. Previously, I would bang the rear bumper coming off of most rocks. The extra lift and spring rate of the improved leaf pack prevents most of the teeth-rattling bang that I was used to. Much better.

Inexperience during my first purchase presented me with a suspension problem. Rocky Road Outfitters and a set of OME add-a-leafs helped me solve it.

Industry Figure | Berkeley | Back to Jeep Cherokee