Gladiator lift

[EJ Neil]

I just bought Rough Country add-a-leaf front and rear kits for my 1969 Gladiator J3600.

Can I also flip my rear shackels at the same time? Or, will it make my rear too high (J-Lo style)? Will I run into any brake line problems or any other problems if I do the add-a-leaf and flip the shackels?

[Tad]

Probably no problems with just the AAL. You're just going to have to see how the rear shackle flip works for you, might not be needed, things are a bit different for most rigs depending on spring sag and whatnot.

[EJ Neil]

Thanks Tad

[HeepofaJeep]

How does the Jeep sit now? With equal AAL front and rear, AND the rear shackle flip, you would be about 2.5" higher in the rear. BTW, you want some nice lifted shackles for the front? I am not sure how much of a lift they would give you, but they are 6.25" center to center. I only say this because they were a bit of a pain to make, as they don't just go straight down, and I don't have any need for them as the rig in my sig will be no more.

[stephen43]

I would just aal the front and flip the rear. so you would have a softer tail end. unless you need the higher payload cap.

[EJ Neil]

I was kind of thinking the same thing...wish I hadn't already purchased the rear kit. Eric

[cocco_78]

Well, please let us know how it turns out. I also have a 69 J3000 that i'd like to lift a little, enough for 33's. I'd like to know how much lift you get from the AAL up front. Make sure to take measurements!

[EJ Neil]

Ok, I'll take measurements and report back. Eric

[EJ Neil]

I flipped the rear shackles tonight and got 3.75" lift.

Tomorrow I will install the AAL on the front and let you know how it looks.

[EJ Neil]

The Rough Country AAL added 2.5" in the front. It looks good. Eric

[cocco_78]

Interesting! Thats just about enough for 33's I'd think. Hopefully that AAL up front doesn't sag on you. Having it sit an inch higher in the back probably looks pretty good. We really need a picture though!

Where did you get your AAL's and how much did they cost?

[LRRH]

i'd like to see pics. i've got a 64 gladiator to lift for cheap. =)

[Elliott]

Procomp has a full length AAL for the front.

[EJ Neil]

I have pictures. How can I insert a picture into my message?

[ June 13, 2004, 04:01 PM: Message edited by: EJ Neil ]

[Elliott]

There are a couple of different ways to post a picture.
1) The easiest way to post a picture to a forum on the internet is to take the picture off another site and post it in your thread. To do this, simply go to the picture and right click on it. Scroll down the options and click on properties. Copy the url listed for the picture. Then go to the options at the bottom of your post box and look for the “Image” button, click on it. Next, a “script prompt” box will open and you paste the url into that box and click “ok”. The url will now be added to your post and the picture should be viewable after sending it.
2) The second way is to post a picture from one of your files. To do this you must first make sure that the file name is all one string of connected letters and not broken, such as “FirstPartA” and not “First Part A”. Any spaces will result in a broken link that will not download to open as a picture. The next step is to host the picture on a web site, there are free picture hosting sites available, such as: http://www.fullsizejeeps.com http://www.photobucket.com or http://community.webshots.com where you must create a login or register. Follow their download directions for adding your pictures to their file, it’s as simple as adding an attachment to your email. When you have your picture hosted online you can then open the picture and right click to copy the url from properties or on some sites the url is listed above the picture. From that point you add the link to your post as described above.

If your pictures are quite large it is a good idea to resize them in your file prior to adding them to a host site or post.

[ June 13, 2004, 04:41 PM: Message edited by: Elliott ]

[EJ Neil]

Here are two pics of the Gladiator. This is the result of flipping the rear shackles and installing the Rough Country AAL on the front. The AAL was about $50 from JC Whitney. The current tires are LT235 85 16.

http://www.fullsizejeeps.com/jeeps/files/1963-1987-Pickups/041304_005.jpg

http://www.fullsizejeeps.com/jeeps/files/1963-1987-Pickups/041304_006.jpg

[ June 14, 2004, 11:28 AM: Message edited by: EJ Neil ]

[LRRH]

EJ Neil, that looks great. DO you have the part number for the front AAL?? Thanks!

[EJ Neil]

Rough Country part number 6110W.
JC Whitney catalog number 1029P.

[Tad]

That looks really nice.

[EJ Neil]

Forgot to tell you guys...I had to grind a couple of notches out of each side of the AAL so the U bolts would clear. The AAL was a little bit wider than the stock leaf springs.

It was easy to do since I had the right tools but just wanted to give you a "head's up."

[cocco_78]

Very nice, looks really good. Looks like 33's should work on that.

[LRRH]

thanks for the #s!

[Roll_M_Over]

Looks great Neil. Is it as easy as it souns to flif the shackles? I have 4 in blocks on my wagon that I want to get rid of. Would flipping the shackles be the way to go?

[EJ Neil]

Yes, flipping the shackles was a piece of cake. I started a week before by spraying all the nuts with JB something or other (similar to WD-40) and I think this made a big difference. I had never done this before and I took my time. I did this one evening in about 2 hours.

[Josh D]

EJ,

How was the pinion angle of rear axle after the shackle flip? I'd like to remove my 3" block and just flip the shackle, but I figured I'd have to cut off and reweld the spring perches to keep my u-joints in phase.

[EJ Neil]

If the pinion angle changed, it wasn't enough for me to eyeball.

Here's a question: If you flip the shackles on the rear axle, since the shackle is behind the axle doesn't the angle of the driveshaft at the axle stay the same? Of course, I didn't move the T-case so I assume any change occurs at that point.

[Josh D]

Flipping the shackle at the rear should turn the rear pinion up. I just wasn't sure if it would be enough to matter. Nice Gladiator BTW.

[HeepofaJeep]

when I flipped my shackles I noticed no significant change in driveline-- vibration, angle, or length.

[EJ Neil]

I just drove about 60 miles (on the highway) and everything seems fine. I also hauled 1,640 lbs of pea gravel without any hiccups.

[Sycho15]

JoshD- you could always add shims to the top of the spring perches to correct the pinion angle if you found it was too severe in your case.

[Gambler68]

so that cost you $50 an AAL? 200 for the whole lift? not bad..would be good to try on my 68 J3000 SOA..

[jeepmandan]

Originally posted by Elliott:
Procomp has a full length AAL for the front.Do you know p/n for this Elliot?

[EJ Neil]

No, $50 was the total cost. I added the Rough Country full-length AAL on the front ($50 pair) and flipped the rear shackles but did not add AAL on the rears. If I had added the AAL to the rear and flipped the shackles it would sit way too high.

[LRRH]

Do you know p/n for this Elliot?Yeah!!

[jeepmandan]

Originally posted by EJ Neil:
No, $50 was the total cost. I added the Rough Country full-length AAL on the front ($50 pair) and flipped the rear shackles but did not add AAL on the rears. If I had added the AAL to the rear and flipped the shackles it would sit way too high.Are you sure that's a full leaf from Rough Country? The P/N pulls up a short front

[EJ Neil]

I had the same question. Not only was it a full-length when it said short, but it was also a little wider than the stock leafs and I had to grind notches in it so my U bolts would clear.

I called their tech support and the woman that answered was a complete idiot. First she said they do not make any products for Jeep pickups and had no idea what a Gladiator was. When I showed her the Jeep pick-up listed on her own website, she told me to go with that information and wondered why I would even call.

Anyway, it works and it was only $50 bucks.

[Tad]

Just got back around to read this again, Great job there for $50.
I'm still committed to dumping the post mounts up front but am still really pleased with how that looks on your rig.

Originally posted by Roll_M_Over:
...I have 4 in blocks on my wagon that I want to get rid of. Would flipping the shackles be the way to go?Roll_M_Over,
You have a 76 wag and can not simply flip your shackles like this setup.
You need a different strategy altogether.
Where and why do you have these 4" blocks?
Sorry, wish it was that simple.

[ June 22, 2004, 07:44 PM: Message edited by: tadsal ]