AAL's installed!!!

[ChuckH]

What a PITA!!! Schlud and I thought we were going to get both our trucks done today but it took several hours just to do mine. It was the first one that took forever and the second one went much faster since we had a better idea of what to do. There's quite a bit of jack moving involved in this procedure. Sometimes you need it under the spring, sometimes you need it under the frame, and sometimes you need it under the axle! The trick is knowing where and when!

I removed my SLR shackles and went back to stock. I haven't properly measured, but it appears that the AAL's added about 2 inches of lift (using stock shackles) over the SLR shackles alone. I only had about 3-1/2 inches between my bumpstops and axle with the SLR 2 inch shackles and it appears there is maybe 5-1/2 inches now. I will try and measure tomorrow so I can monitor the settling and such as time passes.

Once I pulled out of the driveway and something popped (settling I'm sure) everything seemed fine. The drive home was smooth...infact I think the truck actually rides better now, but that could be psychological. It's not rough or bouncy at all. Very smooth!

I only took one picture and it was dark and rainy when I did it. I'll post it anyway because it shows how much lift I got with the AAL's.

rrdstarr and I also installed the Rancho Steering Stabilizers from 4x4parts today. I'm going to do a more complete writeup on them, but I will say that as with almost everything I've bought for my Xterra, they didn't fit right out of the box on neither of our trucks and we had to do some grinding. Nothing major, but grinding nonetheless. More later about that. The difference it makes is amazing though and I think it's a very worthwhile mod. There is almost no movement in my steering wheel now when I drive down my gravel, pothole filled driveway and the same goes for bumps in the road.

So that's that for now!

[Schludwiller]

What's more impressive that the height in the rear is that your leafs once again have a nice arc to them (visable in picture) instead of the almost straight line you had before.

My camera arrived this morning! We'll have to take more pictures on my install.

[Snoopy]

With the AAL install, did you have to remove the load leaf?
I'm looking at putting on the AAL myself and have some concerns for the removal of the load leaf. Any opinions/comments?
Also, anyone know how to get longer U-bolts if I intent to keep the load leaf?

[rhombus]

I beleive EOE has the longer U bolts to keep the load leaf.
email them at sales@extreme4x4parts.com

[Schludwiller]

Might not be a bad idea with keeping the load leaf and longer u-bolts. The ends of charles U-bolts are sticking out below the jack point. Could expose them to some damage.

[ChuckH]

Well, after a to and from work commute (60 miles) I've got to say the AAL's kick ass! Not only did they lift the back but they took away the jarring ride back there and somehow seem to have affected the way the front end moves. Before, my truck rode really hard in back and soft and floaty in front and now it's more equal and the ride stays more level and compliant. I'm guessing the jarring in back was a result of the load leafs since I was pretty much sitting on them (my springs were flat!). My truck doesn't bounce all over the place like it use to on bumpy roads either. I'm sure the stabilizer plays a roll too, but the softer ride in back makes a huge difference.

Now, for the load leaf issue. After thinking about it and driving without them, I can't really see any reason to keep them on unless you plan on carrying 1000+ pounds of gear or something. The load leafs are flat, so with your newfound spring arc the load leafs won't even be working until you overload your truck, which would require a bit of spring compression back there. Plus, with all the arc, the flat load leafs means you have them sticking straight out front and back where they can get hung up on something. I don't know if that makes sense, but basically you would have to compress your springs to the point where they are nearly flat before the load leafs would be working. IMO, if you're compressing that far with the AAL's just with load, your truck is well past overloaded. I think if I were going to get new U-bolts I would actually want them to be shorter to better accomodate the spring pack without the load leaf.

I have no idea what the longterm effects will be, but hopefully this fix will keep me happy for awhile. For less than $60 I think they are a worthy alternative to a new spring pack and far better than the shackles.

On that note, I saw a nearly new and totally stock Xterra today that appeared to have as much lift in the back as Schlud's does and he has shackle lifts. This X was seriously backend high. I find it amazing how much variance there is between spring packs from the factory. I'd say this X had atleast 2" more height in back than mine did when new.

[Snoopy]

Originally posted by rhombus
I beleive EOE has the longer U bolts to keep the load leaf.

I talked with Todd (EOE) today; they should have them by the end of the week for anybody who is interested.

[Snoopy]

Chuck,
I hear ya' on the load leaf thing. I can't wait to put mine in.

Anyone,
I've got the standard Bilstein shocks for the rear - do you think there will be a problem with running these on the AALs?

[rednec]

I hope my AAL's will be here in the next day or so. I'm leaveing Friday to go to the OBX with the ENCXC and was hoping to have them on by then. I've talked to Todd and there was some kind of screw up with the shipping. No biggie, EOE has been great to deal with overall.

[Schludwiller]

Well it was my turn this weekend, so ChuckH came by and helped me put the AAL's on my Xterra.

I went back to the Nissan shackles (had 2" SLR's). The leafs returned back to the original arc that had dissappeared after putting the steel bumper/tire carrier on. Maybe a little higher than before.

Suspension response in the rear has improved greatly. Much like when I put in the heavy duty torsion bars.

I'll be offroading this weekend, and seeing how they settle. When I put my 3" suspension lift in the front, I'll re-evaluate the rear level and see if I might want to put 1" SLR shackles on the rear.

Next year I'll probably just get a whole new leaf pack.

[Goliath the X]

When I installed my AALs I only used the stock jack and 2 C-clamps. I havn't found the absence of the load leafs to be a problem. I may add a second set of AALs when I finally get to a lift, this will make the u-bolts the correct length again.

Total install time about 3 hours but that included driving to pep boys with one AAL in to get a deep socket.
First side took awhile, second side when on in 20 min.

I agree the ride is 100% improved.

[rednec]

Got my AAL's in Friday. They got here a day late, but oh well... Gonna try to install them Thursday evening. I have a friend with a garage, lift, and air tools. Should make the job alot easier.

[rednec]

Installed my AAL's tonight. Damn what a differance. They ride so much nicer, not as much body lean in the turns. I left my 2" shackles on and cranked the T-bars through the roof. I'm gonna have to get some new ones in the near future anyway. It took us a little over 2 hours from start to finish. We had a lift and air tools which made the job so much easier (Air tools are your friend ). Overall I am very happy with them. We had a little problem with shipping from EOE, which was not their(EOE's) fault. Todd took care of me though. I'm very happy with their Customer Service, Thanks Todd....

[Snoopy]

I finished installing the PROCOMP AALs yesterday. I started a bit late so the last one was getting done in the dark. It took a total of 3 hours to do both of them.
The AALs should keep my rear up for a bit longer until I decide to go with a complete spring pack replacement (next year). Thanks for all the info that has been posted - It helped make the whole procedure much easier.

[Philosopher]

Originally posted by Snoopy
I finished installing the PROCOMP AALs yesterday. I started a bit late so the last one was getting done in the dark. It took a total of 3 hours to do both of them.
The AALs should keep my rear up for a bit longer until I decide to go with a complete spring pack replacement (next year). Thanks for all the info that has been posted - It helped make the whole procedure much easier.

I hope you have better luck than Carlton, who snapped 2 of the Pro-Comp AAL's ... that's why folks have been recommending the Rancho or the Fabtech AAL.