Installing the rear suspension takes a little more mechanical know-how and also would be much easier with the help of a friend. For our install, we jacked up the back of the vehicle and placed it safely on jackstands, removed the OE shocks and U-bolts, and loosened the sway-bar end links. Next, we removed the leaf-spring pack from the right side of the vehicle. It is very important to only remove one leaf-spring pack at a time. This makes the job of keeping the rearend aligned much easier - trust us.
We separated the leaf-spring pack by removing the center bolt. It is a good idea to use a clamp to hold the leaves together while removing the center bolt. Then, we inserted the new RS334 add-a-leaf into position 3 from the top down with the long end of the new leaf pointed toward the rear shackle. We compressed the leaf-spring pack so that the provided center bolt would align through the pack and tightened it down. Once the center bolt is tight, you have to cut off the extra length, leaving 0.250 inch showing underneath.
With the leaf-spring pack now assembled, we aligned all of the new leaves with a hammer, installed the pack back on the vehicle, and secured it with anchor/shackle hardware and the included U-bolts and nuts.
Next, we inserted the RSP01036 sleeve into the lower loop of the RS99001 rear Rancho shock and installed the new shocks. Once all of the new parts were installed, we reinstalled the tires and placed the vehicle back on the ground and tightened up all mounting points. The provided U-bolts need to be tightened down to 72-80 lb-ft of torque.
We repeated this entire process on the opposite side, and when both sides were completed we noticed the rear end exhibited a 1.5-inch ride-height change. Combined with the front, our vehicle now sits perfectly level. It is a good idea to drive the vehicle around slowly so the new suspension can settle properly, then recheck all of the mounting points and alignment.
Now that our new suspension was installed, it was time to choose a tire that would showcase its all-around abilities. The BFGoodrich All-Terrain T/AKO tire has proven time and again to be a favorite among off-road enthusiasts. The traction, sidewall protection, and low noise level make it a great choice for just about any application. The Nissan Xterra with its Off-Road package already comes with a BFGoodrich Rugged Trail T/A 265/75R16 tire, and this has proven to be great for us both on and off the road, but our new lift provided us enough room to safely stuff a 285/75R16 BFGoodrich T/AKO tire underneath that would not just make the truck perform better in the dirt but also finally give it an aggressive wheeling look.
We discovered while mounting our new tires that there was a bubble of factory plastic on the inner fenderwell which needed to be heated up and molded flat. You will notice this piece when you add larger tires to your Xterra - it's hard to miss. A few minutes with the heat gun and a rubber mallet, and our new shoes fit with ease.