Body Lift Issue?

[OnTheRocks]

So, my dad just got this 84 CJ7 . It's got a body lift on it(I'm not sure how tall exactly.) Here's the problem, and sorry if this doesn't make any sense, but although I love these Jeeps, I don't know much about them...

The Transmission wants to jump out of 1st gear all the time. All the other gears are fine. So, he got to looking at it, and his theory is, due to the body lift, the shift lever is hitting the floor and preventing it from going all the way into first gear. He can't seem to see where the shifter connects to the Transmission is solid or (this is where it may not make sense... lol) if it's on some sort of a pivot before attaching to the tranny. Any idea what he's talking about?

Thanks,
Nate.

 

[Torxhead]

You could drive the CJ with the gear shift boot removed just to see if that is the issue. Many guys say no to any body lift, I think 1" should be max. If you mess with adjusting the body lift height, make sure it does not affect anything else. Like the fan hitting the shrould, brake lines, clutch adjustment, fuel fill hoses, and the like.

 

[gr8dain]

Agree with all that torxhead just stated. On my rebuild I am putting the finishing touches on, I had a 1 inch lift built into the frame by having the body mounts raised when welding on. And I have the T-176 4 speed. I can't imagine my shifter hitting the floor with only that amount of body lift. So the body lift on your dad's CJ mist be large.

Like said above, have him take the boot off and watch the shifter as he goes through the gears.

 

[OnTheRocks]

So, just spoke with Pops again. He said the shift lever is definitely hitting the floor and he thinks it has about a 4 inch body lift on it. I guess his question is actually about the lever itself. He says there is about a 2-3 inch "Nub" coming out of the tranny, and the lever is curved and attached to that "nub" with some sort of pin. It's kind of like an isolater on a big rig. So, the actual lever moves like an inch or two before it moves that "nub" and shifts the tranny. He thinks the shift lever should be pretty straight and mounted solidly to the Transmission . It looks like it would work fine if that's the case. Does anyone know what he's talking about?

Thanks,
Nate.

 

[gr8dain]

Do you happen to know which Transmission is in the CJ? Any pics of the shifter? My shifter in the T-176 is straight and goes directly into the top of the Transmission . Is his a five speed (T-5 )?

Of course he could extend the opening of the floor to allow further movement of the shifter, but that should not have to be the answer. Especially just to test a theory.

 

[caveman]

Many times with a body lift, The shifter will hit the floor. The only cure without taking the body lift out is to cut out some of the floor. Most body lifts consist of some type of plastic spacer that sits on top of the original body mounts. If you look, You may be able to measure the lift. A 3 inch lift is the most that most company's sell for the CJs. It also could be something that the p.o. put together. It is recommended that anything over 1" is dangerous because of the shear factor for the bolts in case of a roll over. I'm not sure if anything has ever been tested to prove that theory. My personal opinion is the less body lift, the better. From the description of the shift lever, I believe you may have an SR4 or a T-4 Transmission .

 

[Posi]

 

[ksouthw80]

I saw this pic and i have to say that this pic is the craziest real life thing ive seen in a while. If this is because of a body lift then i must say WOW and DANG, WTH?