CJ-7 Lift Questions

[KijanaKiume]

Hello everybody. I stumbled across this forum as I was researching information. I am helping out a friend. She is looking to buy as 77 CJ7 . She wants to pay me to install a lift and tires on it. I was looking at the BDS kit (Here). Here is my questions. How difficult is this to install on a garage floor with mostly jack and hand tools? I am a diesel mechanic by trade and have worked on everything else. I have never installed a lift though. If I installed that what other issues could I possibly run in to? Like say the driveline angle, steering angles, brake lines too short and such. What tires would that fit without fender modifications? I thought I read it could fit 33"s somewhere but I can not find it now.

Thank you for your time in reading this. If this works I may post pictures so yall can witness my mistakes.

 

[tarry99]

Hello everybody. I stumbled across this forum as I was researching information. I am helping out a friend. She is looking to buy as 77 CJ7 . She wants to pay me to install a lift and tires on it. I was looking at the BDS kit (Here). Here is my questions. How difficult is this to install on a garage floor with mostly jack and hand tools? I am a diesel mechanic by trade and have worked on everything else. I have never installed a lift though. If I installed that what other issues could I possibly run in to? Like say the driveline angle, steering angles, brake lines too short and such. What tires would that fit without fender modifications? I thought I read it could fit 33"s somewhere but I can not find it now.

Thank you for your time in reading this. If this works I may post pictures so yall can witness my mistakes.

If your a Diesel Mechanic and have worked on HD Class 8 suspensions & Trailers this will be a piece of cake!

Floor Jack, 4 jack stands, 1/2 impact, jack it up and let the suspension hang, start removing one end at a time........use the Jack to support the housing while you remove the U-bolts or just cut them off as there is new ones in the kit.........remove the springs and shackles and reverse the order with the new parts. make sure you have the front springs on the front and also they are pointing forward both L&F assemble all components with the supplied lube and leave them a little loose until everything is squared up and tighten slowly...........pay attention to the tightening instructions..........repeat the same for the rear.......can't tell if that kit has any pinion correction spring pad wedges as you may need those to correct pinion angle in the rear and also castor & pinion angle in the front. Brake lines are best measured after it's installed. 33" tires or even up to 35" with a little trimming will fit....The kit comes with shocks so hopefully they are the correct length.........It also comes with a dropped Pittman Arm. you will need a 3/4" impact to change it out......keep the steering gear straight ahead and make sure your new arm goes on in the correct spline position as it should if it is keyed.......set or recheck the toe in.........

If I omitted something hopefully another member will chime in.

 

[KijanaKiume]

Thank you terry. That is a lot of good information. As to that pitman arm nut I have a 1/2 cordless impact putting out about 500 lb/ft that hopefully should do the trick. Sadly I don't have access to airtools in my parking lot.

 

[tarry99]

Thank you terry. That is a lot of good information. As to that pitman arm nut I have a 1/2 cordless impact putting out about 500 lb/ft that hopefully should do the trick. Sadly I don't have access to airtools in my parking lot.

I can't remember what the torque is but those nuts are on there....... before you take it apart check all the frame suspension spring hangers for any cracks, rust or just being worn out.
Also look at the tie rod ends since you will have a couple off..........they do wear out! And you will probably need a Pickel Fork or a standard Tie rod end remover to release them from the taper.

Good Luck!

 

[Torxhead]

The way I see it anything can be built, coming up with a good combination of tire size, suspension, gear ratio,engine, Transmission , and driveline engineering to fit you driving style does take a bit of planning. Like having a great trail rig can be useless on the highway, and having something that doesn't brake down all the time also. I do like the BDS leaf springs too.

 

[Peanut Butter]

This may be too late, but check out Rusty's Off-Road. This setup is for a CJ7 ..Rusty's CJ 4" Spring Pack Kit ('76-'86) I've dealt with Rusty's many years ago with a Cherokee lift. They are very knowledgeable. They make their own stuff here in the US. Give them a call with what you are trying to achieve. They will make recommendations that save you time and money. Just my 2 cents. Rod

 

[oakey]

How big of a lift are you putting on ??

 

[ThisGuyUKnow]

This may be too late, but check out Rusty's Off-Road. This setup is for a CJ7 ..Rusty's CJ 4" Spring Pack Kit ('76-'86) I've dealt with Rusty's many years ago with a Cherokee lift. They are very knowledgeable. They make their own stuff here in the US. Give them a call with what you are trying to achieve. They will make recommendations that save you time and money. Just my 2 cents. Rod

Hmmm I think it's more like they make their stuff in north America. Last time I got lift springs from them they had stickers that said made in Canada. I like rustys, so much so if I were to buy a lift new it would be from them.