Driveshaft and shim questions

[justinfonder]

hey yall, i'm fixin to put a 4" lift on my 81 CJ5 . right now i have 32x11.50s and plan to go to 33x12.50s with the lift. I know i need the drop pitman arm and longer brake lines but just started reading into shimming the rear end -vs- Transfer Case drop. Seems most people lean more toward the shimming as the Transfer Case already hangs low enough as it is.

Also, will I need to lengthen my driveshafts with this setup?

thanks guys

 

[Torxhead]

The changes you plan to do for your CJ are really quite minimal to accept a 4" lift, but will get you by until it is done correctly. You will need to install wedges to correct the geometry in both front and rear axles, plus lengthen the driveshaft and lower the Transfer Case . Even with those changes there will be vibration and some steering problems, plus braking ability will be decreased also.

 

[Dan86CJ7]

i did a 4" in mine..got a drop arm but hvent installed yet...been reading tie rod flip is better...deff need extended brake lines...mine came w/ tcase drop so am using for now....vibes are not bad at all...very min.

 

[Old Dog]

IMHO I would not lower the t/c. Get a cv style driveshaft instead. Make sure you use steel wedges not alum.
I would also do the tie rod/draglink flip instead of the drop arm.

 

[justinfonder]

The changes you plan to do for your CJ are really quite minimal to accept a 4" lift, but will get you by until it is done correctly. You will need to install wedges to correct the geometry in both front and rear axles, plus lengthen the drive shaft and lower the Transfer Case . Even with those changes there will be vibration and some steering problems, plus braking ability will be decreased also.

I've read elsewhere that the front axle is fine with a 4" lift and that it cannot(or certainly should not) be shimmed, is that not the case? I was going to go with the 6 degree shims in the rear to start and see where that puts me. Should I go with the 8 degree shims due to the fact I have such a short wheelbase? I really want to stay away from dropping the t/case if possible. I think I'd rather spend the money on a CV shaft seeing how i daily drive this CJ. The drive shaft I have now is about 1" longer than stock, if it is not long enough with the 4" lift and 32s then I will definitely be buying a CV shaft. Braking ability worries me as well, I think power brakes are next on the to-do list.