im new and had a question

[bull346]

hey everyone i just joined i just bought a 79 CJ7 this week it needs alittle work here and there it has the spings fliped over the axles sitting on 38 inch tires and it has a 355 with a 350 turbo transmission and a 205 transfer case and stock axles and drive shafts what is the first thing i should do to it i am new to jeeps
this is my first one i had toyota's before this

 

[mylittlecj5]

first thought is: how in the heck are the stock axles handling that kinda HP and 38" tires?
Methinks a 1-ton axle swap is in your future!

give us lots of pics on this one, so we can give you a few more ideas.

 

[Old Dog]

What do you want to do to it? Sounds like the PO allready fixed you up.

 

[BrockGrimes]

I'd check the suspension mounting area for cracking and around the steering box too.
Power and large tires are cool, but take it easy on the skinny pedal, unless you have a fat wallet.

 

[CJ]

hey everyone i just joined i just bought a 79 CJ7 this week it needs alittle work here and there it has the spings fliped over the axles sitting on 38 inch tires and it has a 355 with a 350 turbo transmission and a 205 transfer case and stock axles and drive shafts what is the first thing i should do to it i am new to jeeps
this is my first one i had toyota's before this

Hello bull346 and welcome to the world of CJs and the site!

You say you had Toyotas before but what were done to them? How modified were they? I'm just trying to asses your experience and skill with short wheel based vehicles...

IMHO - I would do nothing to the CJ (except for a very thorough inspection) and then drive it for a while. With so little seat time in the CJ you don't know all the nuances and quirks you have inherited. If you lucky, the SOA was done correctly and it drives and handles well, if not then you'll know soon enough and we can tackle that part first.

Drive it slow and gradually work your way up to highway speeds, you don't want to expeieience a 'death wobble' for your first time at 70 MPH!

BTW - I bet the drive shafts look stock but aren't, on a SOA they just won't reach so I'm guessing they have been lenghtend...

You say the diffs are stock but does the Dana 20 (rear axle) have hubs or one piece axles? If they are one piece then they have been replaced.

Thanks again for joing and welcome to the best Jeep made! Yea, I'm biased!

 

[dave pam]

I agree with mylittlecj5, it would interesting to see how the stock axels are holding up or maybe they are heavy duty axels.

Oh and welcome to the forum

 

[chuck35f]

welcome Great to have you here. I am pretty new as well and this site is great. Ok lets see some pics.

 

[LongHorn]

It does sound odd, someone would add all that BEEF:drool: on stock axles. I'd have to agree with "Little CJ5 ", I see some 1ton axles in your future.

 

[LongHorn]

Probably some beefier U joints & driveshafts also.