Is This Right?

[Niedhogg]

Put the shocks on today, but the front shocks seem almost completely compressed. These came with the 4" CJ Superlift lift kit, so is this right??

 

[73CJ]

Jack the front up by the wheel. Disconnect the shock and see if the axle raises. The shocks won't last long if they are bottoming out.

A quick spin over some bad rocks will tell you if they are bottoming out.

 

[Niedhogg]

Jack the front up by the wheel. Disconnect the shock and see if the axle raises. The shocks won't last long if they are bottoming out.

A quick spin over some bad rocks will tell you if they are bottoming out.

Somebody else mentioned that I may have a pre 72 frame, will this affect my lift and how long these shocks are? The rear seems pretty normal..

 

[RangerRick]

Is this on your CJ7 ? It looks like you have early "short" upper shock mounts and the shocks may be for a later Jeep with the "tall" shock mount tower. Just something to keep in mind because on later Jeep CJ7 's the shock tower is much longer requiring a longer shock absorber than the earlier CJ7 's. Look up the part numbers and confirm they are for an early CJ7 not a later one. Most Wide-Track later CJ's have the tall mount for the longer shock and more travel. Earlier 70's CJ7 's have the short tower. With a Jeep as old as a CJ, any PO could have changed things around but you definitely have the "short" towers on that frame.

RangerRick

 

[Niedhogg]

Is this on your CJ7 ? It looks like you have early "short" upper shock mounts and the shocks may be for a later Jeep with the "tall" shock mount tower. Just something to keep in mind because on later Jeep CJ7 's the shock tower is much longer requiring a longer shock absorber than the earlier CJ7 's. Look up the part numbers and confirm they are for an early CJ7 not a later one. Most Wide-Track later CJ's have the tall mount for the longer shock and more travel. Earlier 70's CJ7 's have the short tower. With a Jeep as old as a CJ, any PO could have changed things around but you definitely have the "short" towers on that frame.

RangerRick

Ok thanks. This is on my CJ7 , and I can't check part numbers or anything for the kit as it all came with the Jeep, some parts installed some not.. can I install a taller shock tower then?

 

[mylittlecj5]

The taller shock tower just bolts on. You may have to cut the old mounts off to make room, tho.
I have a few sets of these if you decide you need some.

On another note...If you were to have a pre-'72 frame...there will be extensive mods made to it to get the CJ7 body to fit. You may want to look for mods made and how well they were done before you go to far.
If however your frame is just an earlier model CJ7 frame, disregard my comment! lol

 

[Niedhogg]

The taller shock tower just bolts on. You may have to cut the old mounts off to make room, tho.
I have a few sets of these if you decide you need some.

On another note...If you were to have a pre-'72 frame...there will be extensive mods made to it to get the CJ7 body to fit. You may want to look for mods made and how well they were done before you go to far.
If however your frame is just an earlier model CJ7 frame, disregard my comment! lol

Extensive mods? That doesn't sound good, and to top it off, I am using a YJ tub. I had taken some measurements several weeks ago because I was aware that I would have to move a couple of the mounts, and I thought it looked close, but I guess I need to look a lot closer now. Are there issues beyond just the body mounts when you say extensive???

I would be interested in those shock towers, I need for these shocks to work correctly.

 

[mylittlecj5]

Don't get me wrong...I don't think you have a pre-72 frame. I think you have an early CJ7 frame. I was trying to point out that they didn't make a CJ7 in the 60's or early 70's, and the wheelbase for a CJ5 would have had to be modified to fit that tub.

If you have a CJ7 frame (and I think you do) then there are minimal mods to make to make the YJ tub work, and a couple frame mount mods are part of that. You seem to have confirmed that already.

Personally I think you have the wrong shocks for the application, but they should be able to be made to work with the later shock mounts. I will get a set pulled for you today, and send you pics via PM.

 

[Niedhogg]

Don't get me wrong...I don't think you have a pre-72 frame. I think you have an early CJ7 frame. I was trying to point out that they didn't make a CJ7 in the 60's or early 70's, and the wheelbase for a CJ5 would have had to be modified to fit that tub.

If you have a CJ7 frame (and I think you do) then there are minimal mods to make to make the YJ tub work, and a couple frame mount mods are part of that. You seem to have confirmed that already.

Personally I think you have the wrong shocks for the application, but they should be able to be made to work with the later shock mounts. I will get a set pulled for you today, and send you pics via PM.

Thanks again, Mike!! PM replied to!

 

[jeepboy45]

Hey Niedhogg....

I remembered you were thinking of putting taller shock towers on your CJ, so I found this old post. If you remember, we have the exact same Jeep, right down to the paint scheme.

Anyway, I ended up contacting mylittlecj5 and buying a set from him as well, and was wondering if you installed yours and if so, did you bolt on or weld on? Also, do you have any pics? Do the new ones go right where the old, shorter ones were?

thanks

brian

 

[Niedhogg]

Hey Niedhogg....

I remembered you were thinking of putting taller shock towers on your CJ, so I found this old post. If you remember, we have the exact same Jeep, right down to the paint scheme.

Anyway, I ended up contacting mylittlecj5 and buying a set from him as well, and was wondering if you installed yours and if so, did you bolt on or weld on? Also, do you have any pics? Do the new ones go right where the old, shorter ones were?

thanks

brian

Hey Brian, I remember that, and I did get mine mounted.. I bolted mine on, it was super easy and I don't remember but I think I moved them forward to fit the cut outs in my fenders.. If I remember to, I'll get some good pics of them tomorrow night after work, but here are a couple of when I did it and if I remember right, there's a good pic of where the old one was mounted, and I don't think I got a good pic of the finished modification, but let's see what I've got...

This first one doesn't show much, and was taken before I noticed the problem..


When I mocked up the fender for the first time was when I noticed the issue.. what I figure happened, with some help from my friends on this site, is that the fenders I purchased were from a later, wide track CJ.. my frame and original shock mounts were correct, but would not work with my longer shocks and these fenders..






So now that I've looked at these pics, I remember the reason for moving them forward, as you see, the shock mounts differently on the new mounts (which are from a later wide track CJ), and you can see the fresh paint where the old mounts were welded to the frame.. This worked perfectly for my build, but depending on your fenders it may not work as well.. but one thing I can say, if your fenders are different in where that cut out is, you may be able to swap the mounts to opposite sides to make them work for you.. just mock them up in the different positions and see what works for you, you really can't do it wrong as long as the shocks have clearance to work like they should.. good luck!

 

[jeepboy45]

thanks very much...

I, too, bought replacement fenders about 12 years ago. They must have been for later year Jeep as well because the short shock towers were "in the wrong location" and I never really knew why.

I had to cut out the inner fender a couple of inches to accomodate the short tower. The engine will be out this weekend, so now would be a good time to get in there with a grinder and swap out the towers. Now the fender cut-outs should actually be in the correct location!

thanks again..

brian