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Lift Kit

Lift Kit
X2 on using STEEL shims and not the cheap zinc or alum ones!
Find a driveline shop that does work on semi-trucks. They will have steel.
The ones in the kit will be marked with the degree of angle.
LG
 
Peanut Butter said:
Just follow the link below. There will be a link to my first build in the first paragraph. Steal shims, Morris 4x4 has them: Morris 4x4 Center - SearchMorris 4x4 Center - Results for steal shims
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I found it a while ago. Pretty cool. I'm not going that in depth myself, at least not yet. My 79 other than the front floor board areas are in excellent shape. I'm talking hardly any rust. I hardly believe my eyes when I'm under the jeep. The drivers is surface rust and is really solid but the passenger side is a bit more rusted but still pretty solid. Very fixable. I was taken back a bit because your 79 is the exact same blue as mine other than the striping. Mine is not original though. It's that metallic silver color, which I'd like to go back to because it would match my interior paint.

It would have been neat to see it back all the way as a CJ7 , but hey the truck thing is pretty cool too. I also like your trailer.

I'm reading up on the caster adjustments. I have an article saved I plan on reading. Doesn't look to complicated. I also understand the steel over aluminum shims. I bought my parts from an off road store near by. They do installs, so I'll ask them tomorrow if they have any steel shims on hand and to keep some for me. They should have some. If not I'll find some.

I'm excited to get this thing put together and on the road.
 
Oh by the way. I really appreciate all the help and pointers. Thanks everyone. It's much better than finding out after everything is on. At least I can do it correctly thanks to you all.
 
Peanut Butter said:
I bought the same lift kit last year during a big sale and paid half the price. It came with everything which I really liked. It does however have aluminum wedges / shims. Best to get steel. Be sure to measure your caster angle for the front and adjust to get the right amount. This is very important for good steering. I have a CJ7 with an auto, so this put a very big angle on the rear diff even with a shim. I opted to go with a double cardian joint. My shackles were original, so they had to be replaced. They were bad rusted. I'm surprised they didn't break prior to replacement. You can see all of this in my build thread (1st one). I haven't had my Jeep on the road yet to be able to talk about the ride, and my rebuild plans have changed since then. By lengthening my wheel base the effects on the springs will be different from everybody else's. Expect the ride to be rough. This may change some as the springs get a little wear in them. Make sure you replace all of the bushings when you do this. A good shackle kit will come with them. Also don't forget the shackle hangers that tie into the frame. OEM would then be a weak point in your system. Make sure you have some extra lithium lube for the poly bushings, and like LG said you'll need different bump stops most likely. Flexing the suspension after install will give you a better idea of what length of bump stop you'll need. It will also show if your going to have any tire rub before you take the Jeep out on the trail.

Adding a lift kit involves a lot more than just throwing some new parts at your Jeep. I would read some of the posts on steering. It will give you an idea of what your up against when you change the entire geometry of you suspension with a large lift kit.

There are pros and cons to a reverse shackle setup. And yes this is mainly done on the front axle. I would advise against it to start with. You are changing a lot of stuff all at one time. Any problems you encounter will be multiplied by the number of different than OEM stuff you do. Just make sure your shackles flex in the correct direction. Take your time and make sure you get everything on correctly. If you don't have a way to measure the caster angle get one.
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One more question. So you went with the double cardian joint drive shaft to avoid using shims right? Just wanted that clear in my head. You buy this as a complete drive shaft right? Or is this an add on to the stock drive shaft? I've seen them on I think Woods something website as a whole new drive shaft.
 
jafo said:
One more question. So you went with the double cardian joint drive shaft to avoid using shims right? Just wanted that clear in my head. You buy this as a complete drive shaft right? Or is this an add on to the stock drive shaft? I've seen them on I think Woods something website as a whole new drive shaft.
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I have an automatic Transmission and QuadraTrac Transfer Case . Due to the added length of such (reason they built the CJ7 ), my drive shaft angle and length is critical. Rotating the rear differential helps, but the angle between the rear output of the Transfer Case and the input of the drive shaft is very steep. The double cardian u-joint will cut down on the vibration that would be created. All of that is a mute matter now that I'm lengthening my wheel base for a truck. Your manual Transmission is much shorter giving you a longer drive shaft and better angle between the two. That doesn't mean that with a big lift you can't experience the same condition, it's just not as likely. The "Woods" drive shafts are some of the best on the market. It would be my choice if I needed a custom replacement, which I may need. Right now I have a rear drive shaft with the double cardian joint on one end that I'm hopping will be the right length when I'm all done. The "Woods" web site has some good drawings on this too.

Your lucky to have a tub in excellent condition. Be sure to take care of that rust now, before it gets much worse and requires a panel replacement. Also my trailer is home made. Folded galvanized sheet metal welded together with stitch welds on a "C" channel frame with a Subaru Axle and wheels. I painted it with a ceramic urethane. The blue matches my CJ's original color. When I decided to build the truck, I said What the :censored:, and will be painting it my favorite color, dark green. That means I'll need to paint the trailer again to match. :o It happens when you do a complete rebuild. You see things that change your mind everyday. Good luck with your project, I know you'll love driving it.
 
jafo said:
I'm reading up on the caster adjustments. I have an article saved I plan on reading.
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Could you share this article?
 
FWIW: Set your caster to the high side of the specs.
Any front end shop can give you a printout of the frontend alignment specs.
LG
 
Peanut Butter said:
I have an automatic Transmission and QuadraTrac Transfer Case . Due to the added length of such (reason they built the CJ7 ), my drive shaft angle and length is critical. Rotating the rear differential helps, but the angle between the rear output of the Transfer Case and the input of the drive shaft is very steep. The double cardian u-joint will cut down on the vibration that would be created. All of that is a mute matter now that I'm lengthening my wheel base for a truck. Your manual Transmission is much shorter giving you a longer drive shaft and better angle between the two. That doesn't mean that with a big lift you can't experience the same condition, it's just not as likely. The "Woods" drive shafts are some of the best on the market. It would be my choice if I needed a custom replacement, which I may need. Right now I have a rear drive shaft with the double cardian joint on one end that I'm hopping will be the right length when I'm all done. The "Woods" web site has some good drawings on this too.

Your lucky to have a tub in excellent condition. Be sure to take care of that rust now, before it gets much worse and requires a panel replacement. Also my trailer is home made. Folded galvanized sheet metal welded together with stitch welds on a "C" channel frame with a Subaru Axle and wheels. I painted it with a ceramic urethane. The blue matches my CJ's original color. When I decided to build the truck, I said What the :censored:, and will be painting it my favorite color, dark green. That means I'll need to paint the trailer again to match. :o It happens when you do a complete rebuild. You see things that change your mind everyday. Good luck with your project, I know you'll love driving it.
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In the article I read, it said to set the caster to a positive 4 degrees because this is what most jeep were set to. Sound about right? I'll do a pre-measure before I take anything apart. From what I understand, when you do measure you want the axle loaded right? You get a different reading if it's not? Hopefully, it will all work out without much adjustment.

I plan on upgrading the front and rear driveshafts. Wood's site is pretty informative. I don't remember who pointed me there but I'm glad they did.

I should have everything by Thursday. Fingers crossed. I drove the jeep to work today. Very different feel. My shackle bushings are trash and springs are really soft. It made for a funky feeling on the highway. It was never to the point of feeling out of control, but it just had a loose goose kind of feel. Gonna be the last trip anywhere until the suspension and steering components get installed.

I really like the trailer. Hand built is even better. It's spot on for a jeep.
 
Lumpy Grits said:
FWIW: Set your caster to the high side of the specs.
Any front end shop can give you a printout of the frontend alignment specs.
LG
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I was telling PB that the article I read said 4 deg. positive. What negatives can you run into if you go with too much positive caster? I think the more positive you go the faster return on steering right? Too tight of steering when turning? Binding?

I'm going to check out some of the links you provided too. Thanks!
 
A few tips before you start installing your lift:

1. Soak your stock pitman arm with penetrating oil a day or so before.

2. "Rent" a pitman arm puller from Orileys or buy the same puller at Harbor Freight for $15ish.

3. Use a torch to heat up the pitman arm to help with removal. OR use a cutting wheel to cut it as much as possible where it mounts to the gear box shaft to relieve the pressure.

Installing a lift on a jeep is very simple. However, the pitman arm is a PITA to get off! Have fun, take your time and ask questions if you need to.
 
EVERYUSERNAMEISTAKEN said:
A few tips before you start installing your lift:

1. Soak your stock pitman arm with penetrating oil a day or so before.

2. "Rent" a pitman arm puller from Orileys or buy the same puller at Harbor Freight for $15ish.

3. Use a torch to heat up the pitman arm to help with removal. OR use a cutting wheel to cut it as much as possible where it mounts to the gear box shaft to relieve the pressure.

Installing a lift on a jeep is very simple. However, the pitman arm is a PITA to get off! Have fun, take your time and ask questions if you need to.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the input!
 
EVERYUSERNAMEISTAKEN said:
A few tips before you start installing your lift:

1. Soak your stock pitman arm with penetrating oil a day or so before.

2. "Rent" a pitman arm puller from Orileys or buy the same puller at Harbor Freight for $15ish.

3. Use a torch to heat up the pitman arm to help with removal. OR use a cutting wheel to cut it as much as possible where it mounts to the gear box shaft to relieve the pressure.

Installing a lift on a jeep is very simple. However, the pitman arm is a PITA to get off! Have fun, take your time and ask questions if you need to.
jafo said:
Thanks for the input!
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Most of these kits come with a drop pitman arm. A drop pitman arm will put additional stress on the steering box and the brackets that hold it to the frame. It is suggested that you get a stronger bracket like M.O.R.E., and add a support bar to prevent this. The other option is to move the tie rods to the top of their connection to the knuckle. This involves reaming out the hole and adding an insert to have the correct taper ( click here ). There are several recent articles on this forum about this. The links point to one supplier, there are others too. When done you want you steering system to look like this with the drag link as horizontal to the tie rod as possible:

pitman-knuckle-draglink_zpsk0ntxayw.webp
 
Are some of these mods meant more for serious offroaders that tackle technical stuff? Do jeepers that do occasional offroading need all the extra upgrades? Nothing wrong with upgrading. One things seems to lead into another. Deciding where you put your cash into the jeep, how do you decide what is necessary and what can wait?
 
jafo said:
One thing seems to lead into another. Deciding where you put your cash into the jeep, how do you decide what is necessary and what can wait?
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Modifying means more modifying. Which equates to more money (in most cases).

With a lower lift, you can get away with the stock Pittman arm. 4" of lift and you are probably going to need one to get the drag link closer to level with the tie rod.
 
jafo said:
Are some of these mods meant more for serious offroaders that tackle technical stuff? Do jeepers that do occasional offroading need all the extra upgrades? Nothing wrong with upgrading. One things seems to lead into another. Deciding where you put your cash into the jeep, how do you decide what is necessary and what can wait?
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PB is right. The TR flip would keep you from having to do the drop pitman arm and reduce stress on the steering gear. Hardcore rock crawlers also like the tierod flip mod for added ground clearance.

Your lift kit comes with the drop pitman arm. So I personally would use that for now until you decide to do the TR flip. I would def buy the M.O.R.E. HD steering box mount either way you decide to go. The stock gear box mount is pretty weak.

Its easy for us to spend other members money on jeep upgrades! I'm a firm believer in doing something right the first time. However, I also understand being Limited on time and on a budget.
 
The question I ask in response to questions like this one, is what are you planning on doing with your Jeep. If it is just going to be a daily driver, then you don't need any lift. What size tires are you going to run and why? So when you start talking about a 4 inch lift, at least 33" tires, maybe bigger, you now develop additional problems. That's why we suggest the particular upgrades, like new spring hangers. You really want to eliminate the weakest part of the system. Otherwise you will have a failure in the middle of no where. :oops:
 
Peanut Butter said:
The question I ask in response to questions like this one, is what are you planning on doing with your Jeep. If it is just going to be a daily driver, then you don't need any lift. What size tires are you going to run and why? So when you start talking about a 4 inch lift, at least 33" tires, maybe bigger, you now develop additional problems. That's why we suggest the particular upgrades, like new spring hangers. You really want to eliminate the weakest part of the system. Otherwise you will have a failure in the middle of no where. :oops:
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Fair question. Went with 33" tires for two reasons. First reason is I like how they look with a lift and larger tires. Two is function. It's a little extea clearance if you need it. The four inch lift is just the byproduct of the larger tires. Some of buying the 33's was a matter of inexperience and just poor planning on my part. Would have much rather had a 3" lift. I'm not big on super high lift vehicles. Not my taste. But, being new to off roading ...... On four wheels, you don't know a lot of the smaller details which I'm learning. I am some what mechanically inclined, so I can save money doing installs myself if I have the tools and the understanding. I did this backwards. I bought before I researched. So here I am. 4" lift on the way, 33's already in the garage.

As far as what I want to do with the Jeep. A little history. I grew up in the 70's. Even in the midwest, Jeep cj's were just cool. Having relatives living in Colorado, we seen a lot of Jeeps when we went out there and I just liked them as a kid. C.W. McCall had a little to do with that as I had one of his albums, and I wore it out on the song "Black Bear Road". So I've always had a thing for Jeeps. I just got to the stage in life where I just decided now or never and bought one. I wanted a convertable and a Jeep is the best convertable ever. I mean, what other vehicle can you drive around with no doors and no top? Legally. I wanted it for novice off roading and if I liked the novice stuff and wanted to get into more technical off roading, I can always modify it more to that genre. I intended to not be a.daily driver. I also intended it to look like nothing special. Just use it for a fun get around town vehicle mostly for summer and occasional light off roading. Therebare Jeep clubs locally and figured doing some trail riding. That's about it. Don't want no rock crawler or super off road cj. Just a decent representation that can do both off raod and around town.

Don't get.me wrong. I'm not complaining about the upgrade info you're giving me. I really am glad you guys are puting it out there. I realize you are devoting your time in helping people like me to avoid the break downs and stuff. I've road off road bikes for years and loved it. Physically, I'm getting to the point I can't do it any more. But I understand off roading, upgrades and the like and why you suggest them. For example in the world of bikes, not all mods or upgrades are necessary. It's depending on what terrain, and how technically advanced you plan on riding. There is simple trail riding you can do with stock suspension and basically stock bike. Then there is more technical riding. Hare scrambles, enduros and he like with tons of different terrain and requires mods and upgrades. That's kind of what I was getting at with my question.

Sorry for the long winded post.
 
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