lowering SOA to SUA or maybe flatter springs?

[kickitandholdit]

OK so i have a SOA lift and i still have the original spring perches under the axels. I dont think i have lift springs (not sure) and i have normal shackles. Im clearing 36'' tires with plenty of room to spare. well im thinking about lowering my jeep because its just to big and i want it to look healthy on 33''s.

if i put my springs back under the axels what else would i need to reverse? would i need to grind off the SOA spring perch?

is there another spring out there i can easily swap with to drop a few inches? possibly yj springs? i think yj springs would ride smoother too.

if i lower it will my drive shafts be to long?

PS you can watch the vid in my signature to get a view of my setup and if you need more pics of something let me know.

Many Thanks

 

[CJim7]

Need to know what else has been done to the jeep to properly answer what needs to be done as far a lowering.....is there a high steer on it? CV driveline?
YJ springs are a good way to go with SOA, but you wont lose much in height Im afraid...maybe an inch or two.
If you go back to SUA, you may or may not run into the issue of your drivelines being to long...if you go with a 4" lift you will still be a couple inches shorter then the SOA settup. Shocks, brakelines, steering, driveline angles and length...these are the things to be concerned with

 

[kickitandholdit]

dont know about the high steer. i dont have any bump steer though.

not sure what cv driveline is. you talking about the angle?

shocks and brake lines are no problem.

how do i know if i have high steer?

 

[CJim7]

Ok, watched the Youtube video....you do not have a high steer conversion, just a simple dropped pitman arm with the draglink configured underneath the spring pack (stock location is above the spring pack). If you go to an SUA configuration, you will need to relocate it above the springpack.
I could not tell by the video whether or not there was a CV driveline. A CV driveline utilizes a double cardan driveline to alleviate the angle. Simply but, there are 3 Ujoints in a CV driveline....two close together at the xfercase, and the typical 1 at the pinion yoke. Looking at the angle of the rear pinion, you may POSSIBLY have a CV driveline. With that settup, the yoke is generally pointed towards the output of the xfercase with a few degrees drop to accomidate torque.

 

[kickitandholdit]

what the difference between the high steer conversion? just curious.

i think i know what your talking about with the cv drive line. im not sure if i do or not ill have to look tomorrow morning. Is its better to have one or not have one? if i have one is it something i need to change if i lower the jeep?

thanks for your replies

 

[ArmedSuspect]

after looking at the springs i don't think you have *lift* springs. it's tough to be 100% from where i'm sitting but they *appear* to be stock.

that being the case: if you swap to YJ springs in the SOA set-up you will not loose any appreciable amount of height. it'll ride better but that's about it.

if you're looking to go SUA and be comfortable on 33's you will more than likely be looking at a 4" lift. since you're going to be getting new springs, this would be the time to look into YJ springs!

a typical SOA lift net's 5.5" of lift (some more, some less). if you go with a 4" SUA lift your drive line *should* be just fine. one issue you *could* run into is the drive shaft being too long. not likely with the 1"-1.5" difference in height but it's worth checking.

you will need longer front sway bar links.

Jim has covered the steering issue, no worries there either.

 

[ArmedSuspect]

IMHO, you WANT a CV drive shaft.

 

[kickitandholdit]

if you're looking to go SUA and be comfortable on 33's you will more than likely be looking at a 4" lift. since you're going to be getting new springs, this would be the time to look into YJ springs!
.

Ok whats required to swap to yj springs? do i need to weld in new spring brackets or something?

would it be worth it to go SUA with 4'' YJ lift springs?

whats the difference between a cj spring and yj spring?

i also got axel wrap on the back so i need new springs anyway

maby i can get some of those axel wrap bars too..

so many decisions with jeeps

 

[73CJ]

Looks like somebody did a lot of work to go SOA. It will take a bunch to take her back down.

You're going to have to get some of that back with body and spring lift.

The axles may need to rotated back and drive-shaft length checked.
Spring charts will tell you the overall lengths.

 

[ArmedSuspect]

Ok whats required to swap to yj springs? do i need to weld in new spring brackets or something?

would it be worth it to go SUA with 4'' YJ lift springs?

whats the difference between a cj spring and yj spring?

i also got axel wrap on the back so i need new springs anyway

maby i can get some of those axel wrap bars too..

so many decisions with jeeps

going to wrangler springs is relatively easy.... new front hanger or even a conversion shackle and wider spring plate. if you still have all of the SUA spring perches it's not going to be all that tough to do.

a few places offer a conversion *kit* but it's not really needed. i think BDS has one, OME, Rubicon Express (when they're back up and running) and a few more that i can't recall at the moment.

a YJ spring is wider than what's found on a CJ. well, the front springs are wider. i haven't put a tape measure on the rear springs but they're damn close. (one of the actual tech guys can chime in with exact sizes and measurements) YJ springs tend to be softer and ride much better than the smaller CJ stuff.

that said, you may look into some STOCK YJ springs for your current SOA if you decide to stay that way. IIRC, they are a little flatter than what you have on there now and offer more flex and a better ride.

axle wrap is common, several places offer kits to fix it. M.O.R.E. offers a nice kit, welding required but it's beef-cake!

just my opinion but if you're going to do anything to the springs a YJ swap is a good idea. the way i see it; there are no down sides to the conversion.

 

[CJim7]

YJ springs are 2½ inches wide all the way around. Rear stock CJ springs are 2½ inches in width whereas stock front CJ springs are 2 inches wide. The front hangers will take a 2½ inch spring, but the shackle hangers are set up for 2".

There are companies that make a 2½ inch front spring pack for CJ's. They have the traditional arch without sacrificing lift by going with flat YJ springs. The problem is then again, you are dealing with the rough riding characteristics of CJ springs

 

[kickitandholdit]

Ok i think im going to try yj springs and maby trade my 36" tires for some 33" tires (shouldn't be hard lol)

yj springs and smaller tires might get me a little lower and happy.

so is the rear spring swap a direct replacement?

 

[Gasman303]

Slap on a set of 2.5"lift OME springs, that should do the trick!!