soa or not?

[cjballin]

ive got an 83 CJ7 that i just purchased a few months ago. someone along the line of po's put a lift on it and now it rides like a tank. i was thinking about putting stock yj springs on it and doing the spring over axle conversion. will this keep a little bit of height and soften the ride at the same time? is this even something i should consider? any help would be much appreciated.

 

[cjballin]

i just realized i didnt put this under suspension. i dont know how to delete this thread, so any help on that would be awesome too

 

[mylittlecj5]

if you consider 5-6" of lift a little bit, then it will keep a little bit of lift...
I would bet that you have Rough Country springs under there, they are cheap to buy and nearly always ride "like a tank".
If you have to ask if an SOA is for you, maybe its not right for you...There is a lot of engineering and time/money to make it right, but it can be done. Are you willing to have the Jeep down for the time it will take to build the SOA system?

IMO, a good quality SUA suspension can ride just as well as a SOA, with the added benefits of cheap(er), easier by far, and not nearly as complex to install.
Look into a kit like SuperLift's SoftRide suspensions, I have one, and it rides great for me. With the right shock selection and possibly a shackle reversal (like mine), I bet you can beat the ride quality of a set of YJ springs without the hassle of building an SOA.

Then again if you want/need that much lift, can afford to build the SOA, dont mind the downtime and have the fab skills, then go for the SOA and enjoy!

 

[Jimbos76cj]

if you consider 5-6" of lift a little bit, then it will keep a little bit of lift...
I would bet that you have Rough Country springs under there, they are cheap to buy and nearly always ride "like a tank".
If you have to ask if an SOA is for you, maybe its not right for you...There is a lot of engineering and time/money to make it right, but it can be done. Are you willing to have the Jeep down for the time it will take to build the SOA system?

IMO, a good quality SUA suspension can ride just as well as a SOA, with the added benefits of cheap(er), easier by far, and not nearly as complex to install.
Look into a kit like SuperLift's SoftRide suspensions, I have one, and it rides great for me. With the right shock selection and possibly a shackle reversal (like mine), I bet you can beat the ride quality of a set of YJ springs without the hassle of building an SOA.

Then again if you want/need that much lift, can afford to build the SOA, dont mind the downtime and have the fab skills, then go for the SOA and enjoy!

X2

Im sure you have a red neck buddy that is gonna tell you that its cheaper and easier.. to perform the lift its self it is cheaper. but then your steering linkage will hit the spring pack and you will have to bend the linkage which is no good. once you get it on the road it will wander and drive like doo doo so you will get a fancy 2 shock stabilizer that may work for a bit. If you don't drive it into a bus full of nun you will eventually realize that you need a high steer set up and will drop another 300-500 for a set of high steer knuckles or a set of flat tops then have them machined. Or you could spend a little more cash up front and get a good quality set of 4" spring and a drop pitman arm and not have to worry about any of the craziness. Also a SOA will take you at least 5" higher maybe 6" then your front and rear drive shafts will be at horrible angles and need a set of double cardan drive shafts. another 350-700.

 

[JR74CJ5]

Good read: YJ Wrangler spring conversion kit for Jeep CJ, 1976 and newer

 

[LongHorn]

I love my SOA setup, but it's not the cheapest.
I flexes like crazy, rides well & gives lots of clearance.

 

[cjballin]

So i just took another look at my suspension and noticed something interesting. The lower arms of all four shackles are bent in toward each other a bit, like the installer decided to muscle-torque the heck out of them. Im not brilliant, but my high-school education tells me that the bushings are probably not letting the shackle move very well when there is enough torque to bend their arms in toward each other. Any thoughts as to how much that would affect the ride?
thanks