soa stock 69 cj5

[dirtybird]

i am looking at doing a soa but i am curious how much lift i will get every where i look answer seems to change i will be reusing all stock parts
also what is the talk about driveshaft angle is switching id going from sua to soa that much i didnt think it would be but idk
what aboiut steering will that be affected

 

[ken98k]

Not a good idea on a short wheelbase jeep like your.
It puts the rear drive shaft at an extreme angle.

 

[dirtybird]

not really what i wanted to hear how much lift would a soa give with all stock suspension
what other options do i have for 2" to 3" lift
keep in mind i have always built everything for my jeep and my truck

 

[CJ]

Measure the current distance from the top of your axle tube to the bottom of your spring pack (not the spring perch) - that will be your lift by changing to SOA.

Your just reversing the current mounting scenario.

 

[dirtybird]

ill have to check tomorrow cold front just blew in and dropped temp down to 20 when it was 75 on 2 days ago thats texas

 

[dirtybird]

from top of axle to bottom of spring pack i measured 5 1/4" so will this be my lift height??

 

[CJ]

from top of axle to bottom of spring pack i measured 5 1/4" so will this be my lift height??

Since now you will be stacking the spring and perch on top the axle now, yes (give or take an 1/8" or so for differences in welds and what you cut off of the perch).

 

[jamie]

yup, that is correct.

 

[dirtybird]

so if this is not a good way to go for a lift what other options do i have for alift i can fab up in my machine shop

 

[73CJ]

Lift springs - 2-4" if that won't fit your tires - a body lift can be easily fabed up with a lathe.

Steering shaft will need to be lengthened with a body lift. And then there's the Transfer Case lever, that can be fixed by twin-sticking.

The spring lift will probably need new brake lines in the front. Maybe driveshafts.

All depends on how much tire you think you need. . .

 

[73CJ]

Lift springs - 2-4" if that won't fit your tires - a body lift can be easily fabed up with a lathe.

Steering shaft will need to be lengthened with a body lift. And then there's the Transfer Case lever, that can be fixed by twin-sticking.

The spring lift will probably need new brake lines in the front. Maybe drive shafts. Too tall and then add sway bars. They can wander and get tippy.

All depends on how much tire you think you need. . .

 

[dirtybird]

when u say lift springs are we talking going from flat leaf springs to arched lift springs

 

[oldguy]

Hey DB,

If you really want to do a soa then do it. It's your jeep. I've done one and it worked out fine. I see you, like I have the tools you'll need, so unless you buy a soa kit and I've seen them and they are ok also, go for it. If you are going to do it there is a couple of things that MUST be done when using stock parts. BY the way if you do the soa so you can get bigger tires your wrong. The max is about 33x12.50 which I'm running on my sua and they did hit the springs in a turn until I narrowed the frame 2.5 inches. Big tires = longer axels or maximum modification. So if you want BIGGER tires then - 1st is get a set of Scout II axles. If it's not tires but flex then use your CJ axles but either way ,2nd is take the rear axel, remove the spring perch and when you reweld the spring perch on top of the axle (and either get or make large antiwrap spring perches) rotate the axel tubes about 8 to 10 degrees up, no more or you loose lubrication and reweld the perches. Find a CV style driveshaft from an old something and make it fit the shaft (you got a welder) and swap the u-joint on the top to fit the yoke from the Transfer Case . Do the same for the front axel to the pumpkin BUT THEN arc air (or cut) the steering knuckles loose from the axel tubes and rotate them down the same as you rotated the pumpkin up ***** IF YOU DON'T do this your jeep will steer like a grader and fall over camber when you steer. It will wander down the road like a hobo in July. It just plain won't be fun to drive. Then make up a drop pitman arm or modified steering link to reduce the angle of steering link to steering knuckle (gusset the out of this also as it will really add to wander if it flexes while driving.) If you use stock axels you get bunch more flex for out in the brush using 29" to say 31" tires. Use wider axles like scout II's you get bigger tires or use Dana 60's front and rear out of a 3/4 or 1 ton to get the maximum tires, we got a youngster up here in the UP off road club that runs 44" ThornBirds on a CJ5 using Dana 60's, and still has lots suspension flex off road.

Like I've said before (and have been proven so) I'm not a pro, don't even try to say I know everything but if you want this rig to scoot down the road nicely, handle like a stock jeep and get some pretty nice tires under it then go for a 2.5 to 3" lift kit from SkyJacker or whoever, they are almost all good. If you want max flex and monster tires then resign yourself to the fact that it's a LOT of work and it wont handle as well on the road. But gosh they are fun in the brush.

 

[dirtybird]

thanks for the input this is a very late reply but i decided to go 2" on shackles and 1 1/2 " on body lift everything worked good and looks good to
dont you think??

 

[Kilo19]

like it, you didn't do anything with soa, or antiwrap bar?

 

[0822]

Looks good...