Soa

[2lostspace]

OK I have decided to do a spring over on my 82 CJ7 . I have been doing a lot of looking around at all sorts of lifts and to get a prefab lift from a manufacture it will cost me some were around 800-1000 bucks to get it up to were I live. It is an Alaskan thing.
I have designed the spring perches and did all the measurements on the components that I have so it should get me 4.39inc of lift. The issues that I have are with steering and axle wrap or spring bounce. Has anybody done anything like this? What should I look for in ways of problems that might come up? Any help would be great.

 

[projectcrawler]

As far as spring wrap, this might help. BamBar - Ultimate Anti-Wrap Solution - Jeepaholics Anonymous or maybe this one JeepWire.Com Presents: Project DIY's New Ladder Bar .
I was told a steering arm flip(under to over) with a drop pitman arm would work, but haven't tried it. They make inserts for the steering arms to do this. FiveZeroFive.com - Goferit Tie Rod Flip Insert
Just google Dana 30 tie rod flip. A bunch of them will come up. Also, the driveshafts may need to be changed or modified. The front most of the time will run out of travel and the shaft will pull apart at the splines. The rear tends to also have problems and most of the time a cv driveshaft is required. You will definately need longer brake lines. Doing a soa can cost as much if not more than a conventional lift to perform it properly. But it will flex its butt off and with the use of traction bars and sway bars can ride very nice on road. A lot of the time people use yj leafs because they sit nice and flat(flexy and soft ride) and the fronts are wider(stronger and more stable) than the cj springs. You would need to change or modify the shackles and spring mounts to use the yj leafs. Also, are you sure on your measurment. You need to add the thickness of the spring perch under the axle and also add the thickness of the perch on top of the axle as well as the spring pack thickness. Most of the time a soa will add about 5.5". Hope this helps! And also, welcome to the site.

 

[CJ]

Welcome to the site 2lostspace!

PC gives allot of good information as usual... If I was to do a SOA I would definitely use YJ springs. It has been done many times and has been engineered and re-engineered till it works very well. But as was said, there is allot to do. Most people forget about the driveshafts, a CV is usually a necessity when you alter the driveline angle that much on a CJ, it just makes your life so much easier.

Looking forwrd to hearing what you decide to do and following along.

 

[2lostspace]

Thanks for the help! I have decided to go with spring over after getting the shipping quotes. I am going to build as much of the parts that I can like the spring perches and modifying the spring hangers. I drew up the spring perches and should have them done by the end of the week. I dont know how they will work but they can always be modified. I have looked at the steering sights and still trying to decide what to do on that. I know that the drive lines could be a problem but I wont know tell I have the spring done. I hope to have all the components by the end of the month and be able to start. I will keep this up dated as I progress.

 

[CJ]

Sounds like a great plan. If you drew them up and can build them - you definitely have some fabrication skills...

 

[slimer]

I'm considering doing this on my CJ5 . I'm planning on putting in Wagoneer Dana 44s. I have flat top Chevy knuckles for high steer. The Dana 18 tcase I'm running drops the rear output shaft low enough that I think I can get away without needing a CV rear drive shaft. I'm running about 3 to 3½ suspension lift now with a 1" body lift. I'll ditch the shackle lift with will keep my total lift with YJ springs to around 4" or so. I think. If I lose my 1" body lift then the total height should be about where I am now (so it should still fit in the garage.

 

[2lostspace]

When I get the spring mounts down I will get some pictures and post them.

 

[jeep cj7 304]

i used the tie rod flip inserts, they work well. the only thing you need is a huge drill bit and a strong arm, it helped me because i couldnt get my tie rod in due to my new springs.

 

[2lostspace]

I was considering them. Where do you find them?

 

[jeep cj7 304]

i got mine at predator 4wd, its a local store, they cost like 10 or 15 bucks, you might be able to get them shipped up your way for not too much

 

[2lostspace]

Thanks I will look into that!!!

 

[jeep cj7 304]

yeah, just go to predator4wd.com there website is kinda bare, but just call them up and give em your wish list. they have a lot of parts, i am thinking about a HD steering linkage right now myself. they are normally open til 5 mountain time on monday through friday. they should be able to ship it out to you for pretty cheap, or just look online. either works

 

[CJ]

The flip kit is made by 'Rock Equipment' -->> Rock Equipment - Jeep-CJ WEB Links They don't sell to the public (as far as I can tell).

I bought my flip kit from OK4WD -->> OK Auto, 4wd & Tire - Jeep-CJ WEB Links

Be sure and check our links section -- >> Jeep-CJ WEB Links and don't forget to add any links to site you think we could use. I try and keep it up to date but it is free for anyone to use...

 

[2lostspace]

I got my spring perches done today. I will get pictures of them when I get home. Now when I get the starter fixed on my truck I can start on the CJ. Cant get the truck in the garage it sits too high and we keep getting snow, I work outside most of the day and going home to work on it outside not my idea of fun...