Suspension Lift Question
Suspension Lift Question
- Thread starter richfili
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coldwater
Crazy Sr. Respected Jeeper
Hard to tell. Spring lifts pretty much come in the same basic heights starting at around 2 1/2" to 4" and 6" I would imagine you're between the 2 1/2 and 4" range. As far as the tires rubbing lock to lock on the steering, That's because of the width, not the height of the tires. Their too wide for the jeep. Their probably 1150 or better on width. If you went to a 1050 it would stop. If you keep the wide tires, you'll need to go to offset wheels to move the center line out a little.
Trapshooter
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1986 CJ7, 258, Team Rush, Nutter Bypass, T-18, D300, AMC 20 Locked Rear, Dana 30 Locked Frt.
Any chance you can post some pics so we can see what you've got?
BajaEdition
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richfili
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I posted some pics in my gallery. Your help is appreciated. Just click on this pic to go there.
richfili
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Yes, it does wander quite a bit, been trying to figure it out.
Old Dog
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Thoes shackels 
have to go if you ever want it to drive straight down the road.
have to go if you ever want it to drive straight down the road.
defibvt
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Aside from the shackle issue, you will want to get an alignment. Although they can only adjust your toe in or out, your caster and camber could be off and this is causing the wandering. My caster was way out and with shims I was able to bring things back to spec.
FWIW, it looks to be a 2 inch lift. 33's fit with some rubbing.
FWIW, it looks to be a 2 inch lift. 33's fit with some rubbing.
coldwater
Crazy Sr. Respected Jeeper
Yeah, those shackles are crazy and dangerous. Some nut decided it was a good way to lift the jeep. He was wrong, and they have to go. I would recommend dropping those springs back down to stock shackles, and looking for a set of 31" tires. That'll get you a good start to getting that thing safe to drive. What's going on in the rear??
richfili
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Thanks for all the advice. If I replace the shackles and get an alignment, the drive should be safer?
Old Dog
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SHOULD be, depends if anything else is wor out. But the shackels are really hurting you.
richfili
Jeeper
It looks like the reason shackles are so off kilter is because the driver side springs are sagging. Do I have to get all new suspension?
coldwater
Crazy Sr. Respected Jeeper
The reason your shackles are all off kilter is because their junk. Their 3 times longer than they should be, and are burdened with the task of balancing the whole body on top of those silly stilts. If it were my jeep, I would replace the shackles with good heavy duty greasable units, and new bushings to start with, and see what hapens. Then move on from there if need be. You may need to replace the springs, but let's do things one at a time to get started. It saves you money, and starts a logical forward motion to eliminating problems as you go. Doing repairs in a logical manner means that when you come out the other end of the jeep, the problems are gone for good, and the repairs will last for years.
richfili
Jeeper
I already have new shackles ordered. What I noticed when I was preparing to remove the old shackles was that the driver side springs are sagging 3 or four inches more than the passenger side. The shackles are adjustable and the previous owner may have used them as a quick fix for the lopsided springs. I want to do a proper fix and was looking for advice on how to remedy the sagging spring(all new springs, replace just the front axle, replace just the one) and still be able to keep the 33's. I do not have the budget to fix the steering and get new tires right now. Thanks for the advice, it is much appreciated.
coldwater
Crazy Sr. Respected Jeeper
A spring sag of 3-4" is pretty extreme. Makes me wonder what the hell is going on under there??? People do crazy things to jeeps, mess them all up, make them unsafe, then sell the hell out of them! If you insist on keeping 33's under it, you may need to go to a 4" spring to get everything to clear properly, eliminate those insane shackles, and get your jeep to ride level. Unfortunately, 4" of lift will bring about other changes that will need to be made.
Old Dog
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IMO the only way to fit 33's is a 4" lift. You can also do a 2 1/2" lift but you have to trim your wheelwells and run tj flairs.
I hope the shackles you bought are closer to stock lenght.
.
I hope the shackles you bought are closer to stock lenght.
.
jeeper78
Jeeper
I have 33's and a Rancho 2.5" lift. I get very little if any rubbing but that is probably mostly due to the stiffness of the Rancho springs. Besides I usually don't get into heavy flex situations either while out on the dunes.
coldwater
Crazy Sr. Respected Jeeper
This^ 2.5" just isn't enough to do it correctly if you're running 33's Just "getting by" isn't worth it when you're going to install a lift. Go to a 4" kit do it once and right and never have to revisit the problem or suffer the "I wish I hads" later on.