what lift do i have?

[Mnbluepits]

Ill update you guys on what i have. Traded my 95 mustang for this jeep,guy said it needed new rear leaf springs he had bought a chevy set (thinking they would go with the chevy running gear) and they don,t there way to long,62 inch from eye to eye. the springs are on it now are around 42 inch from eye to eye.
Well the guy didn't know how much lift the rear springs on the jeep have now are so im stuck trying to find out myself. I search many site and there is no real answer then the forums saying post pic's!! SO ill post here with pic's and the info i have. Read somewhere that jeep do lean to the left a little? This is what my jeep is doing!! To me it shouldn't be leaning at all! well the rear shackles are 4inch long about 3inch from eye hole to eye hole.from the middle eye bolt on axle to frame is 12 inch. tires are 33 about a 1 inch body lift? im looking to keep the right height about the same. my boys cant walk so i would have to put them in the back myself.but i need the clearance for stuff like in the last pic. I do have a good price for a set of rear 3.5 to 4inch for AMC 150 . i just don.t want this to look like its a drag car if the rear is only lifted 2 inch now. i dont know the lift and wanna keep it the same height! any help will work plz...

 

[Old Dog]

I'm thinking you have stock cj springs in a SOA conversion. The shackles are stock.
What does the front look like?

 

[Mnbluepits]

Let me know if this helps

 

[mtnwhlr]

I'm thinking you have stock cj springs in a SOA conversion. The shackles are stock.

and the front has a coil spring conversion.

 

[Old Dog]

and the front has a coil spring conversion.

I didn't expect to see coils in the front. Makes matching them with leafs a little harder.
I also don't see any kind of anti-warp bar on the rear. Are you getting rear axle warp? is that why you are thinking you need new springs in the rear?

 

[Mnbluepits]

I wonder why my sits higher then my buddies and his has a 4 or 5inch lift with 35s
so do you guy think these will work just fine http://www.jeep4x4center.com/fitted-add-a-leaf-rear-2-2-5-inch-lift-skyjacker-sj-flj20r.html

 

[Mnbluepits]

i haven't gotten to drive this yet only to turn it around and up on my trailer and thats about it i can see it leaning left in my garage and when u give it gas it give a little more but i'm assuming its because the rear shocks are toast i can compress them by hand and i have to struggle just to pull them apart and as for the other, as rear axle warp i wouldn't know what you mean.. little inside to to is i buy i ride i break i get fix i ride.. i can do body work other then that everything is over my head... i can pull a part off and replace it with same or a little better one and that is my limit. Is this something i need for a daily driver?/ mud and trail rig?

 

[Petescj]

Its rare to see a coil spring conversion on a Cj thats why we're all caught a bit off guard. You cant compare yours to your Buddys Tj. Its a totally different Jeep and it came from the factory lower to the ground. Even though you have a coil spring conversion in the front its not the same.

The rear looks like a spring over axle or SOA like Old Dog mentioned. Cjs came with the leaf springs originally mounted under the axle. It looks like stock Cj leaf springs were used and that set up usually nets around 5 inches of lift. I dont think you want to use the springs in that link. Those will add another 2.5 in of lift to the Cj.

I think your going to have to drive it a little and get a feel of whats going on. The front suspension doesnt look like a hack job but Im no expert on coil spring conversions. Id also get rid of the body lift if I were you. It will make it easier for you to get your boys in and out and it doesnt look like you need the clearance anyway.

 

[Mnbluepits]

Yea as of right now i can toss them in np at all , from what you had said i would need a 5 inch lift rear springs any suggestion? Lol edited i think i'm confusing myself so i should stay with stock is that what your saying so i would keep the same height of now.. if i had went with the 2.5 that would have gave me a total lift of around 7.5 correct? Also like i said my rear shocks are toast there are the same one on there now will these work fine or do i need a different pair.If so what ones http://www.quadratec.com/products/16023_5012.htm

 

[Petescj]

Yea as of right now i can toss them in np at all , from what you had said i would need a 5 inch lift rear springs any suggestion?

No you need a stock hieght replacement spring. The lift from a SOA comes from moving the spring from the bottom of the axle to the top of it. You use the original spring your Cj came with. If you dont understand I can probably dig up some pictures.

 

[Mnbluepits]

yea i understand now moving the springs from under the axle and placing them on top give me around 4 to 5 more inch of lift .By going with a 2.5 inch lifted springs would give me seven.so i will be staying with stock so ill stay around the same.. i had to google soa, first thing came up was sons of anarchy lol.. thx alot now for these shocks should i stay the same or so i go bigger? they almost look bran new no wear on them at all but i can compress them by hand.

 

[Petescj]

Heres a pic of a popular soa lift. The black part on top of the axle is the spring perch. That would be flipped to the bottom of the axle and the spring would mount under it on a typical Cj suspension. You get the lift by moving the spring to the top. You gain the hieght of the axle and the spring perch. The spring itself doesnt change. Spring under lifts gain the lift by increasing the arch of the spring. Hope this helps.

 

[Petescj]

yea i understand now moving the springs from under the axle and placing them on top give me around 4 to 5 more inch of lift .By going with a 2.5 inch lifted springs would give me seven.so i will be staying with stock so ill stay around the same.. i had to google soa, first thing came up was sons of anarchy lol.. thx alot now for these shocks should i stay the same or so i go bigger? they almost look bran new no wear on them at all but i can compress them by hand.

You got it. I was just googling for a pic as well. I wouldnt do anything with those shocks till I rode it around and felt it out. They are probably valved for a soft ride. It looks like the previous owner was after maximum articulation. The bad thing about the SOA lift is it moves the center of gravity on the Jeep pretty high. It may have a "tippy" feel. Thats another reason Id ditch the body lift. That will bring it down a little.

 

[Mnbluepits]

ok thanks alot .. im just not sure on these shock there is no rebound to them at all i have to pull them up. that cant be good is it?

 

[Old Dog]

If the shocks are hydraulic you will need to both push them together and pull them apart. The valveing will determine how much force is needed.
Gas charged shocks on the other hand should spring back apart to some degree.
Pushing together very easy and pulling apart hard doesn't sound like what you would want to me. I would flex the jeep out and measure what size (length) you need before you buy new ones.
BusaDave has some good pic's of how to park in a ditch to flex the jeep out.

 

[Mnbluepits]

Ok dont think there hydro's there like they are the same one i posted in earlier.. but i cant do any ditches right now but i can do snow banks so i would do eye hole to eye and have that at max i take it?

 

[Jimbos76cj]

With it twisting to the left side when you get on the gas leads me to believe you have 2 issues.

1 weak spring on the left side
2 horrible axle wrap which is caused by the stock narrow spring mounts moved to the top + the SOA + the weak springs

If it were under my care I would get a new set of stock height Cj springs and install a anti wrap bar. With out that anti wrap bar the torque from the motor and big *** tires will wear out the new springs pretty quick. If your able to weld I would also swap out those spring perches to ones that are a little longer to help with the axle wrap.

As for the shocks I would get the springs fixed then see how it rides.

 

[Jimbos76cj]

Shocks shouldn't hydraulic shocks shouldn't rebound either their design is to slow the bouncing caused by the spring. You want them to compress quickly and as the spring pull them back out it meets resistance keeping the bouncing to a minimum. A good way to tell if your shocks are bad is to jump on the back bumper. If it goes down and comes back up with out bouncing again then they are good. If you bounce it and it bounces a few times before it stops they are bad.

Here's a write up on anti wrap bars.. While I don't agree on the materials used the idea is spot on.

Anti wrap bar

 

[Mnbluepits]

[QUOTE=Jimbos76cj;172493

Here's a write up on anti wrap bars.. While I don't agree on the materials used the idea is spot on.


So Is this wrap bar only on driver side? i know some welders and a fab guy. so i can have one made and what i just read it really needs to be under the axle and going to the frame is this right?

 

[Jimbos76cj]

The y end needs to connect to the top and bottom of the axle. I don't thing it really matters which side of the axle it is on. I've seen plenty of big horse power trucks running one on each side. Closer to the pumpkin is better though.

The front realy should have its own cross member made. Due to clearance issues most guys just attach it to the stock skid plate. If you go with the skid plate it it needs to be reinforce in the area where the shackle mount is welded.

I've even seen picks of guys who mount them to the top of the pumpkin. There are a lot of really good designs from short and simple to multiple pivot points to "get the most articulation"

Ruff stuff sells every thing in a kit. Take this to any good welder fabricator and all the have to do is cut the tub to length and weld it all up

Antiwrap/Traction Bar Complete Kit - RuffStuff Specialties