I am trying to get more flex/lift out of my 84 CJ7. I got a pro comp4" susp. and a 2inch body. I had a 3" but went down cause it felt like my jeep was on stilts. I got stock shackles. Running 35x12.50 BFG MT, everytime i get in a tight spot I hear my tire basically flexing the fender. I know a quick solution would be to go flat fender but I wanna keep the orginal fenders.
I was thinking about going soa but with a 4 inch susp lift would that get me too much. I thought this might cause me to be pretty unstable. Eventually I wanna swap springs to RE 4.5 extreme duty but right now I dont have the cash. Should I look into getting longer shackles for right now or just go SOA to solve the problem? I have heard alot of different stuff about SOA installation, but after looking at the RE SOA kit, it looks like new spring perches is all i need cause i got all the other stuff. Also i got a bad feeling an soa will mess up my driveshaft.
thanks
john

Your Jeep will be HUGE if you go SOA with 4" springs...and on top of that a 3" body lift...sheesh! You'll be ready for 42" tires. By the way, mor lift hight will not stop your tires from rubbing. I dont understand why people think it does, but it dosent. You can have a (this is an extream exageration but you get the point...) 12" lift with 31" tires and if there are no bump stops then your tires will still rub the fenders. Tires rubbing is caused by not having the proper length bump stops for your tires. There is no limit on how your Jeep flexes if you can adjust the bump stops to stop your tire about 1/2" away from rubbing on whatever.

Go find an RTI ramp, or somewhere that you can flex your Jeep out on. Flex it out untill it rubs, then back it down untill the tires are about 1/2" to 1/4" away from rubbing (this gives you some room for the bump stop to slightly compress under a large load) then measure how far away your bump stop is from the axle and make or buy an extention...problem sovled.

Other options to look at are YJ fender flares, they can be found dirt cheap sence everybody is looking for TJ flares. YJ flares look VERY good and orginal on a CJ and offer a good amound of room to cut the sheet metal nicely, then mount the flare over the cuts to cover them up and you have a clean looking Jeep with plenty of room in the wheel wells.

Also on CJ's 35's tend to rub in the rear no matter what because the wheel well opening is only about 33" big, YJ flares will solve that problem.

As for the suspension I personaly really dig the RE 4.5' SUA kit for CJ's and YJ's. Im running those springs on my YJ right now and it rides like a Caddilac compared to before and flex's as good as my buddies TJ. If I woud have keeped my CJ5 long enough it would have a RE 4.5" kit under it.

Soa will help with flex however I'm not sure it's really worth the cost. I had a 4in. procomp lift 2in shakles and a 3in body with a bit of fender trimming. What I suggest is making your bump stops longer to keep the tire out of the fenders and maybe add a 2in shakle for more flex. If you go Soa you will need to get stock springs as the soa will net about 5in. Going soa you will need to change your steering,add a traction bar and figure out how to mount a perch on the top side of the front pumpkin. Your brake lines will have to be longer as well. There's more to it than just welding on perches. The rear is the easiest there you just weld perches and figure out a traction bar. The front you have to worry about steering and getting the caster set right. a real PITB.

Oh yea, nothing against SOA though...its great if done right. There's a lot more involved than just welding on new spring perches on top of the axle. You WILL have spring wrap in the rear, some say traction bars or ladder bars will solve it but personaly I dont buy into that(I dont belive there should be links ot a leaf spring suspension for what we use it for). You will most likely need to go hi-steer to avoid the steering rubbing on the leafs during flex.

A properly setup traction bar will not impede the operation of the leaf springs. I used johnny joints and it doesn't effect the flex at all and it keeps the axle wrap at a minimum

i'd didnt think about that. I think I have stock bump stops still which are worn down to little rubber nubs. I guess I can bolt on a poly bump stop to keep it out of the well. The front is the only part that rubs. I am thinking about adding the 2in. shackle like you suggest. I have heard the shackle increases wandering and sway while driving. My jeep doesn't exactly ride like a new tahoe anyways but is there any truth to this? What shackles do you suggest? Greaseable/nongreaseable? Thanks for the help.
John

looking in a few catalogs, am I gonna need to get the bump stop bracket that sits on the axle tube with the poly bump stop that mounts to the frame bracket? or is it just one or the other?

thanks
John

quote:

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Originally posted by BlackJacJL:
looking in a few catalogs, am I gonna need to get the bump stop bracket that sits on the axle tube with the poly bump stop that mounts to the frame bracket? or is it just one or the other?

thanks
John

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It dosent matter as long as you have at least one rubber or ploy mount somehwere per side...you dont want metal to metal...

Oh yea, fo rthe shackles I would really recomend them. I ran 1" lift shackles on my YJ and shure they gave me a lift but man were they ugly, dident help in flex, and KILLED my approch/departue angles. Stick to factory length shackles with GREASEABLE BUSHINGS/BOLTS its a must have for good flex and ride.

I didn't notice much more wander after the shackles however mine had 3 bolts in them a top center and a lower the center has a bushing and I tighten that bolt extremely well. A buddy of mine runs the shackle that is welded in the middle but it was a real pain in the rear to install. Between the 2 I really didn't notice a real difference other than install.