Lift Kits Need to un-:dung: previous owner lift kit

[UncleMike]

Acquired a 1979 CJ7 with 35x12.5s and a fairly tall combination of shackles and body lift. Nothing appears to have been done correctly, and rides horribly with tons of wander and sway. Has 4 spacers (total of 2") in body. Various components appear to be incorrectly angled or spaced due to height. Springs appear either original or badly sprung. I don't plan to do any major rocks or mud, and would prefer to take this back to somewhere around a mild lift with 33's...jeep will be used for hunting, playing and general driving in fall and spring, and will be towed a few times a year to get to spend summers at the beach and haul fishing gear and kids.

I cannot really identify what is stock and what is aftermarket, so would like a complete kit that basically replaces everything, removes the body lift, and gets it back to a mild lift that rides stable and comfortably, can handle moderate off-roading, and fits 33" tires. What are some good kits to look at?

Thanks!

 

[NP435]

Acquired a 1979 CJ7 with 35x12.5s and a fairly tall combination of shackles and body lift. Nothing appears to have been done correctly, and rides horribly with tons of wander and sway. Has 4 spacers (total of 2") in body. Various components appear to be incorrectly angled or spaced due to height. Springs appear either original or badly sprung. I don't plan to do any major rocks or mud, and would prefer to take this back to somewhere around a mild lift with 33's...jeep will be used for hunting, playing and general driving in fall and spring, and will be towed a few times a year to get to spend summers at the beach and haul fishing gear and kids.

I cannot really identify what is stock and what is aftermarket, so would like a complete kit that basically replaces everything, removes the body lift, and gets it back to a mild lift that rides stable and comfortably, can handle moderate off-roading, and fits 33" tires. What are some good kits to look at?

Thanks!

I have a 4 inch spring lift with front spring shackle reversal on my CJ7 I run 33's. The ride is ok, if I were to do this again it would be less lift and trim sheet metal for clearance. Super lift has a soft ride spring lift or did at one point IDK for sure. I have taken my jeep through Moab and trails here in Wy with no problems.

 

[j6824]

I was in your boat when I got mine, only worse. I had 6" shackles on garbage leaves

There a few that come to mind...Old Man Emu, Rubicon Express and BDS

I went with the latter. Solid, but stiff. A 4" kit that's closer to 5" even after it settles

RE and BDS were essentially a coin flip. The BDS warranty and military wrap were the difference

If I had it to do over again, I'd probably go with the OME. Softer ride, better flex.

What scared me off of OME at the time was the need for wider spring hangers due to the fact that it utilizes the wider YJ spring

Looking back on it now, I wouldn't bat an eye at that in terms of it being an obstacle

Plenty of good info and feedback/reviews online on both as well as others

As far as your handling issues, there is a laundry list of things that can contribute

I started with the shaft and systematically worked my way down...piece by piece

A lot of these OEM parts were marginal to begin with off the line...tie rods, ends, drag links, steering box mounts

 

[TSB8C]

I run 35's with no body lift, but a 4" spring lift with Rough Country springs and boomerang shackles in the rear, along with coil-over shocks. Rides quite well IMO. I also had a lot of wander initially. New Borgeson steering shaft with rubber dampener and replaced drag link, tie rod ends, and added adjustable castor bushings in the knuckles for better alignment. The Rough Country lift kit included longer sway bar connects and a drop pitman arm, along with the t-case drop spacers. Make sure your lift includes a pitman arm that keeps the tie rod at the right angle (mostly parallel) to the drag link. I see so many of these where the tie rod is at a sharp angle after a lift and that's no good. Also added a steering box brace rod. Not sure if that did anything or not. These replacements/upgrades made noticeable improvement, but still not good enough. Of course there are other more expensive and/or more drastic improvements you can also make. These include more beefier tie rod and drag link kits, heavier duty steering box mounts, etc. I don't rock crawl or do any deep mudding. Mine is a daily driver and camping/hunting rig. Lots of heavy bouncing over rocks or hitting deep holes is not where I play.



Another big improvement for me with the lift and larger tires was the addition of a dual steering stabilizer setup. I can now drive 75 on the freeway with one finger and no issue. Tracks straight as an arrow all day. Now I know many will say this is hype or old fashioned (there was a time when dual shocks and dual stabilizers were a fad thing). And I agree when running stock size tires with no or minor suspension changes that dual stabilizers are all for show. But my setup did add to the further improvements I saw with the other upgrades/fixes. I homemade the needed brackets for the setup and made sure the two "shocks" were mounted opposite each other; in other words, pointing in opposite directions so one is pushing while the other is pulling. Welded a bracket for the center and strapped it to the axle with u-bolts. Then some smaller brackets with small u-bolts at each end strapped to the drag link bar. Solid and reliable.

 

[Patrick]

“if I were to do this again it would be less lift and trim sheet metal for clearance…”

You cannot go wrong with this option.

 

[UncleMike]

Thanks for all the replies. I think, since i am trying to get this safe for starters, i am going to focus on the wandering issue before moving to the lift...may get there over the winter, but right now i'd like to drive over 40 without fear of death. I have about 1/8"+ of play at the lower bearing for the steering column, plus some play in the steering shaft. My plan is to replace the bearing kit (assuming Crown or OMIX-ADA is my only choice?) and a borgeson HD shaft.

First question...any tricks or tips with installing the shaft and bearing? Seems pretty straightforward, but wanted to ask.

There is also a lot of flex on the steering gear...when stationary, i can have someone turn the wheel and the box flexes slightly. Seems a common issue, and i see a lot of people installing the brace, and a few people installing the heavyduty replacement bracket. I get the brace (could use recommendations on brand), but the bracket just seems like overkill since the factory looks like 3/16" steel and i am not getting movement there. Thoughts on this?

 

[TSB8C]

The bearing kit is easy-peasy. Use some spray lube oil and a small pry bar if it's stuck. My steering brace is the Rugged Ridge #18021.22. About $70 on Amazon right now.

 

[UncleMike]

The bearing kit is easy-peasy. Use some spray lube oil and a small pry bar if it's stuck. My steering brace is the Rugged Ridge #18021.22. About $70 on Amazon right now.

Did you find the brace made a big difference? Does the bearing play typically result in a lot of wander? i am hopeful that between the brace, shaft and bearing kit, i see a big improvement. Rest of the steering linkage is nice and tight, and there is already a steering stabilizer in place.

 

[Belizean]

I think this is the bearing you are looking for. Wolff Engineering. M109SS

 

[j6824]

M.O.R.E. Offroad makes both the box brace and aftermarket box mount

I'd give serious consideration to all of it...it's not worth the risk unless you just really enjoy the white knuckle pucker factor

Steering stabilizer is lipstick on a pig with worn components

Ball joints, TREs...even spring bushings can contribute

Tire pressure...less is more

Then there's drag link angle...needs to be as flat as possible to eliminate the bump steer

It really is like peeling an onion on these things

 

[CJ]

Just to add a great post to this thread that may come in handy -->>Troubleshooting and correcting your steering

 

[TSB8C]

Did you find the brace made a big difference? Does the bearing play typically result in a lot of wander? i am hopeful that between the brace, shaft and bearing kit, i see a big improvement. Rest of the steering linkage is nice and tight, and there is already a steering stabilizer in place.

Not sure the brace did much of anything, but I went with it while I was doing all the other stuff anyway. The bearing, depending on how worn, can result in a lot of play and looseness for sure. As "j6824" said, steering stabilizer won't do much if other components are worn. Definitely address any worn/loose stuff. CJ steering can be rock solid if done right - mine is, even with 35" tires and a 4" lift.

 

[UncleMike]

M.O.R.E. Offroad makes both the box brace and aftermarket box mount

I'd give serious consideration to all of it...it's not worth the risk unless you just really enjoy the white knuckle pucker factor

Steering stabilizer is lipstick on a pig with worn components

Ball joints, TREs...even spring bushings can contribute

Tire pressure...less is more

Then there's drag link angle...needs to be as flat as possible to eliminate the bump steer

It really is like peeling an onion on these things

Naturally, the PO didn't install a dropped pitman arm. I'm guessing this thing has 4-5" total lift including body lift, which i assume with 2" of spacers is about 1" of body lift. Rough Country has a dropped arm for 2.5" to 4" lifts. Measuring with a tape, it appears about 2.5" will bring it parallel to linkage. Is this the arm to use, or is there another measurement i should be looking for?

 

[j6824]

Probably about right

I was thinking 2.5-3”