SpringOverConv.

[cali_92]

im looking to better improve my jeeps suspention and give it some lift.
asking for advice or expierence with spring over

i always looked at doing a coil over conv
but this spring over seems way cheaper and easier

do they both give me the same clearence?
and how well does it perform off-road?

 

[Shewilly]

Personally, I dont recommend it, especially since you emphasize your reasons as being cheap and easy.
I bought my last jeep from someone who started this mod, then when they realized how much work was involved, passed it on to me.
For a long time I wieghed the pros and cons, and I am in the process of putting the springs back under.
My Jeep is much older than yours, so I have to piece together my suspension lift, but in the long run, IMHO, I think you'll be better of buying a suspension kit from Rusty's etc, if you need some lift.
If you do a little homework, you might agree.
Just my 2 cents

 

[taz]

I was thinking spring over,after my frame repairs.In the how to section,sum1 posted how to do,with great detail an lots of pics.how this helps ya.

 

[HiHood]

Personally, I dont recommend it, especially since you emphasize your reasons as being cheap and easy.
I bought my last jeep from someone who started this mod, then when they realized how much work was involved, passed it on to me.
For a long time I wieghed the pros and cons, and I am in the process of putting the springs back under.
My Jeep is much older than yours, so I have to piece together my suspension lift, but in the long run, IMHO, I think you'll be better of buying a suspension kit from Rusty's etc, if you need some lift.
If you do a little homework, you might agree.
Just my 2 cents

:yeah-that:

I agree 150% with shewilly, you have to cut your spring perches off the axle housing and move them to the other side, REMEMBER not to ground on the other side of the bearings and then with the 3 to 5 inch lift you get, what about your driveline angles? See how it quickly starts to factor up into expence, work, time and WORK. All of that is designed and built into a lift kit already, bolt it up and GO JEEPIN.

 

[jfrabat]

I also advice against the SOA; a lot of people will lead you to believe that it is cheaper and better than a suspension lift, but it is not. Typically it is much more work (you have to fab lots of things for it to work properly), and cost the same or more than a good (not even an entry proced) suspension lift.

If you do go SOA, which, as stated, will net about 5 to 6 inches of lift, you need to consider drive line adjustments, brake line extensions, axle warp, steering geometry, etc etc etc... To be honest, for me, the ideal setup would be SOA in front, SUA on the back with a matching lift, as that way you avoid all the track bars and such.

 

[xjmarc]

Unless you got a lot of coin stay away from spring over. Just finished an "easy" one on a friend scout and ended up running full hydro steering because of clearance issues. The rear is actually pretty easy but the front is a nightmare. Getting pinion angles as well as caster right is a chore. For the money and ease of installation go with new springs and stay spring under. You would need new springs anyway since yours are 17 years old and prob worn out.

 

[Bounty__Hunter]

While a SOA isn't as cheap as everybody thinks, they aren't that bad and in my book well worth the coin. What you save in buying new springs, you can invest in some highsteer and a SYE setup, something you should have with a SUA anyway.

 

[jps4jeep]

If done properly, itis fine, but not cheap

 

[glenn beck]

soa can be done dirt cheap on a trail rig or a mud buggy thats never never going to see tarmac again. i flipped the axles on a old cj for a grand cost of $10 but the cj is never going to be driven more than 20 mph.
i wouldnt even consider soa on a daily driver unless it was a factory kit with some type of warp control built in.
i guess the point im trying to get across is- you can look on the internet and see some very intresting and cheap ways to make you rig special but you never see theses rigs photo-ed at highway speed there always creeping up a rocky hill or stuck in mud

 

[cali_92]

yea it is my daily driver so it needs to be road worthy.
thnx everyone

im just going to keep researching.

 

[jps4jeep]

soa can be done dirt cheap on a trail rig or a mud buggy thats never never going to see tarmac again. i flipped the axles on a old cj for a grand cost of $10 but the cj is never going to be driven more than 20 mph.
i wouldnt even consider soa on a daily driver unless it was a factory kit with some type of warp control built in.
i guess the point im trying to get across is- you can look on the internet and see some very intresting and cheap ways to make you rig special but you never see theses rigs photo-ed at highway speed there always creeping up a rocky hill or stuck in mud

I hope your not serious.
Even for a trail rig or a Mud Buggy as you put it, that vehicle is a huge safety issues for both driver and specator.

 

[glenn beck]

I hope your not serious.
Even for a trail rig or a Mud Buggy as you put it, that vehicle is a huge safety issues for both driver and specator.

you got me....the moment i increased the ride hight with out taking in to account the change to the center of gravity on a narrow width axle the angle required to cause a fatal roll over event increased possibly causing death or serious injury. well while im here lets admit to a few others safety violations that i have been involved in on other vechicles.
hydraulic steering- if the belt fails on the hydraulic pump the steering fails
wheel rims that are not dot approved or ballanced
over sized tires that over stress the hubs and could fail at any time
4 link front and rear making 16 brackets 16 him joints and 8 tubes that could fail
cutting drive shafts and rewelding them tested straight with dial indicator but were never ballanced
cutting and shutting a frame
disabling abs system
disabling traction control
the list goes on and on

so i crawl in deep mud in a jeep that hasnt seen high range or third gear since i rebuilt it. is it safe?.....being in the middle of a florida flag pond with poision snakes and even the possibility of a small gator isnt the safest thing to be doing in the first place.. is it safe for the spectators....yep the gators make them keep there distance...

 

[wrangler76]

Find a local jeeper with the tools and knowledge to help you out with the SOA if you want one. You can make a road/trail worthy yj with 5.5" lift for very little $$. Many of the SUA kits don't come with SYE, SS brake lines, drop pitman arm. I've had both and am very happy with the SOA that I'm running now... Just make sure that there is a good plan plenty of tools and knowledge before you start tearing into things.

 

[jps4jeep]

actually I was refering to not addressing the driveshafts, steering, and braking systems.

Having something fail because you half assed something whether it is out of ignorance or due to hack engineering.. that is a safety issue.

and yes, if you built a POS 4 link for eample, used aggy heims and poop pipe for links, yes your hack fab will result in a safety issue.

 

[glenn beck]

60's cj5 that i did envolved:

grinding out the weld from the perches then using a chisel cracking what was left of the weld
set up axles lvl on stands then reseting the pinion angle and tack welding the perches back on.
drilled out the riverts for the top shock mounts and removed them.
set axles under the springs and rested weight back on the axles.
welded in spacers for top shock mounts and tacked the shock mounts then drilled and bolted.
drilled riverts out of the hmmm dont know the proper name for the part but its where the steering arm from the box is coverted from front to back movement to side to side movement.
made a spacer to drop the steering thing down 4" and bolted
cut the steering arm as the bends no longer lined up and used heavy gauge pipe to join the arm back together this also adjusted the lenth to correct for the spacer
marked down then cut drive shafts and had a soild pieces made on lathe to act as spacers. frooze the parts then press fitted (bfh) then checked for run out and welded no way to ballance but its straight and the spacer should be fairly well ballanced and the marks lined up.
removed axles and fully welded perches then put it all back together
made brackets to move the solid pipe to flex mount
made spacers to move bump stops so axle can not tilt to full angle as this seems better in mud when you drop in ruts from bigger trucks no roll bar on the front axle of the old cj

the old jeep looked good and it saved the starter and alternator from swimming (main reason for soa). pinions did move more than i like when under stress (spring warp) but as the springs are proberly older than me i kinda exspected that.
in a perfect world i would have custom drive shafts with cv joints especially in front but putting large amounts of cash in a good frame poor body jeep didnt seem worth it.
first time out worked real well until someone with cash in hand took a intrest in the jeep. friend always wanted a yj so he sold out and added more to the pot and got a pimped out yj. thats what got me hooked i got a old cj-dj mutt of my own now which i made in to a golf cart and a yj that spends more time being worked on than being out in the mud...lol

 

[JohnnyO]

and yes, if you built a POS 4 link for eample, used aggy heims and poop pipe for links, yes your hack fab will result in a safety issue.

Not to hijack the thread, but there are several pages of fun and interesting setups here:
Scary Steering!

Extended shackles and call it good.

 

[glenn beck]

lol love the drive angle and the degree of the front pinion....would love to see how they managed to get the transfer case to connect.

 

[Shewilly]

Thread officailly jacked!!!
LMFAO!!! Funny funny funny funny funny FUNNY sheeet!
Please allow me to recognize the author for his funkalicious compilation of suspension blunders, delineated creatively, into a thigh-slappin, rollin on floor read...
to bad it isnt fiction...thats the sad revelation!

 

[cali_92]

decided to go with pro comps 4' lift kit
keeping the leaf spring
thnx for the advice and
other ppl who yelled at each other haha

 

[jfrabat]

decided to go with pro comps 4' lift kit
keeping the leaf spring
thnx for the advice and
other ppl who yelled at each other haha

I think you just saved yourself lots of unnecessary headaches... Congrats on your new aquisition!