I have taken my 40 off the road for the season, and it is now time for the winter project. I am debating on doing a spring over.....As of now, I am running a 4" Skyjacker kit and 33" TSL's. I have been happy with the flex and performance but......I am tired of dragging my springs and ubolts over everything. My question is has anyone done a spring over and not been happy with it? I hate to go through the hassle of cutting my knuckles and all that for something I will hate. From what I have seen, as long as it is setup right they are unbeatible. I am looking for any input both good and bad. Thanks Guys......

If you do find someone that isn't happy with their spring over's performance please let us all know.:D :beer: :smokin:

just do it and make sure you get a traction bar. mike

I tried it all to keep my spring under and spent way too much money doing it.

The thinks I was worried about with a SOA were being too tippy and too bouncy.

I took care of the tippiness with wider axles...I would suggest 2" backspaced wheels with 14.50 tires to maintain your stability.

As for the bounciness, I use Ranch 9000's and if I am climbing ledges, I crank them up to 5 to keep from bouncing.

As Mike said, run a traction bar. I would suggest a front and rear sproing flip as well to lengthen your wheelbase and decrease your approach and departure angles.

If you are going to do it, do it right.

I've not met anyone unhappy with their SOA yet.

w/ mine I wanted a low center of gravity and easily replaced springs (i.e. cheap and plentiful) so I used blazer springs.
My lift is equivalent to a 3.5" SUA but I also have a 2" body lift and clear 36s no problem.

Wheelbase is now 93". Reversed shackles up front=better approach angle and no more broken springs (broke 3 in the previous 4 years)

I briefly though about using cruiser springs but didn't have any stock ones. Also, all my spring hangers were really really screwed up by the previous owner (home done hack job) so putting on new ones for the blazer springs wasn't any more work than putting on new ones for the cruiser springs.

BOTTOM LINE: DO IT...YOU'LL LIKE IT!

Unless you are planning on running bigger tires (35 and up), I wouldn't bother. 33s look kind of silly with a SOA and there are other ways of dealing with your U bolts dragging.

I havent heard of anyone not likeing their soa. I love mine. I have heard of people expecting it to cost less than it did. Mine was gonna be a cheap mod but at the time I was doning it I decided to do other stuff at the same time.

Hey big D- I say do it- then I can ride in yours to see if I want to do it :flipoff2: :flipoff2:

It is just time before I do it, and we have both seen sprung over trucks getting over what we can't.

I think it is the only way to go- plus you wanted to run 36" swampers anyways right?

SOA is the only way to go for a lift of 4" or more. I know there are springs available for a 4" lift, but you gain more clearance going SOA and can accommodate other issues the SUA lifts don't fix (like caster and approach angles).

Everyone has an opinion, but it seems EVRYONE likes their SOA. I know it was the single best mod I did until my ARB's got installed. Just don't go cheap and try to cut corners - it is definately a modification you want to do correctly.

There used to be people on here that swore by SUA, but they are all SOA now.:D
I LOVE SOA and have not had any of the problems, that everyone claims are had with a SOA.

do it. it will be well worth it. trust me:D :D

do it! SOA works killer!
;)

I ran stock springs and 32's for about 6 years, then the 4" softride springs for 2 years, then broke down and did the SOA. WONDERFUL improvement. Wish I'd done it in the first place.

Some tips....

first, see the thread on turning knuckles for my thoughts there.
second, a traction bar is a near-must, and easiest with the axle off the truck
third, a LONG travel front driveshaft will be required if you do a front shackle reversal
fourth, reversing the rear springs is a nice addition - 3.5" longer wheelbase
fifth.....do it once, do it right.

I would say an SOA would be ideal for anyone doing any rock crawling (which most here seem to do).

I do a little bit of everything so I am still SUA.

I will probably go SOA when my truck is a little more trial dedicated.

So, if you go all trail, hardcore...SOA!

If you drive it daily or near that, and do a variety of activities....SUA can still work.

I am running 4" alcans and stock shackles and 33s, flex very nicely, and have no caster issues on my 55.

Either way make sure you take pictures before and after =)

<a href="http://personal.bellsouth.net/atl/d/c/dckunz/mods/pigpenb4.gif">Before</a>

<a href="http://personal.bellsouth.net/atl/d/c/dckunz/mods/33s.gif">After</a>

Well then......I guess the jury is in and a SOA is going to be peformed over the winter. All I have to do now is find one of those magical trees that grow dead presidents........Thank you all for your time and letting me pick your brains. About how much am I looking at to do it right? Just looking for a ball park idea....:confused:

IMO, budget $1000 plus tires to do it right. It will likely cost you less, but I guarantee a SUA spring lift is cheaper.

depends on how much stuff you can fab up. i didn't spend a dime out of pocket to soa my 62. if you are good at fabbing and resourceful it can be done cheap. mike

Just do it, you can't go wrong!

glad to here you will be going SOA I'll be right over.:D
:eek:

Cant wait to see you're 40 crawlin up the waterfall next spring this time without the winch :p

Well Mark, it looks like we have alot of work ahead of us......I just hope that we don't get alot of snow.......If we do, my SOA will never get done!:mad: Time to break out the torches and welder again eh.......By the way, did you fix your bumper yet? I didn't mean to pull it off:p

MY Cruiser Spring Over Costs: $339

Free: 4 front Blazer springs (free from friends junk piles behind their garages but would probably be about $50 bucks if I had to buy them)

$5: Center pins

$25: Spring bushings

$27: u-bolts

Free: Chevy frame shackle hangers (free again from friends scrap piles...probably about $10 bucks at a junkyard...if you can remove them from the frame without a hot wrench)

$137: Two rancho 9112s for the front (moved the rear shocks inwards so they didn't have to be replaced)


$70: Metal for spring perches, spring hangers, shackles, bumper, winch plate, frame reinforcement, traction bar, u-bolt plates, etc

$25: Bolts for new rear shock mounts, leaf springs, shackles (including stainless bolts for traction bar shackle)

$20: Rod end for traction bar(for the two other attachment points for my traction bar I used the ends off of a stock toyota pickup front traction bar...they were free)

$30: Driveline mods (front:none Rear:longer toy pickup slip yoke swapped on) (got a rear toy pickup driveline from a friend)

Tires: already had 35s on the cruiser

Brake lines: no cost (just lowered the mounts on the frame)

Steering: already had a good custom setup that did not need to be changed...saginaw box and Dana 44 tie rods that are still below the springs.


Total cost: $339 (could have been $395 if I had to pay for the springs and shackle hangers)

Total lift: 3.5-4 inches over stock

Note: This SOA didn't cost as much as one that uses stock springs in a SOA cause that gives you more lift which yields more expenses.