Allright. I know I have been posting alot of stuff on this. I am even confused as to what I have posted. I have been asking alot of questions regarding axles and SOA and I now understand my options fairly well, but I have not asked what would work really well from your experienced points of view. What do you all think would be a good, reliable, fairly well street mannered suspension setup to wheel in the woods of Tellico, NC. I would need to limit axlewrap in some way. As always, I am on a budget ( highschool student)and need something that would be a cheap as possible. I do not own a welder or sufficient press (for axle work), so time on a welder and press would need to be factored into the cost.

My current setup.....
* 78 Jeep CJ7
* mild 350 :D
* T150 3 speed :barf:
* Dana 20
* Narrowtrack Dana 30 front end (converted to fulltime :barf: :barf: the last owner did it)
* Narrowtrack AMC 20 rear
* 33x12.50 tires (new and need to stay until the end of the summer when I can afford 36x12.50 SSRs)
* no lift
*crack in frame behind front spring hanger :(

So, I need enough lift to clear 36" tires eventually (sawzall will be utilized when the time comes). This is my daily driver and I drive on twisty mountain roads, so if I lift it, I want a wider track. Full width axles will be used on the new lift no matter what:smokin:

So, should I stay spring under, go for spring over, YJ springs, anything?

Please be specific as possible on types of axles, springs, whatever. Thanks for your time.

if you are not cabable of doing the spring over yourself and dont have an affordable shop that will do it id say you should look into the new bolt on spring over kit from www.full-traction.com. its about the same price as a sua kit and as easy to put on.

sounds a lot like when I first got my Jeep. If I could do it all over again I think the first thing I would buy would be an arc welder and start learning how to build stuff rather than buy stuff.

SOA is the way to go for so many reasons: flex, clearance, raises your intake for water crossings, cheap. if you buy a welder you can build a traction bar by just copying a design and fix that cracked frame.

what do you need a press for on your axles? Only press I have weighs 5 pounds and looks like a hammer.

good luck

Use the 'Search" it's your friend...

SOA all the way.:D

How about a pic of your "big4294x4"

:flipoff2: :flipoff2: :flipoff2:

SOA YJ springs
Maybe Wagoneer D44 axles?
Word to the wise, SSR's have a flimsy sidewall, may want to think about TSL-SX.
Oh yeah, better fix that crack :D

Spring over JCwhitney HD CJ-7 rear springs at each corner, Wagoneer axles and out board the front springs. It will work well and give plenty of clearance. If you want a little less height get YJ rear leafs (5 leaf packs) and another set of YJ springs, from the second set of springs take the main leafs and cut the eyes off and add them to your 5 leaf packs under the existing main leaf, making a 6 leaf pack.

CJ5-man said, but a welder and learn how to fab stuff
you will save a ton o' money and have some bragging rights over them 'gold-card' wheelers:smokin:

im a student wheeler myself with not much money. I've been working on my yj for about the last year and the first thing i bought was a welder. It allows you to do alot of things yourself, saving lots of money buying things. My suggestion is buy one and go SOA.

Originally posted by Roguedude
im a student wheeler myself with not much money. I've been working on my yj for about the last year and the first thing i bought was a welder. It allows you to do alot of things yourself, saving lots of money buying things. My suggestion is buy one and go SOA.

That's a good point. A welder will pay for itself with the money you save down the road.

I was in the same boat, here is what I did:
Swap in a Scout D44 rear, keep the D30 front
Use the stock springs and go SOA
Buy or Fab (here is where the welder comes in handy) a ladder bar
Purchace a HD CV rear driveshaft
get a 4" drop pitman arm and you can run without hi-steer
If you get too much flex from the stock springs (:D ) or they are sagging, get a set of stock CJ springs from a junkyard and swap in the main leaf as an AAL.
With liberal use of the saw, you should be able to run 36's, maybe throw in a 1" or 2" body lift.
I'd keep the sway bars with disconnects for running on the street.
This will save you lots of money that you can spend on a T18a or some other better tranny.

Good luck!

I have always wanted to buy a welder, but the initial purchase cost has always scared me. I have always known it would pay for itself though.

What about spring under?

As for pics of the big4294x4, that was my old rig ( a 77 F150 with a 429 ci motor)

[QUOTE]Originally posted by big4294x4

What about spring under?

You're allready spring under :D
You asking about what lift kit? :confused:

Yes thats what I meant. What if I stayed spring under and went w/ a 2" YJ rear spring (front and rear) and 2" shackle. How would that perform as compared to a SOA. Flex, ability to take big hits, and stability?

I would still do the full width axles and 36" tires.

To stay SUA and clear 36", you'll need at least 3.5" lift springs and 2" body lift, with liberal amounts of sawzall work. As for the cost of the welder, I've done everything, except welding sheetmetal, with my $100.00, 220v lincoln welder. Chip'n slag sucks, but it cheap and strong! :D
Good luck. Oh, by the way, I'd go SOA, waggy axles and not look back.
-Jeremy

One other thing, If your gonna drive on the road, I'd recommend doing a shackle reversal while your at it. Push the front axle forward for longer wheelbase and fender clearance. This makes a jeep drive like a dream compared to stock configuration. Just so you know, even if you plan on doing most of the work yourself, a "good" soa set-up, will most likely cost more than a SUA set-up. There are too many issues you run into to list here, but nothing some searching and reading some of the write-ups won't clarify. Research the hell out of the topic before you decide, cause you will still run into things you didnt expect. Peace.:smokin:

-Jeremy