Alright guys give me some suggestions- good clear answers/what works or you. I am not a jeep guy, i have almost no experience with them, I am trying to help a friend build his jeep so he can wheel with me.

He has: 304/th400/quadtrac? amc20/D30 with 3"? sua

He wants to change axles to something better to run 35-36" tires, probably soa

What do we do about:

Axles: Scout 44's, J10/J20 44/60, chevy full width ??

springs: waggy? cj rears? Don't the waggy springs move the axles? do you hae to do anything else b/c of that?

Steering: what does a soa change? pitman arm needed? can you leave it stock if you soa with stock cj rears or stock waggys?

Best places for brackets etc.. I can make them if I have to.

Any other suggestions welcome, please anyone who is happy with thier setup. I know this has been run in the ground but I haven't seen all this info together. Send/post links to write ups too.

THANKS!

I did an SOA conversion on my 76 CJ-7 and I love it, I used stock springs off a 95 YJ and and stretched my shackles about an inch for a little more lift. I had to move the brackets for my brake hoses down to get enough length even with extended Stainless braided hoses. It flexes like a MF but it has a little too much body roll so I'm adding a spring to each pack from a 79 cherokee. I run 34" TSL's but I've had my buddies 36's on with only minimal rub. As for Axles build it right the first time and go 60/60. If you don't want to cough up the change for that the axles out of a 76-79 Cherokee with Quadra-trac are a good swap but you will have to regear them. They are already offset to the correct sides and are nearly as wide as chevy and ford trucks. You will have to outboard your springs when you do that. I'm in the process of doing this swap right now and you will have to have new 6 lug wheels. Ditch the whole pitman arm idea and put in hydraulic steering ideally. If you can't afford that then swap in power steering from the same 76-79 cherokee, you will have to have the steering column, box, and pump. Then heat the pitman arm with a torch and bend it til it sets at the right level(be sure to dip it in oil to retemper the steel, mines done this way and works great plue it saved me a fortune) This is the setup under my Jeep now and I love it. Hope this helps need anymore info let me know I'll see what I can do for ya.

anybody else? keep em comin'

I sprung my CJ-5 over on wrangler springs and I run 36s but I had to trim sheetmetal.

Do a search theres tons of information about SOA on CJs.

First of all, search for TOTW, there's one about the finer points of an SOA, it's been covered a billion times, second, DON'T EVER HEAT AND BEND A PITMAN ARM! Dropped arms are cheap, some factory application had dropped arms that are even cheaper, don't risk your life and the lives around you for a $50 part. By the way, Cherokee / Wagoneer axles are around 60" wide, full sizes are more like 67" wide, big difference under a Jeep. The Wagoneer / Cherokee axles are a good choice though.

O good point I forgot that in my post.

I can't count how many times I've had to say that, and I've had to tow / help steer some junk off the trail because the heated and bent pitman snapped, and we've tossed a guy out of lineup for one of our trailrides because he was running a cut and welded pitman arm and draglink that looked like JB weld would have worked better, of course the same Jeep had duallies in the rear, so it was a hilrod cobble fest to begin with, but it never ceases to amaze me what some people will considers good enough to put their lives on the line for.

i did a soa on my 85 and i used wrangler springs which flattened within a year. I did however do 3/4 liptic in the rear with my old spring and it gave me about 8 inches more droop. i recommend doing the reversal shackle when you soa it, plus move your front axel forward 1 1/2 " so when you put on bigger tires 35 or bigger the tire wont slam your fender well.
I've played mine to where I now have a 99 " wheel base and i started with 91"

A stock wrangler spring pack will sag really bad, you kinda have to take a 5 pack set and a 4 pack set and merge them together,

Mine are 7 leaves, the main eye from the 4 pack with the eyes cut off is installed under the main leeafe, the secondary leaf pack of the 4 pack is on the top of the main eye of the five pack.

SO far so good,

heres a mild flex shot, My point of reference is the rear tires in relation to the fornts, the rear is twisted up and down but hte jeep is level. I didnt even realize the jeep was flex that why untill I looked at the picture.

http://wheelingpiazzas.com/pictures/slickrock/Slickrockaugust2002-010.jpg

I used Wrangler 2.5" spirngs. Tilt the pinion up, install a CV shaft. Also the frt has a CV shaft.
As for the steering, I have a dropped CJ arm (from a 4" kit) and the drag link runs to the stock location on the front D30. It rubs a little on the bottom of the spring.
You will have to fab an anti-wrap bar.
Do an SRS at the same time.
I run 35" BFG M/T's w/ just a little rubbing.
I am going w/ a D60/14B combo w/ hi-steer.