Spring Over?

#1 11-14-1999, 08:46 PM

One of my club members the other night on a trail ride told me that he didn't suggest a spring over conversion with out the stock springs. I mentioned I was thinking of doing one and that is what he said. Does anyone have any reason to back this up or against it. My jeep is an '82 CJ-7 with 33x12.50's. thanks for any suggestions.

#2 11-14-1999, 10:12 PM

I don't have any technical information, but a friend of mine who works in a shop that builds up some pretty extreme rigs, said that every spring-over setup they have sold has been returned. I'm not sure why, but thats what I heard.

MudFlap 87 YJ POS!!

#3 11-14-1999, 10:15 PM

Thanks for the feed back jeeper131. does anyone else have any ideas?

#4 11-15-1999, 02:07 AM

spring overs are not easy to do, so most are incorrectly done. there are advantages to a spring over in some terrain, but you usually trade street drivability.

dan

I do not intend to offend,I offend with my intent

Jeepskate · #5 11-15-1999, 11:16 AM

These statements are useless & pointless with nothing to back them up. The vehicle has to be converted properly in order for this to work well, and the driver has to be willing to accept some trade-offs (just like most other off-highway-centric mods). There's really nothing to comment on here without any specifics.

done · #6 11-15-1999, 02:34 PM

You need to go back toi the guy that made this statement to have him explian it. One of my club members the other night on a trail ride told me that he didn't suggest a spring over conversion with out the stock springs.

My guess is: With the SOA adding a 'lift' of 4 to 6 inches ( I am not sure of the exact figure), having an anything beyond factory springs, (ie a 4" lift kit) would make for a very high lift for your 33" tires.

There are many other factors involved, and the information you supplied is not enough to make anything more than a venturesome guess.

#7 11-15-1999, 06:20 PM

Thanks Everyone for the feed back. About the specifics. Im not sure what kind of specifics you need. The Jeep is pretty much stock except the tires, gears and the lift to fit the tires. The way it is, is how I got it so I'm not sure how much lift there really is. The engine is a 258, T-4 trans, and a Dana 300 t-T-case. The axels are stock too except for the Moser one piece I put in this summer. I hope that is what you guys needed for specifics if not let me know and I'll try to get some more. Jeep Boy

#8 11-15-1999, 06:57 PM

JeepBoy, I think you are not getting the info you need because your question is somewhat unclear. Are you saying you want a SOA with stock springs or with your lifted springs? What are you trying to accomplish? You already have 33" tires. Do you want bigger tires, more travel, more articulation? Jeepskate has done a SOA and it is not for the light of heart. Everything has to be engineered so it is safe to drive and not jury-rigged. You probably have 3-4" lift on your CJ. What about keeping your lift and add a small 1" or 2" body lift?

Eric

Eric '94 YJ
4.0L, 5 speed, 2.5 lift, TJ flares, 33's

Jeepskate · #9 11-16-1999, 09:33 AM

Here's what we mean by specifics: You said that 1 guy at a trail ride told you not to do it and jeeper131 said that a guy who works at a shop said that they get lots of them back. That's not specific. WHY did the first guy tell you not to do it? WHY are people returning their SOA's to that shop? Perhaps the guy at the trail ride warned you away because of your newbie status and something about the setup of your rig. You have an '82 which is a transition year for the narrow to wide trac axles...an SOA can get pretty tippy with narrow track axles. You may have a 4" lift on their...going SOA with those would net you in the area of 9"-10" of total suspension lift which is a LOT and might introduce driveline angle problems. Also, your trans is nothing to write home about.

JeepBoy wrote:
Thanks Everyone for the feed back. About the specifics. Im not sure what kind of specifics you need. The Jeep is pretty much stock except the tires, gears and the lift to fit the tires. The way it is, is how I got it so I'm not sure how much lift there really is. The engine is a 258, T-4 trans, and a Dana 300 t-T-case. The axels are stock too except for the Moser one piece I put in this summer. I hope that is what you guys needed for specifics if not let me know and I'll try to get some more.

Pete88YJ · #10 11-16-1999, 12:29 PM

I'll only pipe in here because it didn't seem anyone mentioned the base point - I think he meant that you should not do the spring over with your current springs, you would want stock springs - NOT lift springs, like you have now. Some CJ guys go spring-over with stock wrangler springs, because they flex well.

Like everyone said, there's a lot more to a spring over than just welding on new spring perches and bolting it together - maybe that's all that particular shop thought it was. (we all know there are shops like that out there...) The angle the perches are welded on at, steering corrections, spring wrap issues, axle location (trac bars for the soft wrangler springs), legality (in some areas), and there's more.... all can be issues that you may have to face when going SOA. Any of these reasons could be why people are bringing their Jeeps back...

Good luck
Pete

88YJ,4"susp,33"BFGMTs,9000#winch, hm swing out TC/HL mount ,258,999,4.10,weber32/36,GMHEI.