The Dreaded Lift Question

I was originally planning on going with a 4" lift, but after reading what everyone has to say about the BDS lift, I'm reconsidering that. The only thing I'm worried about is how much the BDS springs eventually sag. You might be able to better judge from the pictures how heavy the bumpers/winch are compared to others, but have you guys had much sagging running aftermarket bumpers and a winch? I figured running the 2.5" lift with 1" shackles will take care of any potential rubbing issues with the 33's, but how about after a few years, will I still be good to go? Not sure how much heavier it is, but keep in mind it's also got a 304.

BTW, someone put a dropped pitman arm on the Jeep some time ago, with a 2.5-3.5" lift, do I need to go back to stock or keep it?

 

I have no real input other than to say all springs sag over time. Some just faster than others.

But do you have any close up picts of the eagle on the hood? Is that stock? Never seen that. Looks real 70's. Cool........

 

My uncle airbrushed it.

 

+1 - a sad fact that leaf springs will sag with time. Probably not much over a decade though.

I'm wondering why you need new springs if you already have a 2.5-3.5" lift. Do the tires rub now?

JMO - I'd skip the extended shackles and target the lift I need with stock length shackles. Also MHO long shackles are something of a hillbilly mod - no real advantage to them other than the lift and cheapness, and clear disadvantage in terms of lateral stability of the spring-bushing combo. Plus more possibility of throwing the caster out of whack.

 

Tim, it's not really a lift on the Jeep right now, my grandfather set it up with extra shocks, springs, and long shackles for fording the river, but it rides worse than a log truck. The only reason I'm thinking about the shackles is so the tires won't rub from the extra weight on the Jeep.

 

BTW, I forgot to mention that the tires are 33x12.50, not 10.50. Can the 2.5" lift still work well with tires that wide?

 

Come on, guys. Surely Tim ain't the only one here that can help me out.

 

I'll bite... I am also not a fan of the extended shackles. Although on my 74 I need to run a bit longer than stock to allow my springs to flex out all the way. I have a lot of arch in the springs and they get longer than what the stock shackles would allow.

My 74 has a set of BDS wrangler lift springs under it. They are very soft and the jeep is the best riding jeep I have ever ridden in. Very well worth the effort to do the wrangler spring swap.

The 3.5 inch wrangler springs on my 74 clears ProComp 35X12.5 Mud Terrains with out issue. I do have issue with the tire hitting the springs when turning but that is expected with that tire.

I also have a 2.5 inch BDS lift in my 77/79 CJ5. I don't think those springs sagged as much the softer wrangler springs. The sag in the 77/79 is negligible and it sports a plow in the winter. It also has a steel hard top on it and carries a couple 50 pound bags of sand to be used as a traction aid in the winter. If I were to put a tape measure on it I am sure they have sagged some, but it isn't noticeable yet.

My 77/79 runs 33X12.5 super swampers but it also has wide track axles under it now. Rub is negligible. I have caught the inner fender well a couple times. The rear used to rub on the inner wells with the stock axles, I don't recall if it still does with the wider axle. If it does, I haven't noticed it.

To sum up my thoughts: The BDS springs made for the 77/79 are a bit stiffer then their wrangler counter parts. They sagged less and the leafs appear to be thicker. Both jeeps run the same BDS shocks. The 2.5 clears 33X12.5 super swampers. The 3.5 wrangler springs clear 35X12.5

Hope that is worth while to you

 

Recently I intalled a set of 2.5" Skyjacker softride springs on my CJ-5. A month later, I installed a Warn 8274 winch. I lost about 3/4" of height and the ride actually got softer than I liked. Handling around corners kinda went to hell also. I pulled the second leaf out of my old springs and added them into the Skyjacker springs. That firmed up the ride and I regained my lost height.

 

Thanks, guys, that pretty much answered my question.

Jeep Therapy, what was involved in the the Wrangler swap? Basically just welding on new perches and hangers?

 

Not trying to be rude, but I will let you search out the wrangler spring install. There is a very nice write up in the Technical Library and a lot of follow up posts on my particular install. It wasn't bad to install, come cutting, some welding and bolting new mounts, some head scratching. All of the parts needed are available off the shelf. I did have to modify some spring plates.
Some pics HERE