SOA Swap Question

Im thinking of doing a spring over axle swap on my '57 cj5. The rear is pretty easy but im wondering how to do the front end. it looks like the tie rods will be the issue. Any help will be great.

 

I would stick to the SUA. But...

Do a search. It's been covered in great detail.

 

I also would stick with SUA. I have never done it to a Jeep, but I have done it to a Samurai and it creates all sorts of problems that have to be dealt with. Im sure the same principles apply to a Jeep as they did on my samurai. I did High steer conversion, which put the tie rod and steering rod over the springs instead of below. This gets your steering geometry back to normal. On the front you have to make sure you set your pinion angle correct so you have caster issues. Also it puts the front driveline at a pretty good angle and with my samurai caused me to have front driveshaft wobble when driving on snowy roads. I know alot of guys who do it and run and like it. I always felt I ruined my sammy when I did it though.

 

Get flat top knuckles and complete the true high steer conversion. Clock you knuckles for caster. If you do it all correctly it will drive better than it did when it was new.

 

does anyone have some advice on where to get a good lift of about 4'' or so? i would rather not do a soa swap i just want a moderate amount of lift with a decent ride at a good price.

 

I like my Skyjacker Soft Ride springs. They are 4" lift. With a 4" lift spring set you may have to move your shackle hangers to keep your shackles from flipping forward on the rears. If you plan on running 33" tires or smaller I'd go with a 2 1/2" lift. BDS makes some nice spring sets too. Personally I've never ridden in a Jeep with Rancho springs that didn't ride like a buck board.

 

Probably only a problem if you go off road, but you do not have to move the shackles, you can just weld a bar or something in place to keep the shackle from flipping up against the frame.