74 CJ5 needs a lift!!

Hi all!!! Well it's that time I need to put new suspension on my CJ. I've got a 74 I think maybe a late 73 early 74 still trying to figure that one out:evil:. but that’s a whole different story I'll get into some other time. So here's my issue from what I can tell my green machine (CJ5) has front and rear Dana 44's from a snow plow conversion back in 81 or something. I guessing it's not the original suspension it's a heavy duty suspension due to the conversion. Right now I'm running 31's with a bit of rub at full flex and I would like to go to 33's. I've been doing some searching online and through forums and I'm not seeing a whole lot of options out there. So I've decide to ask for help! I want to go 3" or 4" and I’m tossed on what brand to get. it's my toy not a daily driver YET!!!!! I do some wheeling but 98% of the time I'm on the streets. I plan on putting a steering stabilizer and a drop pitman arm on and lowering the T case. Anyone with a opinion of what brand I should go and a idea of how far to drop the T case please respond!! Also if you have other "recomendations" on things I should do to make the lift go smooth please tell me. RJ

 

Best would be to post pics of the existing setup including spring width measurments. This will go along way to gettin the help you are asking for.

 

Well here you go hope it helps. The front is a 7 pack with 40" long springs, the axle is 42' long to center of knuckels. The rear is a 5 pack with 46" long springs and has a 44" long axle to the drum. I don't know if it matters but curently the green machine sits about 20" off the ground all the way around. (there is some differences due to a bent leaf pack and a broken shock haha)
Front left

front right

rear right


front end

just for fun!!!
this is the plow sticker i was talking about!!

 

Also that is the Front differential shown am I wrong to think that is a 44 or is that the 30????

 

The front is a NT Dana 30 which is stock for that Jeep.
The rear is probably the stock NT Dana 44 for that year. Really can't tell without a shot of the diff cover.
stock width springs (1.75 inches) that are beat up.
Does not look like much (if any) lift is currently on it.

Any off-the-self lift for a '72 to '75 should bolt right on.

I had 4.5" of lift on my '72 with 35x12.5" MTR's. That is a lot of lift with NT axles. I wound up running Widetrack width axles for better stability.

You should be able to run 33s with 2 to 2.5" of lift. These will effect your turning radius as the tires will rub against the frame while turning unless you adjust your steering stops on the knuckles. This makes your turning radius wider.

 

Those are the standard factory springs (ie not the HD option); 7 front, 5 rear with two unsecured leaves in the rear.

You should get a lot more from a 2" lift than 2" ... it will make up for the sag plus give you an additional 2". Look at some of the other recent posts with lift kits.

I would think that the right width wheels with proper offset will give you the same turning radius as the stock wheels. If you put wide tires on narrow wheels you'll get a lot of bulge that will hit the springs. Wider wheels and tires with the same offset should give you the same turning radius.

Some lift examples here http://www.earlycj5.com/forums/showthread.php?t=79175

Search old posts - this topic comes up a lot, and you'll find lots of examples and pictures.

 

The year can be determined easily from the VIN. If the VIN starts with "J3" it's a 1973 model. J4 is 1974. Build date is secondary to the VIN.

 

Ya I’m calling it a 74 for that reason. I’ve ran the vin # it comes back as a 74, but and I know this doesn’t matter but it's titled a 75, then there is this when I rewired it, it had 73 wiring. Not just a little 73 but it matched the 73 schematic exactly. Also some parts seem to fit better when ordered as a 73!! Then it has a Aug. 73 manufacture sticker on the dash. So that’s why I’m a bit confused..

 

I suspect the '73 and '74 wiring is identical. Did you see a difference between your Jeep and the '74 factory service manual diagram, and not with the '73 factory service diagram?

August '73 is the beginning the '74 model year. No conflict there. Could explain why you have a '73 harness, if it's different from a '74.

There is very little difference between the '73 and '74 model year CJ. Colors, a spring in the carburetor, and some emissions differences is all I can think of. Oh, and the CJ-5 badge is new for '74. It's in the wrong place on your Jeep, if you care.

From the pics, the chassis and underside look in very good condition. You have a bent spring. Since this was a plow Jeep, I'd look closely at the frame for cracks. Plowing can be tough service for one of these... just depends on how it was driven.

 

First off thank you for your knowledge. This is exactly what I was hoping for when I got on here!!

Well I'm going off of the Haynes repair manual when it comes to fixing and wiring. The 73 and 74 are very different in that, mine matches the 73. so I was guessing it's a hybrid of sort. haha

Where is the Jeep logo supposed to be on a 74 model just out of curiosity?

I have took a pretty good look at the chasse and I found no obvious bends or cracks so I'm hoping it's all good. I actually have 2 bent leaf springs and 1 shock snapped this summer so now I'm finally getting around (motivated) to put this lift on. Right now I'm leaning towards a Black Diamond 3" or a Super lift 2.5 with .5" or 1" lift grease able shackles respectively. I've been searching around on the net a lot the last few days and when it comes to pricing 4wheelparts.com seems to have the best pricing with free shipping. What’s your thoughts on them?? Or do you have any recommendations on this??

 

The CJ-5 badge goes under the stamped Jeep letters on the side of the body.

Bob Supplee is often recommended - see this thread http://www.earlycj5.com/forums/showthread.php?t=25203

The Haynes and Chiltons manual are well known to have a lot of mistakes. I'm expect the Haynes manual is wrong if it shows a very different wiring harness between '73 and '74. There was a big change in '75, which was the first year with a bone fide fuse panel. Previous years have inline fuses.

I recommend the factory manual. Lucky for you, there's a copy of the '74 manual online at www.oljeep.com I generally download any manuals or documentation when I find it... internet sources cost money to keep online, and don't stay up forever.

 

As far as lift kits go, check out http://www.holbrookspecialties.com/longleaf.htm. I put a set of these on my 75 and they are quality springs. The folks at holbrook are real helpful too. I'm running 33x12.50 tires and I might have to raise my rear bumpstop 1.5" to avoid tire rub.

Here is a static pic:

Here is a pic of a little flex. The springs are not yet broken in and I had limited materials to build a ramp:

 

about the wiring: Timgr is right. I went through the Haynes fiasco a couple months ago. the 72-73 diagram is what you need to follow if working out of the Haynes manual. Good luck with the lift quest.