SOA Lift--Suspension Lift

RedWrang

New member
1047860

If I do an SOA, Ill have to get an SYE, Longer Driveshaft, New Longer Shocks, Pitman Arm, New Longer Brake Lines, Trac Bar Relocator Bracket, Shock Adapters, Trans Case Lowering Blocks. Ok now im at about 500.00 so why not just get a susp. lift for about the same or do I still have to buy some of the same things listed that dont come with a susp. lift. On a budget and loking for the cheapest way to lift but a decent way also. Anyone with any opinions pleae fill me in. Thanks
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1047862

We just successfully performed a SOA lift for under 100 bucks. If you are crafty.. and have access to a welder... you can do the entire thing extremely cheap. MUCH cheaper than going for another sort of suspension lift.[addsig]
 
1047868

the only parts we had to buy were shocks and brake extensions... everything else was made from metal layin around. I'm thinking about making a tech article on the process. I have pictures from it. I'll send some if you are interested. [addsig]
 

1047870

The SOA that Snitty is refering to was on my Jeep. Here is a list of things that you will need to purchase-

-4 shocks- autozone- approx. $18-22 a piece- I can get you the part #'s that I used in a day or two..

-approx. 4ft. of 1.5 square tubing- this is for making front shock mounts, transfer case lowering tubes

-new 3/16 hard brake line. This is patched in on mine, just temporary for now, but it works. you will also be spending about $15 or so on various fittings to hook these lines in.

-2 ft. of 1" cold rolled steel- manufacturing a new track arm, -also need a hydaulic pipe bender to bend the pipe properly (The best way to do it however is get a pitman arm off of a cherokee but since we broke a puller trying to get mine of we decided to go the other route)

-We also put in a totally different shock set-up in the back of the Jeep. It is no where near stock set-up, instead we welded a piece of angle iron to the bottom of the Jeep floor with two studs to mount the shocks in the middle and have them angle down to outside of the axle. Since I am no longer running the track bar in the rear, this shock set-up helps cure some sway in the back but also lets the rear articulate VERY nicely. I will have pics up soon of the set-up

-I was able to re-use the stock driveshaft without a SYE since with the t-case drop and welding the axles turned towards the transmission, we eliminated the need for either one, the rear axle sits right where it did before we did the converstion

The hardest thing to fabricate would be the track bar relocators and the track arm. I would recommend buying longer brake lines just to be safe, the track bar relocators, and the pitman arm. There is a big difference in price in those items so shop around. I choose autozone shocks and not Rancho's because the shocks I actually got are for a full-size truck, so I am sure they will last since they will see half the load they are tuned for.



The reason we did this so cheap was that the garage I was at had the scrape steel lying around and all the nec. tools to do it. But without access to a nice MIG welder this job becomes very difficult to do.



And to answer your question as to why this is better than a suspension kit- With the stock flat springs they will allow you to acticulate much more than a set of springs that have a nice 'smile' to them. Not to mention that the ride doesn't suffer from having stiffer springs...



I will be in touch and a web-page up soon of everything we did so far as the Jeep is a never ending process



-You know you are addicted to your Jeep when you spend more time with it than your girlfriend!!!-[addsig]
 
1047881

Snitty my e-mail add is mikes@ev1.net I would really appreciate it if you would send me some pics. I already have the spring perches and access to lots of scrap metal. My welder is ready to be flipped on and put to work. Sounds like this will be a fun task to tackle. Thanks for the info and Ill let yall know how it all pans out.

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1047977

What kind of hieght are we lookin at here? 2.5"? 3? 4"? This kind of lift sounds like it could be for me... Another question, you said your rear shocks are now angled in towards the center of the jeep for better articulation, this doesn't effect general road travel? I don't do much off roading (yet) here in Jersey so I don't know if I really need all that articulation! One more question... I know some people put a steering dampner on when they have a lift to help with the "sloppyness" on the road, will this SOA lift call for a dampner? thanks.

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|Oh and by the way, none of you links are working up there! [addsig]
 
Usually this lift will give you about 5.5". This is easily adjustable for more when you put in the new perches. If you make them higher off the axle=more lift. I am working on finishing the website and posting pics of everything that we made custom. The website should be up in the next day or two. I will post as soon as it is done. As the rear shock set-up we did it this way since we eliminated the rear track bar. With the shocks angled towards the middle, they work against each other in trying to keep the axle centered on the road. Yes, it does feel a little sloppy, but it is still an ok ride. Just have to remember that Jeeps weren't made to take corners at 90 mph. To answer your ques about the dampner, we are still getting everything worked out so I can't answer that ques honestly. I guess it kinda depends on how you like your Jeep to handle. If you withstand a little bit of play in the steering, then I would say no, it kinda depends on what you use your Jeep for. If it is mostly on-road I would get one, if mostly off, then it isn't quite as important I think.



I'll keep you posted on the site for my Jeep.



-You know you are obsessed when you take the doors and top off when its 25 out..-[addsig]
 
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