ok...SOA questions

How bad is a stock CJ5 spring pack with axle wrap on a SOA setup.

i am thinking of running soa and wanted to ask. also Ross steering on SOA what do i need to do to make it work...or will it work as is. i do limited on road driving.

Tommy

 

As far as the spring wrap, it can be bad.
I've never driven a cj with soa but I've followed a few.
One had to baby it to keep from hopping to due to axle wrap.
The other one had traction bars/ladder bars.

I've got a set of axles done for a soa but dont think I'll go that route yet.

 

better to stay sua...

my original plan was to save my jeep pennies and buy a black diamond 3" for it and run boomarang shackles. so about 4" or so.

but i also kicked around the soa cause it is cheaper. but i was unsure on the steering issue with a ross style as well as how bad the wrap was.

Tommy

 

i dont know anything about the ross steering, I did a saginaw power steering conversion right off. The S.O.A. I did works great. Dont have any real regrets or issues. i took my time to get pinion angles right so it works our well. I am thinking of ladder bar traction aids, but not just because of soa, Would need them anyway, these jeeps just dont handle alot of power real well until you upgrade a little. I recommend the soa.

 

67cj5
do you have a write up or some pics...

anyone done an soa with ross style?

Tommy

 

My YJ SOA wraps pretty good if you get on it (especially on the street), but judicious use of the skinny pedal keeps it in check. I have not had any issues yet. I might install a single ladder setup at midpoint in the rear(since the rear is offset).
Also when using the YJ springs you will have major body roll, which I cured with front and rear sway bars. I converted to Hi Steer setup with heim joints. My jeep already had the Saginaw conversion. I also converted to a NT 30 in front.
Not sure about the stock spring setup, the leaf pack thickness might be an issue as the YJ springs are only 5 leafs.

 

if i put a ladder bar in the rear how bad does the front hop? would a front bar be needed. do you have the 4cly. or v6.? i have 4cyl, and i am going to do this with stock Early cj5 springs and stock steering. anyone try it yet with stock steering? it seems to me it shouldnchange as much as a saginaw does...but maybe that is my mind playing tricks. i will be running 32" mt's. how much lift should i expect from a SOA.

Tommy

 

Nothing as far as a ladder bar is needed in front. In fact since you're running the 4 cyl. you might not need anything in the rear. I am running the 4.3 Chevy V6 in mine. I would say the spring over will get you 4 to 6 inches of lift....diameter of axle tube + thickness of spring pack + plus a little from the perch being welded to the axle tube. My avatar kinda shows how mine sits now.

 

so you think the rear would be fine with no ladder bar? i could fab one up but i would have to be daily driving it for a few weeks till i could so i don't want to screw up my ride till i can do a bar. i have new mounts so all i need to do is the welding and pinion angles.

any other opinions? I am still worried about the steering, but i am planning on running the ross style for a while.

Tommy

 

I have been running mine for almost a year now with no bar.
If you run Ross, you might need to make longer tie rods and/or space them down somehow to keep from having bump steer issues. I would think you would want the tie rods to be as horizontal as possible.
Here is a good article on SOA:
http://www.off-road.com/jeep/tech/susp/cjsoa.html

 

thanks, Johnyjeep

I think i may give this a go in a week or two. i need to get some new shocks ordered for it. i am ordering for 6" of lift...figured i should go high. i had planned on running some boomerang shackles with this...are they needed? or is it overkill.

Tommy

 

Im jumping in the conversation a little late, but here's my 2 cents. SOA is too much lift for 32's. I cleared 32x11.5's with no rubbing with only 2 1/2 inches of lift. Also, you might find that SOA is more expensive than just getting a lift kit, because you have to do a bunch of other stuff like new driveshafts, new brakelines, etc.

As far as the axle wrap goes, I don't think you'd have much of a problem. I'm running YJ springs SOA which are softer than the cj springs, and I don't have any shocks. On the street, I have no axle wrap even when I dropped the clutch hard, on the trail I have some wheel hop on hill climbs, but I think shocks will take care of most of that.

 

My understanding of boomerang shackles is that they are only needed if there's a clearance problem with the shackle hitting something, like the rear bumper or something. That is if I'm thinking of the same thing you are.

If you're talking about something like revolver shackles, I would recommend against it. Everyone I've talked to about those says that they'll unload at the worst possible times.

 

not late at all...

thanks for the input.

i use to run revolvers on my CJ7. not as bad as people say, but i am talking about boomerang. i was told it help some with flex and spring movement. every little bit helps. right now i wouldn't even call what she does flexing.

Tommy

 

I built my own shackles out of 2" x 3/8" flat stock with bolt holes on 4 1/2" or 5" centers...I can't remember exactly. I also made my own greasable shackle bolts..man was it tough to machine those grade 8's for zerk fittings.