Cj7 springs!?

I have recently purchased an 58 CJ5 with cj7 springs under it, the ride is very mushy and unstable. Is this a good conversion to change out to cj7 springs? I am going to do a spring over conversion and get new springs.
should I go back to a cj5 "lift kit" or is ther a better spring to go with?

 

CJ7s came with 2" wide front springs and 2.5" wide rear springs. They should be much more stable than your stock 5s springs. Upgrade the front to 2.5" wide springs and it's a good combo. If you have a real twitchy ride right now, there must be something worn. Check your bushings and make sure your ubolts are tight. Worn balljoints and TREs can give a sketchy feeling.
You'll find a better aftermarket support for the 2.5" wide springs.

How are your shocks, they can also lead to poor handling.
I run 2.5" wide springs at all 4 corners on my 74, with bilstein shocks, no sway bar, and good poly bushings and it's as stable as anything.

 

yes they are 2-1/2" front and rear. Are cj7 springs the same as tj springs?
Ill check the u-bolts and bushings. Thanks

 

don't know what to tell you .... on my short 5 I run cj7 softrides(2"-2 1/2") with shackle reversal and Fox shocks .and like it , when I was building this set-up I was running some shot out rancho shocks and it was almost undriveable , it's a great set-up if you can mess with the shocks alittle .good luck.

 

TJs have coil springs, YJs have leafs. YJs are about 1" longer than CJ springs...but basically the same thing.
IMO SOA and stock wheelbase on a '5 will be much more sketchy than SUA. The taller you go, the more body roll and throttle induced steering you'll feel.

What size tire you want to run?

 

If you have 2.5 wide springs all around, you more than likely have rear CJ springs front and rear or you have a set of YJ springs. I'll guess they are YJ springs. It's quite common to put a full set on instead of having an extra set of rear CJ springs.

If they are YJ springs, you should get a fairly good ride with fairly good flex. Stock YJ packs are extreamly difficult to tell apart from the late CJ packs. But it really does not matter, they are close to being identical.

You can run up to 33" tires, IIRC, with a set of 4" lift YJ springs and keep it spring under. That is what I would do. 33's are plenty for 99% of wheeling unless you run in mud..........alot.

 

My plan was to run 35" tires, I have 5.38 gears, and I was thinking that if I buy a Saturn overdrive with a .25 overdrive that would make it 4.08 with 35" tires @ 3000 rpm that would be 76.6 mph. well on paper anyway I could get it up to freeway speed if it was stable. what do you think? am I dreaming? what is IIRC? (sorry this is my first jeep)

 

You can run 35s on a SUA lift. I am running about 2" of lift and 33s, but will not change the lift when I go to 35s or 37s.
I ran 36 iroks on an old Rubicon Express 4.5"xd lift with TJ flares and had plenty of room and plenty of flex. A good lift for the money if you want to stay SUA.

 

Heres my CJ with 35s. Spring over and 1" longer front shackle (stock wrangler) also 1" poly body mounts.

 

Are the SOA that much more unstable than a spring lift? I have looked for info on the web, but it seems to be a mixed review. what is the better of two evils?

 

SOA with a flat spring will outflex and SUA all day long, but for 35s the SUA lift is easier and will be cheaper in the long run.
SOA requires you to address things like steering (cross over or high steer) and traction bars...likely a CV driveshaft out back due to the steep angle.

I have wheel SOA on my 1 ton commando and SUA on tons of rigs. If you want to wrench a little, go SOA and enjoy...but if you just wantto get wheeling, SUA will be quick and easy and clear 35s.

 

spring over axle is actually MUCH more involved than many people think. To do it correctly, as stated, you need a well designed traction bar for the rear axle that will reduce or eliminate axle wrap while still allowing the suspension to flex fully without binding and ripping the traction bar off, you need to know how to set up your axles for good driveline angles, you need to be able to weld and to fabricate parts, you need to convert to hi-steer in the front to eliminate bumpsteer and scary steering linkage angles, you have to set up your caster correctly when you weld new spring perches on the front axle, you have to cycle the suspension to figure out new shock lengths and new brake line lengths so you don't tear anything off on accident, you have to make new spring and shackle hangers, etc., etc. There are lots and lots of things to consider when going Spring over axle, to do it correctly is actually more money than good spring under axle lift springs, and if you don't know what any of those terms mean, you may just want to stay focused on spring under axle for now, as quality YJ lift springs will still flex great compared to the old cj springs. If you have decent fab skills and some money, and have time, you can go to pirate4x4.com and look in their bulletin board under Jeep Hardcore and Jeep non-Hardcore for info, or register and search for Spring over Axle. Be careful asking questions though before using the search function, the guys on that forum are pretty aggressive towards people that ask any type of question that has already been answered some time or another. Good Luck though!!!

 

Thanks for the information. I do have some okay fab skills and and have had more than one 4wd, this is just my first jeep. I am familiar with all the terms and concepts that you mention above and have done some of them on bigger vehicles, the acronyms that are used in some genres sometimes are confusing to someone that is new to this group. thank you again for the information and your time.

 

I built a traction bar that works great. For off road I love the SOA. On the street The SUA is probably more stable due to stiffer springs.

 

Would you post a picture of your traction bar setup?

 

I will take some pics this weekend while Im at the DEZ!!, Im leaving in the morning. So I will post them sunday or monday.