Plan review: what are your thoughts

I am planning to purchase and install a 3" lift from Black Diamond on my '75 CJ6. My current set-up consists of 2" lift shackles and 3" BL. I am running 33x12.5 BFG MTs.

I have been trail riding the Jeep since May (when i got it all back together) and see a lot of rubbing in the rear wheel wells.

When I measure from the bottom of the inner wheel well (same elevation as the floor in the rear cargo area) and measure to the top of the tire I read 4". It would seem the 3" suspension lift will allow the tire to clear the inner wheel well when flexing, and actually allow more flex (as is the purpose of a lift IMO).

I am going to skip the drop pitman arm for now and try running without it. I am not concerned (at this point) about dropping the t-case because of the length of the rear driveshaft. (The '75 CJ6 wheelbase is 104") The rear DS angle should not be severe enough to create vibration, nor am I worried about the DS coming out of the t-case.

So, there is my plan and thoughts. Do you all think this will work as I am hoping or am I overlooking something(s)?

Thanks!

 

Yeah, you should be fine with a 3" lift. To get 2" of lift you need to lengthen the shackle by 4" - that's a long shackle. I'd ditch the long shackles and body lift if it were mine. A little rubbing on the inside of the wheel houses is normal, even with standard tires and suspension.

 

How about a full rollcage for justin. (justin case).

Have you seen the TeraFlex revolver shackles? Looks like an engineering wet dream, but too many possible failure points for me. I don't care what the rock crawlers say.

This link should get you to Tera, at least close to the revolvers:

http://teraflx.com/pages/product_results.php

If you go with a 4" or more body lift, you'll have to cut & weld a longer coupling extension into your steering shaft, or find/make a longer one. It's simple geometry that you probably know from your current 3" BL. I'm not familiar w/the 6, but you may have to watch your lower radiator outlet with the steering shaft (I left my radiator in the stock mounting position). My shaft also lightly rubs my 6 into 2 headers.

I'm using an '85 bronco 4" body lift & the genius who did it didn't replace the stock bushings. Even a piece of rubber floor mat up top would've been better than nothing It's poly blocks against steel & squeaks a bit, not to mention the extra stress on my body mounts& wear on the lift blocks.

gj

 

Thanks for the replies so far.

When I installed (created, actually) my 3" BL, I started with a 24" long rubber "log" w/ hole in the middle (lengthwise!), 2 pieces of 6"x60"x1/4"flat stock and 2 each 6"x6"x1/4". I cut the long flat stock to span the underside of the tub (side to side) and centered on the corresponding body mounts. I used the 6x6 squares on top of blocks on the front-most body mounts where I could not span all the way across b/c the drivetrain is in the way. This works really well to stiffen my POS fiberglass tub. I have seen fiberglass tubs sag miserably where the point loads occur on the body mounts. This has totally solved that problem, while adding a nifty 1/4" of lift

My front and center body mount is done using the same puck of rubber, only to make up the 1/4" I used 2 each 1/8" thick fender washers, galvanized on top and bottom - making for a neat looking quaddruple-stuff Oreo cookie sort of thang

The lift shackles I fabricated using 1/4" thick plate steel with a 1 3/4" TS center block. These babies are indestructable. Each shackle is 7" long, overall length with about 5" between the centers of the bolt holes top and bottom. I have seen some scary lookin' 1/8" thick flat stock homebrew shackles that I would not trust.

 

My shackles are about 4 3/4" cL to cL w/minimal cant. I can fix it w/a few sledge hammer raps.
Thanks for the info re: lift kits & f-glass tubs. I just posted a Q. about that an hour ago on another site.

gj

 

If I'm reading your post correctly, it appears that you are rubbing the inside of the rear tire against the wall of the inner rear fender. If this is correct, why not just use wheels with more offset rather than use an arced spring, 3" BL, and shackles that are way too long for the skinny ECJ springs, IMO. (It isn't a matter of how strong the shackle is, at that length it puts too much leverage against the bushings on a narrow spring- heck, I wouldn't want to use a shackle that long on YJ leaves)

The main thing I see limiting travel on rigs is shock length- I would say 95% of the time. (I have never seen a rig work well on the rock with revolvers yet.)

Also- a Four Inch Body Lift?? Nothing personal, but that is No Bueno...

 

Thanks for the scoop on those revolvers.

The main thing limiting me 20 yrs. ago was 1/4" cable limiting straps , but my jumping days are over.

Why a negative on the 4" body lift? It makes my sending unit wires & underside a pleasure to work on. It also kept my suspension mods to a minimum. I just lenthhened my steering shaft, single military wrapped my springs, made the braced shackles, & tucked the 60 rear w/locker, 44 front w/TruTrac underneath, then shortened & rebalanced my driveshafts less that 1/2" each, run 2" over shocks & a stabilizer. They've proven bulletproof over 23 yrs (on & off). I blew one rear u-joint. I didn't have to worry about drop pitman arms, spring wrap, shims, CV joints, etc.
Somebody here theorized that the body would fly off easier in a collision. Trust me, my original body was so rotted that I joked that the only things holding it on were the steering shaft & brake lines. Every time that I hill climbed, my clutch linakge would pull out with body shift. I had to be in the right gear and had a Z-bar tool kit all ready for the top of the hill. I even took about 6' of air for about 40' long and that body never threatened to come off. All with no/minimal body attachment.
As long as the grill was bolted solid, I didn't have to worry about putting a fan through a triple core Modine. I learned that the hard way at about $185.00/each.

gj

 

Thanks for the replies, folks.

LWB: The 3" BL on my '75 seems to be working just fine. Keep in mind that in '71 (or '72?) the CJ's frame got wider, thus more stable. Admittedly I probably do get more body roll than someone with 1/2" spacers between the tub and frame mounts.

What is your recommendation for shackle length, then? I measured mine and I read 4 3/4" center of bolt to center of bolt. As I understand it the majority of the lever action in the shackle is in the front to rear direction, not so much side to side? What should be my main fear/concern with my taller than stock shackles?