SOA kit (now my build thread)

[scudweiser]

anyone have any experience with this kit? i am planning on swapping an 8.8 ford axle onto my YJ, doing a SOA and a SYE this summer, i was looking at this RE kit:


any good? any suggestions on a SYE? im trying to keep it on a tight budget since im a student.

[jayunit1689]

i was lookin at that when i was lookin at a yj seems like a good kit. i dunno though if u can find the stuff cheaper sperately or mark your own. i kno when me and my friends did a SOA on a ZR2 blazer the kid made his own brackets with a whole sawbit and like U meta, or whatever its called. worked just as well but id imagine ud need the new brake lines at least on top of the brackets and probably a few other things it comes with.
________
TastyRaissa live

[MJMA]

I'm not YJ expert but I was under the impression that if you wanted to do a SOA right, you have to cut the knuckles off of the D30 and re-weld them on at a different angle so that your caster isn't junk. Otherwise, you're ride quality is non-existent.

This is just a personal assumption here, but maybe that's why you see so many well built leaf sprung jeeps still running SUA????

Maybe you could SOA the rear, and get leaf packs for the front??

Talk to Sheep, he's running a 4" lift and 34s. I remember a few years ago when he first put it on, it didn't flex at all!! But recently it's actually been keeping 4 all 4 wheels on the ground!

[VTJeepCJ84]

Originally Posted by MJMA

I'm not YJ expert but I was under the impression that if you wanted to do a SOA right, you have to cut the knuckles off of the D30 and re-weld them on at a different angle so that your caster isn't junk. Otherwise, you're ride quality is non-existent.

This is just a personal assumption here, but maybe that's why you see so many well built leaf sprung jeeps still running SUA????

Maybe you could SOA the rear, and get leaf packs for the front??

you don't have to cut and reweld knuckles, thats a bunch of crap. just reweld the new perches parallel to the old ones. if your just doing a SOA on stock height springs or slight lift springs the height isn't enough to justify having to cut the knuckles off and tip the pinion up. I have yet to have a problem with my front driveshaft or front u-joints in my CJ and that has a lp 30 and i've been running 2.5 springs with SOA for over 2 years now.

i think part of the reason for not doing SOA in the front is the steering, you basically have to do high steer to do it right and that gets expensive.

[Aidan]

yea, i thought it was the steering that made SOA so expensive

[scudweiser]

sooo, you guys think a plain ol drop pitman arm wont cut it?

[PhatYJ]

Avoid a spring over in the front until you're ready to swap out that 30 for something else. Yes, you can stay SUA in the front with SOA in the rear. You'll need a traction bar in the rear as well if you want to do it right.

[VTJeepCJ84]

Originally Posted by scudweiser

sooo, you guys think a plain ol drop pitman arm wont cut it?

they usually work, ok, my experience is with CJ's but my drop pitman on the CJ was shorter than the stock so i lost some turning radius. and at droop my drag link would hit the springs a little. with a stock diameter drag link it wasn't too much of an issue, till i sleeved the draglink because i bent it.

[6DoF]

i'm with phat on this one. you can SOA the 30, but the steering will cost a lot more to do right, and you'd prolly want to swap it out eventualy anyways.

as for the kit, i have no experiance with it, however you can get brake lines even longer at summit, and if your carefull you can re-use the stock perches

[YjK-St]

SOA add up. When all said and done I've spend over $4,000 on mine with new springs, traction bar, shocks, perches, sye, driveshaft, high steer kit, 35's, 15x10 wheels, aussie's front and rear, and 8.8. Also, you don't need extended brake lines, just to reroute the stock ones. Here's mine with stock lines.

[YjK-St]

Also, something else to consider with the kit is that it's for a D30 / D35 combo, not D30 / 8.8. :P

[PhatYJ]

Love the YJ YjK.

I wish mine was white .

[PhatYJ]

Scud, the other thing I might advise is just keeping it SUA in the rear as well. Yeah, you're swapping in a new axle and that's the time to do a SOA, but only if everything else is ready, or ready to be installed at the same time.

Swap in the 8.8 and SYE, leave it SUA. No worries about having to a Tbar in the rear, and EVERYTHING thats involved with the front. Install your SYE, and maybe some SUA lift springs. Right there you're good to run as much as 35" tires, with a decent setup.

Later when you can muster up the coin, you can finish it up. New front end, all new steering, SOA, Tbar, new driveshafts, shocks, brakelines etc. All that is needed to do a SOA the right way.

[scudweiser]

balls, im getting the rustys kit then i think.

[PhatYJ]

You don't need to do that either. The 4" kit is priced reasonably, but it comes with all sorts of crap you won't/don't need. TC drop? No fawkin way. You're doing it the right way with a SYE. Track bar relocation brackets? Don't need em. Rip out the track bars, throw em away. Rip out the rear sway bar, throw it away. Get some disco's up front and you're good.

Buy some seperate 4" SUA lift springs, even Rusty's would be okay. Get all new U-Bolts, relocate your stock brakelines if you need and you're good.

[MJMA]

I was gonna say, why not just go with a 4" SUA lift. If you wanna go ballz out you can get those nice spring plate skids so that the Ubolts don't get ruined.

A lot of really nasty capable YJs stay with spring under. Since the spring is right next the the tire, it's not like you're really losing much ground clearance. You'll be happy with SUA.

[scudweiser]

each individual spring on rustys site is 80 bux, anyone know of a place i can get springs only, 4" lift full wrap for not too much? ill be moving my shock mounts to the top of my axle too so i can get more ground clearance after the lift and so the shocks will still work.

anyone on here running a 3/4 elliptical? if i install a 3 inch suspension lift, then 1 inch lift shackles in the front and a 3/4 elliptical in the rear i will end up with a more or less level stance with the weight of a hard top and a rear bumper added with a 31 inch spare, i will have stock leafs to cut up and all ill need to add are the plates which i can make myself and the square U bolts, any suggestions on that route?

[jeepkid05]

Get a waggy 44 or something like a hpd44, that way when you go SOA you can outboard the amount that you need to. Plus you gotta drop the coin to regear anyhow.

[erslll]

$80 a spring sounds like a hell of a deal to me.


3/4 elliptical? Like a buggy spring? I have never seen real world advantage to it. If you are hoping to win the next RTI contest, then by all means......

If you are actually referring to 1/4 elliptical, I think it can be made to work quite well but at that point why not just use coils or coil overs. Either way you are 3 or 4 linking it and, not bashing on you, that seems a little over your head.

[PhatYJ]

Scud, avoid the 1/4 Elip. Not a bad option for a wheelin' only rig on 60's or something, but it's not for you.

4" lift springs for $80 seems like a fair deal. Swap in your 8.8, redo your shock mounts however you want, swap in all new springs, keep it SUA, install your SYE and new rear shaft, toss some bigger tahrs on and you'll be good to go.

[scudweiser]

[PhatYJ]

Thats a buggy spring setup. You will want to be SOA to run that, and it's more work and trouble than a normal SOA. You're moving in the wrong direction.

[scudweiser]

hokey dokey, sounds like im going with the crustys 4 inch front and rear, stock height shackles and an SYE, Aussie locker in the front and a locked/spooled 8.8 down the road, open D35 for now.

[PhatYJ]

You don't have the 8.8? I thought you did?

Wait to do the lift 'till you can put the 8.8, SYE and springs in all at once.

[scudweiser]

[img][/img]

got this out of the latest JP issue, not sure if that was legal

i think im going to build a buggy style bumper incorporating this light bar/stinger thingy. i could even tie it into the tube fenders since that may be the next thing i do while im waiting to find an axle and get my springs

what do y'all think?

[MJMA]

No to that bumper!! I'd stick with a more traditional style bumper. WTF would you need lights sticking out like that for?? IMO, in NE terrain they'd just be more likely to break on something. Keep in mind that thing is built for high speed desert racing!!

Yes on the 4" lift springs and SYE. Sounds like you're headed in teh right direction with that!

Are there any good junk yards in your area?? If you can't find the right 8.8 for under 200 bux, we can find you one here in MA. Dean just got an 8.8 with 4.10, LS, discs for 140, and he didn't even have to pull it! He said that there were lots more where it came from and that was their standard price that they charge for that size rear end.

[scudweiser]

yea, ill have to work on that bumper idea... all the boneyards around here want ridiculous amounts for 8.8s, whats that junkyard in billerica mass thats huge? i might try there.

[TX4wl]

one step at a time getting ahead of yourself with different ideals will only make the process more of a pain.....lift 1st ...then wheel it ...get used to it then break it ...modify it more and repeat process...and NO to that bumper

[nblehm]

go soa... screw the rest of these guys

[MJMA]

Originally Posted by TX4wl

one step at a time getting ahead of yourself with different ideals will only make the process more of a pain.....lift 1st ...then wheel it ...get used to it then break it ...modify it more and repeat process...and NO to that bumper

X2 Very valid point. One thing at a time. It'll keep the project on-track.

I forget the name of that one in billerica, never been there but I always have good parts for cheap when I'm searching the mass auto recyclers association website. I wouldn't pay any more than 200 bux for an 8.8 with discs. Supply and demand. How many exploders have seen their day and are in the junk yards?? Lots.

[jeepkid05]

Pick a plan, and do it once, remember what you said a few months ago... hp44/9er....