Dangers w/ lift kits w/ blocks?

[cdlongjr]

I know from joining this group that blocks on the front axle w/ lift kits is a no, no.
My question is why?
Remember, I'm a newbee & still lookin' for a FSJ.

[jeeping1974]

Your front axle takes a lot of force. Not just up and down, and some front to back, like the rear but also side to side for turning. You want the front axle in contact with the leaf springs to make it more stable. If you have a block in there, the force could cause the block to come out and cause some major issues. You don't want to deal with that out on the trail, let alone on the street.

[Heimeken]

in addition, picture that the block acts like a lever. So even if you put in a steel block and were to weld it in, you still have that extra side to side and front to back movement.

On rear axles, blocks are a major cause for axle wrap, so even there they should be avoided when possible.

[tgreening]

I pulled into a service plaza on the toll road here and spotted a big honkin dodge. Looked relatively nice in an 80's sort of way until I got close enough to look at the suspension. In true 80's style there were enough shocks to outfit FOUR trucks and enough lift blocks to make those in the know grab their chest and look for an EMT. His front axle had THREE lift blocks stacked up under each spring. THREEEE lift blocks. I was still standing there with my mouth open when the owner came out and hopped in. He must have mistook my staring for envy because he was giving me that "Dayuum rahhht she's nahce" look. I almost gave him the you're an idiot speech but decided to just let Darwin have his way.

[El Jefe]

also a FSJ is spring under. so if you put blocks on the front you'll actually lower it.

[Gambler68]

also a FSJ is spring under. so if you put blocks on the front you'll actually lower it.

Gladiators are Spring Over in the front :D

[El Jefe]

oh, I'm going to FSJ hades now. :)

[wickedwagon767]

The only acceptable front lift block would be an Offroad Design "zero rate" 1" "add a leaf". It has two holes through the center of it (for axle location preferance) and is therefore designed to bolt to the bottom of the spring pack via the center pin of the spring pack acting like an extra leaf. You can get an extra 1" lift without the safety hazards associated with "free sitting" lift blocks that, as jeeping1974 said, can cause disasterous conditions on and off the road.......to put it MILDLY.

People have died because of front lift block failure on the freeway

Rear lift blocks are basically just a cheap way to get the desired height. Blocks are junk and really shouldn't be an option,in my opinion, but they are. Like Heimeken said, they cause wheel hop in the rear, where the lattitudinal forces cause the springs to bind up into an "S" shape , making the axle hop around violently against your will

In a perfect world politicians wouldn't exist, computers would be designed to last for decades and lift leaf/coil springs/links would be the only methods available to get extra height/performance from your trucks suspsension. Don't use life blocks. Ever

[fubar]

my brother just got a 47 jeep truck with chevy axles an all four springs has 3inch lift blocks that has holes for the ubolts to keep them in place it was built for offroad only. i still wouldnt use blocks in any of my rigs there hard on ujoints an S/brake springs

[JeepMods]

I recently seen a Beastly looking CJ7 at a local Advance Auto. It had a custom suspension with coils front and rear... the coil plate had at-least a 3" spacer under it... which was notched to fit on the tube and that was welded to the tube. It had thick gussets (3/8" thick possibly 1/2") for support... Everything looked to be nicely welded and the whole time I was looking at this I was thinking ""la""la""la""la", I wish I had my cell phone or camera"... It definitely looks like this Jeep was put through it's paces...
BUT, Seeing that I didn't have my cell or camera on me when I seen this Jeep I figured I'd draw a picture of what his suspension looked like... This picture doesn't do his gussets any justice... but here is the pic of this guys set-up.

http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y293/Fifesamcjeep82/100_1141.jpg

In my eyes it looked pretty solid and I started to think about people that use lift blocks in the front... if they were to weld everything and toss on gussets... like this guys set-up... who would have a weaker set-up? Would it be the coil or the leaf set-up?
To top this guys jeep off... he had at least 2" aluminum spacers in the coil buckets and he was running 44" tires...

[Stuka]

Well, the difference is that CJ7 had coils, so it had a linked suspension. Those links hold the axle in place, the ONLY force on the springs is vertical. With a leaf spring, the springs hold the axle in place. Even if you had gussets and the like, you are going to put a LOT of force on those springs.

I have coil spacers on my JK, and I don't think twice about it. It has a 5 link suspension front and rear, those axles are not going anywhere.

Bit with leaf springs, no thank you.

[mudjammer]

I pulled into a service plaza on the toll road here and spotted a big honkin dodge. Looked relatively nice in an 80's sort of way until I got close enough to look at the suspension. In true 80's style there were enough shocks to outfit FOUR trucks and enough lift blocks to make those in the know grab their chest and look for an EMT. His front axle had THREE lift blocks stacked up under each spring. THREEEE lift blocks. I was still standing there with my mouth open when the owner came out and hopped in. He must have mistook my staring for envy because he was giving me that "Dayuum rahhht she's nahce" look. I almost gave him the you're an idiot speech but decided to just let Darwin have his way.

I saw something like this when I was a kid in the 80's, the only differance was the guy used 2x4 sections as the blocks. Even as a kid I thought it was dangerous.

[billyrb]

jeepmods, nice drafting (even have the hard start & stop points).....ahh, the days of hand drafting :)

[cdlongjr]

7s had leaf springs. Glad I asked this question. I belong to the CJ forum. It's the best forun for CJs I have found. I've real glad I found this forum as it strikes me the same way the CJ forum does. I can't wait to find a J Series! Lookin' forward to a lot of schoolin' from you folks!
Oh, I still gotta find mama a 7. She hates the FSJs.

I'm assuming that if I find a J series with the blocks installed, that I could just rmove the blocks & bolt the springs back on top of the axles. Is this correct, or is there more to it than that?

[duncanstives]

They may have lengthened the driveshafts which may mean you have shorten it again or (better yet) replace the blocks with some more legitimate type of lift. but other than that you should be ok.

[jaber]

Well, the difference is that CJ7 had coils,

The "CJ's" never came with coils, I believe they came on the "TJ's".

[Sambo]

with spring over and blocks they tend to spit out!

Reason being the braking bias in which vehicles use! most are either 60-40 front to rear,or 70-30.
which means the front does the "most braking".. the weight distribution of a vehicle while braking creates outragous leverage on the ubolts causing them to weaken,loosen,or even break.spitting the blocks out the front. hope this helps!!!;)

now "zero rate" blocks are made to bolt into the spring pack.making it more solid and allowing the axle to be moved forward/backwards.but these are only 1",not 2-4" like most blocks used on rear applications.

[Stuka]

The "CJ's" never came with coils, I believe they came on the "TJ's".

If you read his post, he said it was a CJ7 with coils. They *CAN* be modified beyond stock you know. I see a lot of CJ's with coils.

[Stuka]

7s had leaf springs. Glad I asked this question. I belong to the CJ forum. It's the best forun for CJs I have found. I've real glad I found this forum as it strikes me the same way the CJ forum does. I can't wait to find a J Series! Lookin' forward to a lot of schoolin' from you folks!
Oh, I still gotta find mama a 7. She hates the FSJs.

I'm assuming that if I find a J series with the blocks installed, that I could just rmove the blocks & bolt the springs back on top of the axles. Is this correct, or is there more to it than that?

And again, read his post. He said it was a CJ7 with a custom suspension...

[JeepMods]

jeepmods, nice drafting (even have the hard start & stop points).....ahh, the days of hand drafting :)

:o haha you like that huh... It was something quick... I'm not too good at explaining myself from time to time... so, this is the best way for me to speak... plus, when I sketch/draft, I have less of a tendancy to insert my foot into my mouth... ;)
On my way to work (ship) I passed that Jeep... (Noisey!!!) between the exhaust of lack of and his tires Humming... Oly $h!t man... It was hard to hear the radio in my Excursion... :eek:

[vintagetrks]

So I guess it would be a bad idea to put my 1in blocks on my rear to get me to a 4in lift? Will my 1in block cause my axle to wrap?

[Stuka]

So I guess it would be a bad idea to put my 1in blocks on my rear to get me to a 4in lift? Will my 1in block cause my axle to wrap?

As long as they are steel you will be fine. Do not put in aluminum blocks, they don't handle the weight of an FSJ well.