Got a few questions

[goladith]

Hi guys. I got a 1979 Jeep Cherokee Golden Eagle. Its been sitting rusting in the driveway for the past 10 years, and I've been thinking about turning it into a trail rig.

But I got a few questions. I want to put a 8"+ lift on it, where can I find one, or what would I need to get together to get that much lift? I'd prefer to keep it all suspension lift, but I'd do a minor BL to top it off. I'd also like to throw some 40"+ swampers on there too (it will be towed to trails with my Chevy).

I'll get some pics up soon, but any suggestions would be great. Thanks.

Also, I'm really not sure what engine, tranny, transfer case, nor what axles are on it. Is there any way to find out? I'm pretty new to Jeeps, I'm a GM guy. But it is a V8 with quadtrac.

[fireman91186]

If you want somewhere in the 8" lift range I would do a spring over axle in the front. This will give about 6-7" of lift. Then in the back I would do a shackle reversal. I belive you can buy these kits off of BJ's offroad they specailize in fullsize jeeps. As for the drivetrain parts you probably have a 360 V8 th400 tranny with dana 44 axles. BJ's Off-Road - Full-Size Jeep Parts (Wagoner, Grand Wagoneer, Full-Size Cherokee and J-truck) (http://www.bjsoffroad.com/)

[BRUTUS]

What kind of trails in Illinois do you intend to run? Depending on what trails you run and your driving style some different suggestions may be made.

Like Fireman said... SOA will give between 6 and 7 inches of lift.

I recommend this build (http://www.ifsja.org/forums/vb/showthread.php?t=78836) to start your research.

Engine can be identified if you look inside the motor mount on the drivers side... it is cast into the block. Best way to find things out on here is lots of pics. We like pics.

[goladith]

Well, I'm not sure what kind of trails I'll be doing, cause I'm not too sure of whats around. But I know I'll be taking it to the Badlands every once in a while for sure. And I'm not sure on the wheelbase on it, but possibly to The Cliffs Insane, it has a 110" wheelbase limit there though. I wouldn't mind having suspension tough enough to be able to handle some air thrown in (nothing too major) but enough that it won't snap if I gun it over a hill. But otherwise, is about 6-7" of lift the best I'm gonna be able to get suspension wise? I'm not sure how the spring over axle lift works. I got a IFS on my Chevy so....I won't have any pics till tomorrow, but I'll try to get some up.

Also, what kinda stuff would you recommend beefing up? Like axles, tranny, and so forth. I want it to be able to take abuse with out breaking every trip I take.

[fireman91186]

If you want to go higher than the 6-7" the you could do a small body as well or you use lift springs as well as a SOA. If you plan on running anything over 35's I would for sure plan on upgrading to 1 ton axles such as Dana 60 front and rear or a corporate 14 bolt in the rear wit a 60 up front. As far as the transfer case if it were me and I was going to run that big of a tire I would go for something a little stronger then the chain drive q-trac you have now. But if you take care of it change the fluid (with right fluid) on a regular basis and always check the slack in the chain it might last longer then you would expect. As far as the spring over axle works on the front of your rig the springs are under the axle. On a SOA you take new spring perches and weld them on the top of the axle giving you the lift you desire plus better ground clearance because you don't have the bolts hanging down below the axle anymore.

[mcjeep80]

i got 8" of lift from my soa & shackle flip. i maxed out the shackle flip, good for 8". used a pair of rear chevy shackles up front with the soa for a total of 8"all around. as for hang time... i have seen one of these beasts fly! it was not pretty! :eek: it was a '77 honcho almost 6' in the air. as these rigs are pretty heavy,i would not advise it on a regulas basis :thumbsup:

[goladith]

Oh, ok, that makes sense fireman. I see the SOA kits are pretty cheap, but the lift springs are a pretty penny. Would it be easier to change them out to Dana 60's with the perches on top of them then? Because I don't want to have to pay somebody to do the welding for me. I don't have a welder, or access to one. I'll probably put 6 lug's on there, to make it easier to match my chevy. Would that be a tough thing to do with the Dana 60s?

Sorry about asking all these questions. As I said, I don't have much experiance with Jeeps, or SFA's.

[fireman91186]

If you are looking for cheap then an axle swap might be out of the question. You can expect to spend at least several hundred dallors to maybe a thousand just for the axles then even on them the spring perches will have to moved inward I believe so you will be looking at the same thing as far as welding. I would do the spring over and try to stay with a smaller tire for now and save your money for 60's.. But the one thing you can explore is those cj and yj guys love our 44's so you could try to sell them first to raise some of the money.

[goladith]

Well, I'm not exactly worried about money, this is going to be an over time project. Because winter is coming, and I don't have a garage to work on it in. I haven't even made the obligatory run to the junk yard to see what they have there yet. But I got a lot of body work to get done before I start with the suspension. I need new floor pans put in, rear wheel wells, cut off the stock metal fender flairs, they are rusted to crap. But first I need to get it on the road. Needs new brake lines mainly. But I need to get some pipe for the exhaust, right now it is coming off open headers. Sounds fantastic, but witht he bad floor boards, it won't let me live very long.

[Headhoncho]

ch*vy or dodge axles should bolt right in the front and give you an automatic springover. Then you'll have to figure out the steering linkage, shocks, brakes, driveshafts, ect. Buy a welder and either a grinder or a set of torches......you'll need them.

Your wheelbase "should" be either 117" or 119" if it's a 7' bed if I'm not mistaken......and I usually am.


JR

[goladith]

Wheel base or what? The jeep doesn't have a bed. Just a question, if I find a couple of GM 14 bolt axles, would they work? or would they be to wide or what? Cause I could probably find some pretty cheap at a junk yard off some trucks. I'll have some pics here in a few, working on uploading them to photobucket now.

[goladith]

Here are said pics
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v135/goladith/S7300127.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v135/goladith/S7300128.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v135/goladith/S7300129.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v135/goladith/S7300130.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v135/goladith/S7300131.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v135/goladith/S7300132.jpg

[goladith]

Oh yea, here are a few pics of my Chevy
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v135/goladith/S7300112.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v135/goladith/S7300110.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v135/goladith/S7300106.jpg

[skeletor]

there is basically no way for dana 44s to survive 40"+ tires for very long. i'd find a front dana 60 and rear 14 bolt axles. since you have a lot of rust i would suggest to just get a 4" lift and cut the hell out of the cherokee. with just the flares cut off you can run 38s.

[goladith]

Really? So what kind of tires would I fit with doing the SOA with a 60 in front? Since the SOA is supposed to give about 7" of lift. I didn't think the flairs would make that much difference.

[orangecherokee]

you need to cut it. follow the red line and you'll be able to get most of that cancer out of there. there might be some left but it's managable.

next SOA and give it a 2" body lift that'll clear the 40"+ tires. shave the 14 if you're going to get one of those too.

[goladith]

What do you mean by "shave the 14"?

[orangecherokee]

cut/grind the bottom lip off. Should net you about an extra inch in clearance.

[goladith]

Oh, ok. Makes sense. Say I did that and went with 40" swampers. How wide would I be able to take em? I'm hoping for 40x16xr15, or something around that size. Would that be too wide? Or what would the widest I'd be able to go?

[orangecherokee]

I don't know the sizes of the Boggers and I don't feel like looking them up but I run a 10" rim and my tire is 14" wide. I run a low pressure and my footprint is plenty wide. 16" sounds a little much to me but to each is their own.

also, if you're going to get boggers, cut them too.

[Headhoncho]

Wheel base or what? The jeep doesn't have a bed. Just a question, if I find a couple of GM 14 bolt axles, would they work? or would they be to wide or what? Cause I could probably find some pretty cheap at a junk yard off some trucks. I'll have some pics here in a few, working on uploading them to photobucket now.

Sorry. All I paid attention to was Golden Eagle and I immediately thought J-10. :o

14 Bolt rear axle would work great. I have one in my J-10. How much your tires stick out will depend on the offset of your wheels. Stock H1 wheels will tuck them in close and typical aftermarket rims will push them outward.


JR

[goladith]

Well, I plan on just getting some black spoke steelies. They look nice, cheap, and can take a beating. Are they any different front axles you guys could recommend for it?

And what do you mean "cut the boggers"? I've never heard of cutting tires, lol.