BMW Blog

I have a 1977 cj7 and i want to get a lift kit for it. A rough country 4in lift is the cheepest i found but i'm worried it might be too high. Does anyone have any thoughts on that and how it would effect the handling. Another reason i like the lift is because it'll replace my old shocks, and leaf springs which are rusted out. The 2.5in lift doesn't come with the shocks and is only $30 cheaper.
Well, 4" and stock tires does look funny. Very tippy in the corners and don't forget the need for a 4" dropped pitman arm. If you upgraded to 31's I would say ok, but still need the arm and shocks. You really need to think about what you use your Jeep for and futre build up. If you are going to stay with the 28's, I would recommend a YJ stock spring swap. All you need is the springs, front spring plates and might have to widen the front shackles to 2 1/2". Shocks are a dime a dozen for stock set ups.

Save your money if you just want to replace your leafs until you decide you want to run bigger tires IMO.
Bard is right on. also, you have narrow track axles, which will amplify the problem.

do it once, do it right.

find out exactly what you want your Jeep to do, and how you want it to look/perform, and build your plan from there.

Hoss
I put a similar Rough Country lift on my CJ-5 back in July and it was an all inclusive kit. It had new leaf springs, shocks, transfer case drop kit, and a new drop pitman arm and to top it off I had 33x12.5 BFG's. It made all the difference in the world. But as Hoss mentioned, your axles are quiet narrow so it made my CJ a little tippy on the road, but especially on the trails. If you do the lift I would recommend to go wide and go tall at the same time.
OlllllllO
Thnx for the replies, The thing is i would eventually get a 2.5 lift when i replace my tires for bigger ones, I don't think it makes sense to get brand new leaf springs, and then 3 months later get highlift leaf springs with a suspension lift kit. Then i would have wasted couple hundred dollars, so I want to get a lift with new springs but not too big that i can't drive good with 28s. I want to have a jeep with a little bit bigger tires and lift then stock, for offroading once and a while, but not an extreme offroader, 32's will prby be the biggest i go. I will replace my bfg all terrains this summer, 32in tires of some sort, looking at bfg all terrains again, but also tsl radials, for the more aggressive look, any thoughts on those? This is my first car and daily driver.
I found this when I was looking back a few months ago...maybe it'll be helpful to you. Be sure and look at the CJ section (2nd one down) and not the YJ or any other section.

http://jeep.off-road.com/jeep/article/articleDetail.jsp?id=261349

I have 33's on my stock '84 Jeep CJ7 (no lift) and don't have any problems. I finally got to take it out into a gumbo rice field last weekend and it performed awesome, very minor rubbing of the plastic fender flares. Any other time I don't have any rubbing at all, it was just the major trenches that a combine made that made my tires rub. I'm not saying that it would be the same for your Jeep, but that's what mine does.

GO PACK GO!

http://i247.photobucket.com/albums/gg137/luckycheesehead/MyYeepyellowjeep.jpg
You only need a 2.5" lift for the 32's. Brand for brand, a 2.5" lift will ride better than the same manufacturer's 4" lift. Also, the 2.5" generally won't get you into more mods to correct steering, brake hoses, and rear driveshaft angles. Do yourself a favor and don't shop by price...you generally get exactly what you pay for and for a daily driven Jeep, you want something soft...you don't get that with cheap springs.
so are all jeeps(cj) narrow track? i have a 83 cj7 just wondering.
so are all jeeps(cj) narrow track? i have a 83 cj7 just wondering.

your '83 is a wide trac (first year), they came that way from the factory. only '82 and older came from the factory with the narrow trac.

Hoss
sweet thxs for the info. is it a good thing that i have a wife track?
sweet thxs for the info. is it a good thing that i have a wife track?

only if you don't trust her...

Hoss
unless you have a cj5...then they have narrow tracks...like me!

x2 on the wife track...

J.
i meant wide track lol
Thnx for all the posts, what i'm goin to do is get 4 new stock leaf springs new shocks, and put a 1-2inch body lift with my stock tires, then in 6months or so, when i have enough for bigger tires(32in) I will get 2.5in high lift leaf springs, I thiink then i won't have any problems where i have to redo everthing like jeepskate mentioned
Complete waste of time & money...think about it. You're going to spend a few hundred bucks on a new stock suspension and body lift...mid-range 2.5" lift will run you about the same money, not to mention that buying the stock stuff puts you back at square one for saving up again.
throwin stuff out there to see what ppl think, I found a 2.5 lift from rough country for $400, i think thats a little too much tho, and the thing is i'll have stock tires for a while so i can't really go any bigger than 2in either, anybody know of a good cheaper lift, 2inch or less that replaces my leaf springs?
Like I said, you don't want to shop by price if you're going to be daily driving this thing...a cheap lift will beat the tar outta your kidneys. That said, a decent inexpensive lift is Superlift's Super-Ride. Team up the springs (should be able to get the springs for around $300) with some decent shocks and some greasable shackles and loosen up the spring clamps and I think you'll be pleased. Is that Appleton as in Wisconsin? If you're not in a hurry, I'll be pulling my springs off sometime in the next couple of months (rears are already off) to finsih upgrading my suspension. They've only got maybe 8,000 miles on them and the clamps are already loosened and they've been broken in a couple of times with some moderate wheeling. Only taking them off because I moved up to 35's. You'll still need shocks & shackles, but that'll at least save you on the springs.