I have a 2.5 inch lift on my 74 atm and running 33s without too much of a problem. I picked up some new 36" Super Swampers from a friend new and I was gonna go with a Cage 5.5 lift and radius arms. Does anyone know if I will need to do anything else in terms of clearance. I already have the fenders cut back but just enough for bushwacker flares. I am already planning on regearing and adding a locker at the same time. Just looking for anything I might have missed.
5.5 cage lift and 36 TSLs
- Thread starter Biggie
- Start date
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Mr. Big..,
There's the steering geometery., (if drop bracket doesn't center the front end., may need an adjustable track bar) & brake line length issues to deal with, if you haven't already.
There's the steering geometery., (if drop bracket doesn't center the front end., may need an adjustable track bar) & brake line length issues to deal with, if you haven't already.
For clearance, you are going to have to trim the inner fender aprons on the front end. You will probably have to trim them all the way back to the firewall. You will also want to bob the front of those fenders too because bigger tires will get into them. You might think about just following the line of the bottom of the grill and trimming it all the way around to the wheel opening. Both driveshafts will have to be lengthened and you will need extended brake lines and extended axle vent lines.
As Bully Bob said, your steering is gonna go outta whack with this tall of a lift (3" and under doesn't require any changes to your steering). You are going to need to do a combo of the following.
#1 flip your tie rods to be tie rod over the knuckle. (TRO)
#2 get a drop pitman arm (DPA)
#3 get a track bar axle riser (TBR)
#4 get a track bar drop bracket. (DB)
My recommendation is to go with #1 & #3. Here is my reasoning for this...#1 gives you better ground clearance and eliminates the need for a DPA. The DPA is just something else that has the opportunity to get hung up on an obsticle. By doing a TRO swap, you raise your tie rods almost 4", thus no need for the DPA. #3 because with the size tires you are going with, you are obviously going to do some type of wheeling. The DB is good if you don't intend on doing any or just mild wheeling with a moderate sized tire (31" or smaller). The TBR does the exact same thing but raises the track bar from the axle rather than dropping it from the frame. The other plus of doing the TBR vs. the DB is that the DB causes stress on the frame, a lot moreso than the TBR does on the axle. Combine that with your tire size and you have the potential of tearing your frame at the DB.
If you are spending money on lifting the beast, then I would also suggest you go ahead and replace the steering linkage anyway. A big problem with all 66-75 EBs is that the rod ends are not replacable. If one side goes bad, you have to hope that it is the pass side because it is the short shaft and can be replaced, otherwise if it is the long side, you have to replace the whole thing. Here is where you can throw good money after bad. If you have to replace it, I would strongly recommend going with a Stone Crusher Steering (SCS) upgrade. It is a little different from the original steering set up, but it is worth it. At about the same price that an OEM replacement, you get a heim joint steering set up and the tubing is about half again as thick and 2-3x stronger. You can check out this writeup that I did on the SCS install here. I also installed a set of Cage 5.5" coils when I did it, so I can give you some help on it too.
As Bully Bob said, your steering is gonna go outta whack with this tall of a lift (3" and under doesn't require any changes to your steering). You are going to need to do a combo of the following.
#1 flip your tie rods to be tie rod over the knuckle. (TRO)
#2 get a drop pitman arm (DPA)
#3 get a track bar axle riser (TBR)
#4 get a track bar drop bracket. (DB)
My recommendation is to go with #1 & #3. Here is my reasoning for this...#1 gives you better ground clearance and eliminates the need for a DPA. The DPA is just something else that has the opportunity to get hung up on an obsticle. By doing a TRO swap, you raise your tie rods almost 4", thus no need for the DPA. #3 because with the size tires you are going with, you are obviously going to do some type of wheeling. The DB is good if you don't intend on doing any or just mild wheeling with a moderate sized tire (31" or smaller). The TBR does the exact same thing but raises the track bar from the axle rather than dropping it from the frame. The other plus of doing the TBR vs. the DB is that the DB causes stress on the frame, a lot moreso than the TBR does on the axle. Combine that with your tire size and you have the potential of tearing your frame at the DB.
If you are spending money on lifting the beast, then I would also suggest you go ahead and replace the steering linkage anyway. A big problem with all 66-75 EBs is that the rod ends are not replacable. If one side goes bad, you have to hope that it is the pass side because it is the short shaft and can be replaced, otherwise if it is the long side, you have to replace the whole thing. Here is where you can throw good money after bad. If you have to replace it, I would strongly recommend going with a Stone Crusher Steering (SCS) upgrade. It is a little different from the original steering set up, but it is worth it. At about the same price that an OEM replacement, you get a heim joint steering set up and the tubing is about half again as thick and 2-3x stronger. You can check out this writeup that I did on the SCS install here. I also installed a set of Cage 5.5" coils when I did it, so I can give you some help on it too.
